"All the good stuff"

“Offal”  - the entrails and internal organs of a butchered animal

The term is popping up everywhere.  Restaurants all over NYC and the rest of the country are now proudly displaying menus that contain words like liver, sweetbreads, and marrow.  When you say the word “offal” or the term “nose-to-tail” to a serious foodie they immediately think of Chef Fergus Henderson, chef and owner of Restaurant St. John in London. 

Currently ranked number 41 of the world’s 50 best restaurants, St. John developed a cult following soon after opening in 1994.  Chef Henderson was serving cuts of meat rarely seen in other restaurants.  While visiting between multi-starred Michelin restaurants around Europe, chefs and serious foodies alike ventured out to St. John in London for a taste out of the ordinary, and to buy a copy of “The Whole Beast”, the restaurants cookbook.  For ten years St. John was the only place in the world you could buy a copy, and this book was to offal lovers what El Bulli’s cookbooks were to fans of molecular gastronomy. 

In 2004 “The Whole Beast” finally became available in the United States.  Almost immediately restaurants all over NY, as well as the rest of the country, started to take once discarded pieces of vegetables and animals, and making them the forefront of the plate.  In an economy shifting towards being more efficient, less wasteful, and more economical, it was no surprise that this low budget, adventurous type of eating finally caught on.  What most people don’t realize, though, is that 1) our ancestors have been relying on these cuts of protein to feed their families for centuries, and 2) you’ve probably been eating offal your whole life and not aware of it. 

It really is amazing to me how my style of cooking has changed over the past few years, from refined to rustic.  If you asked me eight years ago what my favorite ingredients to eat were, I never would have answered liver, cheek, sweetbreads, or gizzards.  Eight years ago I never would have said my family were adventurous eaters.  Honestly, I doubt they would too.  It didn’t occur to me until I was in my mid-to-late twenties and starting to gain an appreciation for offal did I remember my mother used to cook goat brains for my family when we were younger.  The only reason she stopped was because as a child I refused to eat them.  One of my brothers, however, loved them.  She also experimented with tongue at home, but again I was too young to appreciate it.  Back then all I wanted was the 4-piece chicken mcnugget happy meal at McDonalds, complete with small coke, fries, and a plastic toy I only played with for about an hour.  Please pack an extra barbeque sauce for the fries. 

When I grew up and attended culinary school I was brainwashed into thinking that more refined, more expensive = better.  Being classically trained, there are three ingredients that are incredibly exotic to a culinary student, as well as being the most expensive.  They are caviar, truffles, and foie gras.  Students are encouraged to go out and try these ingredients, as well as other things they’ve never tasted before.  I became a culinary snob, and for years only ate at restaurants with no less than a four star rating.  I would gawk at the idea of dining at a bistro, and would opt for a place like Jean-Georges or Daniel for…well…I don’t even know why. 

I would hold dinner parties for my friends, and would spend upwards of up to a hundred dollars for a single plate of food.  Buying the most expensive supermarket cuts of protein, vegetables, olive oils, etc, just because I wanted to wow all of them with how refined I could be.  There was no soul involved in my cooking, and I had no identity whatsoever. 

What’s funny to me is that although I have tasted a lot of dishes that contained truffles and caviar, I can’t recall a single one.  I paid upwards of $25 to $40 for entrees containing these two items.  However, I do recall when I tasted my first duck testicle.  It was at restaurant Zahav in Philadelphia.  Serving modern Israeli cuisine, and probably my favorite restaurant in Philadelphia, Chef Michael Solomonov had a dish on his menu called “The Jerusalem Grill”.  What made this dish stand out for me so much was the way he described it on the menu, with no more than a tag line of “All the good stuff”.  The dish contained duck hearts, rabbit kidneys, and duck testicles.  Wait, ducks have testicles? 

Duck testicles are also known as duck fries, and as I get into defining “fries” later, they are referring to an internal organ in this case.  They are also commonly referred to as white kidneys. 

