# How do y'all cook



## MOSSYNUT (Aug 8, 2014)

Your chicken hearts, liver, and gizzards? I've had'em fried but is there anything else that I could do with them? I try to stay away from deep frying anything. Also are there any other parts that are useful as I hate to be wasteful. This will be my first time cleaning my own birds and I'm just trying to use everything. Someone mentioned ( I don't remember who I have the attention span of an otter bird flys overhead and it's a new day ) that the lungs are good catfish bait. I like the sound of that.


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## Kmac15 (May 19, 2007)

I save mine to use in giblet gravy or to boil and then add rice. If you find the gizzards tough to eat then I find that pressure cooking them does a good job of making them tender, just add the livers at the last bit of the dish. I know of a place around here that pressure cooks the gizzards then fries them with the livers.


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

If I am making fried chicken, I fry the liver and gizzard, "cook's treat". If not, they go in the stock pot. When you roast a whole chicken, the pan drippings combined with the broth from the giblets makes killer gravy. Let them boil while the chicken is roasting, throw in carrot, onion, celery, bay leaf. Chop them and put them in the gravy, or spoil your pets.


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## MOSSYNUT (Aug 8, 2014)

Thanks y'all that sounds really good. We don't have a pressure cooker. So that's out but the rest is doable. I haven't had giblet gravy in a couple of years. Every time either my wife or I try to make gravy it always has a flour taste to it or is to thick or something is just not right. But thanks for the suggestions. I will give the gravy another try.


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## TenBusyBees (Jun 15, 2011)

Gizzards are dog treats. Blech. 

Livers breaded and pan-fried.

Hearts get boiled. I ADORE them smothered in Frank's Redhot!!


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## MOSSYNUT (Aug 8, 2014)

TenBusyBees said:


> Gizzards are dog treats. Blech.
> 
> Livers breaded and pan-fried.
> 
> Hearts get boiled. I ADORE them smothered in Frank's Redhot!!


Gizzards are my favorite. mmmmmmmm The rest sounds good to.


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## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

(other parts) will depend on the culture. Some eat the eyeballs,brains and the feet are a delicacy in china etc. SO that's kind of a loaded question.I have eaten some pretty strange things like described but not from a chicken!


Wade


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## MOSSYNUT (Aug 8, 2014)

Eyeballs and brains that I'll waste. I've never been that hungry. Now the feet I might try. Not that I'm into feet but I would try it.


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## Elffriend (Mar 2, 2003)

We don't eat the heart and gizzards, but chopped liver is yummy.

For every pound of livers use 1 large onion and 4 hard boiled eggs. Dice up the onion and fry it with the livers. Sprinkle with a little salt. Let cool. Add the livers, onions and eggs to a food processor and grind to a smooth paste. Place in a bowl, cover and refrigerate a couple of hours. Spread it on crackers, matzah or rye bread.


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

Mossy, I don't have any other suggestions for the livers and gizzards other than what's already been mentioned. We do all of them, but our favorite is breaded and fried. We do a mixed batch and just call them "lizzards", lol. If we have any hearts, they get thrown in there too. 

I make pate with onions and garlic sauteed in a little butter, then add the livers, some crumbled bacon, a splash of red wine if I have it, sea salt, black pepper, and a pinch of rosemary and thyme. Run it through the food processor and let it chill for a few hours to marry the flavors. I don't guess that's any healthier than frying them though, lol!

I might be able to help with your gravy though. A perfect ratio for gravy is 1/4 cup oil/butter/drippings, etc., 1/4 cup flour and 2 cups milk/stock, etc. Heat your drippings and then brown your flour in it slightly before adding the liquid. That will take away some of that pasty flavor you're noticing. Add salt and pepper to taste along with the flour. You can also double the amounts for a larger batch. We actually like our flour cooked until it's a golden brown before adding the liquid, gives it a better flavor, just don't burn it!

If you want to make sausage gravy, just crumble up the sausage and fry it, don't drain it, add the flour, salt and pepper to it and cook until it's slightly browned and then add your milk and cook and stir until it thickens up. Makes perfect sausage gravy with no fuss or muss. I usually use a pound of sausage and double the flour and milk mentioned above...we LOVE sausage gravy! 

As long as you stir your gravy regularly so it doesn't get lumpy, this will give you perfect gravy every time, be it milk, beef, chicken, etc. People beg for my gravy.  To do giblet gravy, just throw your warm chopped giblets in when you add the chicken stock. It will take a little longer to cook and thicken up, but will be yummy. Sorry this is so long, hope it helps!


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## Horseyrider (Aug 8, 2010)

I don't cook them at all.

I just say "Here, kitty kitty kitty...."


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## MOSSYNUT (Aug 8, 2014)

Callie thank you we are going to try the gravy soon.

Horsey luckily the wife is allergic to cats.


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## okiemom (May 12, 2002)

that is how I make gravy too. my brother in law does it by mixing flour and the liquid in a shaker and shaking until smooth then pouring it into the dripping to thicken up. I have never tried it in big batches that way but I have used a table spoon on flour to thicken up a soup/stew


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## light rain (Jan 14, 2013)

Just remember if you have guests over to share the meal that if someone is prone to gout they can bring an attack on. My DH loves gizzards but not worth the pain...


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## MCJam (Dec 27, 2012)

Chicken Pate

Liver, cleaned Gizzard, heart and neck of one chicken.
simmer Gizzard, heart and neck in a saucepan with enough water to cover until the meat just about falls off the neck bones. Remove necks from the pot and add the liver, turning off the heat so live doesn't overcook. As soon as the necks are cool enoug to handle, remove all the meat from them and discard the bones. Add the meat back into the pot.

Season with 
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 TBS marjoram
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Blend to a fine paste in a blender or food processor while still warm including the broth with it's fat. Add a little water if needed. texture at this point should be like yogurt.
Put in container in the fridge to cool. It will firm up quite a bit. 
Spread on fresh homemade bread!

Recipe can be multiplied by how ever many birds you may have processed.
Good! Good! Good!


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## WhoMe (Jan 5, 2015)

Another option for the feet is to add to the stock pot when making homemade bone broth. You can also use the giblets in the broth if you like.


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## ajaxlucy (Jul 18, 2004)

Chicken hearts are great threaded onto a skewer then grilled. You can marinate them first in soy sauce/ginger/garlic/sake/sugar. Don't overcook them. Here's one recipe:

http://www.kaveyeats.com/2014/01/japanese-style-yakitori-chicken-hearts.html


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## bamabear44 (Jan 30, 2018)

Gizzards are like eating rubber, had chicken livers yesterday with brown gravy...


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

Ag them about a week in a nice warm place then use them for turtle bait. Eat the turtle!


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

We grow the "Jumbo Cornish X Rocks" every few years for 3 months; and this is all the chicken we use here. The livers are powdered with flower and pan fried with side dishes. The gizzards have their lining taking out and are slow roasted with the hearts with the legs of the chicken; then the liquid used to create gravy often with the chopped gizzards/hearts in it...unless someone grabs it first to eat. LOL The feet are put into boiling water then peeled with the nails cut off. They are then added to any type of stock I'm creating that day (often out of the bones).

Everything else gets thrown into the chicken pen or out into the garden compost.


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## Wellbuilt (Dec 25, 2020)

It’s hard to beat fried chicken livers .


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