The Jerusalem Grill was rustic cooking at its best.  Chef Solomonov (or Solo as everyone calls him) cooks the organ meat in Zahav’s wood-burning oven, and then tops it with garlic oil and parsley.  Serves it with a piece of house-made laffa (Israeli flatbread) and charred onion vinaigrette.  I will never forget the first time I tasted this dish.  I have never had this much organ meat in one sitting.  The perfect sear on the outside, the squishy, meaty texture, and the intense flavor, and then served with this incredibly sweet and smoky vinaigrette.  Oh my god.  And it was less than $12.

The most expensive meal I have ever had goes to “Joel Robuchon at The Mansion”, located in Las Vegas.  The meal was 16 courses, and I paid $550 for a meal just for myself, that didn’t include any alcohol.  I remember parts of them, but I can’t describe a single course I had.  The entire week of me dining at Au Pied de Cochon, five nights straight which included at least 3 drinks a night, $337.  I recall every course and flavor in vivid detail. 

I do not expect everyone to go out and buy a liver from their local butcher and cook it up tomorrow.  However, I do want to help open everyone’s minds to the magic that is offal.  It’s not easy, and will not most likely happen overnight.  I assure you, though, that with an open mind every subsequent bite will have an electrifying effect.  If anything, you can start to brag that you ate a kidney, and lived to tell about it. 

So what is included in the term “offal”? 

Brains – I, like most people, was very put off by the thought of eating brains for a long time.  They look scary, lined with membranes and a squishy texture.  There is a general mystery behind this organ meat, and it’s not commonly found amongst menus across the United States.  If you keep your eyes peeled, though, you will be pleasantly surprised by how mild and delicately sweet they are.  Brains of goats, sheep, pig, lamb, and pretty much every animal are very similar in texture and flavor, and the applications are endless.  Chef Michael Psilakis, of Anthos and Kefi fame, served me my very first taste of lamb brains a few years ago.  He simply threw them on a grill and basted with citrus vinaigrette.  I was very hesitant to try them, but after tasting them for the first time I hated myself for not having the courage to enjoy the rich, creamy texture for years.  Chef Chris Cosentino, of Incanto in San Francisco, makes “brainnaise”, or mayo with brains.  He uses it as a sauce for grilled tongue sliders.  At Tabla, we served lamb brains spiced with tomatoes, ginger, and garam masala.  Once again, cooking with organ meat has been around for centuries in every continent.  If you do obtain brains and cook with them, I am sure you can find a recipe to match your flavor profile.   

Caul (or caul fat) – It is a thin membrane that encases the stomach of animals, most commonly taken from a pig.  Since the membrane is so thin, and nearly impossible to serve on its own, it is very hard to pick up any type of flavor it possesses.  It is most commonly used in classical cooking as a “jacket”, holding together ingredients that normally would not come together.  It is also a great way to impart some fat into the ingredients it surrounds.  For instance, it is a great way to hold together sausages that have no casings, to prevent the proteins from unbinding during cooking, and ultimately falling apart. 

Cheek – You can find cheeks of pretty much every animal.  They are the muscles that work the mouth and face.  Again, most people are thrown off by the fact they come off the animal’s head, but they really are no more than just another cut of meat.  They are pretty tough and fibrous, and are best suited for braising.  After cooking, most cheeks are incredibly tender and melty, and the flavor they pack is immensely strong and delicious.  If served on a menu, you will most likely see beef and veal cheeks across the United States.  Most restaurants that braise pork cheeks usually turn them into terrines afterwards, with other parts of the pig head.  I first tasted braised veal cheeks at “Monk’s Café”, located in Philadelphia.  They were so delicious and incredibly tender.  There were three slices of cheek on the plate with a small salad of micro fennel, as well as a sauce made from the broth they were braised in.  There was nothing else on the plate, nor did the plate need anything else either. 

Ear (from pig) – If you’re adventurous enough to buy a pig’s head, you receive two of them for free.  They need to be braised, requiring possibly two to three hours of long, slow cooking to become properly tender.  They can be braised with the head, and then taken off, or braised on their own.  After becoming tender and intended to be served on their own, most restaurants then pat them dry, and fry them until crisp.   They really are a treat. 

Eyes – There is a quote from the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” that goes “Then my mom will chase me around and try to make me eat the eyeballs because it makes you smart”.  I would love for someone to correct me on this, but as far as I know lamb and sheep eyeballs are the only eyeballs eaten in the United States.  I haven’t had the pleasure yet, but there are restaurants in NY that do have them on their menus.  I have read stories of people fighting over the eyeballs at dinner tables since there are only two small delicacies per animal.  They are considered to be very fatty and filling.  Hopefully if served in a restaurant they are cleaned of any hanging membranes.  Did I gross you out yet?  Strangely enough, my first memory of seeing people consume sheep’s eyeballs was during an episode of “Fear Factor”, where contestants had to consume three eyeballs each.  There is a video on youtube of Chef April Bloomfield, of Spotted Pig fame, where she braises a whole sheep’s head, scoops out the eyeballs, and serves them to Mario Batali.  Sadly, I can’t find it at the moment. 

Feet  - Most people are thrown off from eating feet because they really do not offer much on their own.  They are mainly skin and bone, very little to no muscle, and very gelatinous.  When you mention the word feet most people imagine chicken and duck feet, cooked with flavor profiles from the areas of Southeast Asia.  Poultry feet contain a lot of small bones.  They should be cleaned of these bones before cooking, but nonetheless be careful if you ever decide to try them at most dim sum restaurants.  Pig’s feet, or pig’s trotters are showing up on menus all over the country now.  Many places debone them, and braise them with the skin on.  Other restaurants will go through the trouble of stuffing the trotters with all types of truffled forcemeat and wild mushrooms.  Regardless of the type of application, the result is immensely flavorful.  Since all feet are very gelatinous, they are also incredibly useful for adding body to stocks. 

Fish eggs – the most common fish eggs are caviar and salmon roe, but you can also find cod’s roe, and herring roe if you look hard enough.  Caviar is a pretty loaded word, and entails a lot.  True black caviar are the processed and salted eggs of different species of wild Sturgeon.  The Sturgeon species include sevruga, beluga, and ossetra, also listed from lesser expensive to most.  The three species of caviar differ in size, color, flavor, and consistency.  Black caviar is synonymous with the world of fine dining, and the applications are endless.  I have seen oysters topped with caviar, topped on hor d’oeuvres, and mixed with sour cream and placed on top of blinis.  Caviar is also commonly paired with boiled eggs, and crème fraiche.  Golden caviar are the eggs of the albino fish.  It is extremely rare and very high-priced.  I have never had the luxury of tasting it.  Asian markets, and I’m sure other ethnic markets do too, carry a very cheap form of caviar.  These fish eggs are pasteurized, which greatly reduces the quality and price.  You might also hear terms like eggplant caviar, as well as Texas caviar, neither of which are fish eggs.  Eggplant caviar is really nothing more than a non-smooth eggplant puree, and texas caviar is made from black-eyed peas.  Salmon Roe is considered to be poor man’s caviar, costing literally a fraction of the price.  The eggs are visibly larger, and have a wonderful orangey-red color to them.  They are still extremely flavorful and most commonly seen in sushi restaurants.  You have most likely tried them on sushi rolls.

Fries – This is going to be the one that will throw pretty much everyone off, unless you’re Andrew Zimmern.  Fries are testicles, and most commonly come from bulls, pigs, or sheep.  As far as I know, they are pretty much non-existent in the United States, so sadly I have never been able to try them.  Duck fries are the only ones I have seen, but as explained earlier, are not really true fries.  From what I hear, though, they share a lot of the same characteristics as brains after being prepared.

Giblets –The term is used to describe the collection of neck, gizzard, heart, and liver of poultry birds.  They are usually packaged with whole birds you can buy anywhere for an extra treat.  Best described gizzards help in the digestion for birds.  It is a muscle located at the top of the stomach which breaks down food after the bird consumes it.  It is by far my favorite type of giblet, and is very strongly flavored, filling, cheap, and gamey.  They can be commonly found now packaged at any supermarket.  My favorite way of preparing them is to simply clean them of any excess membrane, and deep-fry them until crispy.  They are then open to add whatever flavor profiles you wish. 

Head – You will most commonly see the term “headcheese”, and this refers to the meat of a pig’s head.  You can however find lamb and sheep’s heads available now.  The head consists of many different cuts of offal, including brains, cheek, tongue, ear, and eyes.  After removing the brains and tongue, most places braise the heads whole and use the meat to make terrines, or utilizes them for stocks. 

Heart – I don’t know about the rest of the country, but duck hearts are the most commonly seen on the east coast.  They need to be trimmed of excess membranes before being cooked.  They are intensely gamey and chewy, but a flavor you’ll never forget, in a good way.  I have seen them grilled, braised, and sautéed.  If you’re a steak lover, you will fall in love with these little bundles of joy.  Recipes that include pig, sheep, and beef hearts can also be seen around the world.  Beef hearts in particular, due to their size, can be stuffed and rolled. 

Intestines – They are, of course, the internal tubes that connect digested food from the stomach of an animal to the outside world.  There was an episode of “Bizarre Foods” where Andrew Zimmern ate uncleaned (if you know what I’m getting at) intestines in Southeast Asia.  It’s said to be an “acquired taste”.  Though there are a lot of classic recipes containing them, you’re not going to find them being the forefront of most restaurant plates.  However, so many people have eaten intestines and not even realized it.  If you have ever eaten sausages with “natural” casings, as is the case with most, the casings are inevitably intestines.  Don’t worry, they’re thoroughly washed throughout beforehand. 

Kidney – The function of kidneys is to filter the animal’s urine.  That being said, if you’re going to buy them make sure they’re fresh.  The longer they sit around the flavor will go from almost delicate to very strong.  All types of kidneys are available in the United States, but each one packs a distinct flavor based upon the animal’s diet.  The most classic recipe to prepare them is called “Deviled Kidneys”, in which they are paired with a sweet and spicy sauce. 

Lights – Lights are lungs.  I honestly cannot tell you too much about them because I have never tasted or worked with them.  I have read that sheep’s lights are a main ingredient in the classic Scottish dish haggis, but most references point to lights being commonly used for pet foods in the United States. 

Liver – It has immensely grown in popularity over the past few decades, and now you can find livers on all types of menus, from gourmet restaurant to your neighborhood diner.  So many different types of liver are commonly available, and they are cooked in so many different ways.  Some of the ways I have seen are fried chicken livers, sautéed calf’s liver, braised pork liver, stuffed beef liver, chicken liver pate or mousse, etc.  The most classic pairing of liver is “Liver and Onions”.  Honestly, I don’t know how to categorize the flavor of liver if you have never tasted it yourself.  It is definitely an acquired taste, and very distinguishable.  Then there’s foie gras, which I have described to many people I know as sexual pleasure.  Foie gras is the enlarged liver of a duck or goose, by force-feeding the animal and allowing the liver to grow in size of upwards to 1 – 1 1/2 pounds.  It is about eighty percent fat with this smooth, silky texture and slightly sweet flavor.  I can’t describe how much I love it.  It is very expensive, and there is a lot of controversy surrounding its production.  Now I can’t tell you how to feel.  If you have strong feelings to the way the animals are treated, especially when it’s commercially produced, then by all means you’re entitled to your opinion.  I know for myself, though, I would want five pounds of it for my very last meal on earth.  And actually, if I did eat five pounds of it it probably WOULD be my last meal on earth.  A lot of restaurants put foie gras on their menu for the “wow” factor.  They will pan sear it and serve it with a bunch of needless garnishes and jack up the price even more.  But if you can find a chef that truly knows how to respect and prepare this ingredient, you will see it does not need extra garnishes, in fact the flavor stands out very much on its own.  My favorite preparation of foie gras in NYC is at Craft restaurant.  They serve a large slab of foie gras terrine, with a small amount of cherry or berry sauce (depending on what’s in season), and four slices of toasted brioche.  That’s it.  That’s all it needs.  If you’ve ever had the opportunity to try it, you’ll know exactly what I am talking about. 

Marrow – It’s the flexible tissue found in the interior of bones.  Again, as a previous post suggested, bone marrow is showing up on all types of restaurant menus.  Any butcher should carry marrow bones, and I’ve even seen it available in some supermarkets.  The bones are most commonly roasted to break up the interior tissue, which can then be scooped out.  It is very fatty, and served straight up on a piece of toast is really all you need for a very good night. 

Neck (of Lamb and Goat) - This cut of meat is very scarce, as there is only one per animal, and you will have to be lucky if you are going to experience tasting one.  I only know of a handful of restaurants across the US that will have them on their menu for even a day or two, before being forced to take it back off.  For restauranteurs, if you order a case of lamb bones for stock, there is a good chance 10-12 pieces of neck will be mixed in, so be on the look-out.  The neck is very much like oxtail, with a great meat-to-bone ratio.  It needs to be braised, and the end result is an incredibly tender, and very gamey cut of meat.  It is by far my favorite cut of meat on the bone. 

Sweetbreads – Most people know of sweetbreads as the thymus gland of animals, but the term can be applied to the pancreas as well.  In my opinion, sweetbreads are a lot of like brains.  Intensely flavored and very creamy in texture.  They are very popular in all types of restaurants, and it’s not hard to find them on restaurant menus anywhere.  Since they are so creamy most restaurant chefs like to prepare them so they have a strong textural difference when bitten into, such as frying, sautéing, or even grilling.  They do take some time to clean, but once done are very easy to prepare. 

Tails – The most commonly seen tails are pig’s tails and oxtails.  Pig’s tails can be treated the same way as a pig’s ear.  They can be slow-cooked, dried, and crisped up.  Oxtails also need to be slow-cooked or braised.  If done properly the meat is very tender with an almost gelatinous feel to it.  For a protein on the bone, it has a perfect ratio of meat to bone.  Oxtails can be seen in recipes from all around the world, most commonly in America as in Southeast Asian and Jamaican cuisines.  I could be wrong, but I most commonly see oxtails being sold in specialty butcher shops or ethnic ones. 

Tongue – A lot of people get squeamish at the thought of eating tongue.  An animal’s tongue is equally a muscle as any other cut of meat on it.  That being said, the flavor of tongue is not that much far off from any other part of the animal’s body.  It needs to be slow-cooked, but once done it is extremely tender and just melts in your mouth.  Tongues of all animals are now widely available, with the beef tongue being the obvious largest.  The “pickled tongue” described in my first post in “Au Pied de Cochon” was by far the best preparation of tongue I have ever tried. 

Tripe – Tripe is the stomach lining of an animal.  As I’ve seen beef tripe is the most common and usually found in Asian and specialty supermarkets.  Like liver, the flavor of tripe pretty much stands on its own.  It does not matter what flavor profiles you add to it, the tripe flavor will come through.  It needs to be slow-cooked, and can take anywhere between 3-6 hours to prepare.  As I’ve talked to most people that know of tripe, people either love it or hate it, there’s no indifference.  I’m not going to lie, the first time I tried tripe I absolutely hated the flavor.  It was so incredibly strong flavored to me.  Now if I have tripe, I will consume it with no issues.  Nonetheless, it is not something I would serve to someone whom you want to introduce to offal.  We can work our way up to that one. 

Wings – Yes, I saved the best for last (of course I didn’t plan it that way, it’s alphabetical order).  Yes people, it’s true, wings are considered offal.  Anyone and everyone who eats poultry have eaten some type of poultry wing.  Heck, I ate ten chicken wings just last Sunday.  Yes, that’s right, even if you tell me you don’t eat pork and have never had a sausage, you still have been eating one type of offal your entire life. 

So now that you know offal isn’t necessarily bad, let’s start one meal at a time to enjoy the more extreme cuts.  For someone who was once squeamish and would never touch this stuff, and as I kept repeating myself this whole post, you will honestly be surprised by how much you will enjoy the flavors.  So do yourself and butchered animals a favor by enjoying every part of them.  Lets keep sustainable, and not let anything go to waste.