Discussion
What's your favourite offal?
I've just discovered lamb hearts and am suitably impressed. Picked up for the princely sum of £1.40 on the knockdown counter for three I seasoned and bunged one in the oven for an hour with my roast and am really surprised at how good they are. Don't laugh, but they actually taste of roast lamb
and the texture is great too. Not too lean at 25% fat, but I guess most was cooked out that is where the taste comes from.
I'll be having some more and with stuffing too.
I've just discovered lamb hearts and am suitably impressed. Picked up for the princely sum of £1.40 on the knockdown counter for three I seasoned and bunged one in the oven for an hour with my roast and am really surprised at how good they are. Don't laugh, but they actually taste of roast lamb
and the texture is great too. Not too lean at 25% fat, but I guess most was cooked out that is where the taste comes from.I'll be having some more and with stuffing too.
Mum used to cook lamb's hearts for me when I was a kid at home. Always loved them!
Calf's liver and kidneys still remain favourites. Chefs at work sometimes do calf's kidneys in a mustard sauce, which is very nice.
Sweatbreads too. Not eaten often, but if I see it on a menu I'll give it a go.
Haggis - usually an annual thing, end of January, involving whisky, you know.
(Whilst not offal, but an animal by-product, one of my fave things of all time is black pudding.
)
Calf's liver and kidneys still remain favourites. Chefs at work sometimes do calf's kidneys in a mustard sauce, which is very nice.
Sweatbreads too. Not eaten often, but if I see it on a menu I'll give it a go.
Haggis - usually an annual thing, end of January, involving whisky, you know.
(Whilst not offal, but an animal by-product, one of my fave things of all time is black pudding.
)Whoozit said:
Can’t stomach tripe, the texture of carpet on one side and smooth on the other makes me heave. Andouillettes I will eat but don’t enjoy particularly.
I often visit Lyon where they consider themselves as the gastronomic centre of France! To me this seems more like finding various ways to cook the less common parts of animals! I agree tripe is not pleasant. I have tried marrow served in the shin bone which is tasteless and greasy, and repeated on me. I've not ventured to order the tête de veau (head of calf) but it's apparently a delicacy! And I find andouillettes are rather smelly. I've come to the conclusion that we tend to stick to liver, kidney and heart in the UK is because it's the best bits. The liver is a favorite, though I if cooking it myself I will use Lamb as chicken is too much faff, floured and fried with garlic is delicious... kidneys are good once I have cleaned them up by themselves or in a pie.
Haggis is great, not had a heart for a while so will give lamb a try... tongue is a bit tough and an acquired taste.
Only issue I have is the smell of cooking it makes the OH gag, so I dont eat it as much as I used too.
If anyone has ways of cooking it so the smell doesnt fill the kitchen (even with the fan on) I would be most grateful.
Haggis is great, not had a heart for a while so will give lamb a try... tongue is a bit tough and an acquired taste.
Only issue I have is the smell of cooking it makes the OH gag, so I dont eat it as much as I used too.
If anyone has ways of cooking it so the smell doesnt fill the kitchen (even with the fan on) I would be most grateful.
I ought to be more adventurous, not tried heart yet.
I love liver, thinly sliced and lightly fried in butter - still pink on the inside.
Local butcher does fabulous faggots - not entirely certain what's in them but I believe it's liver, kidney and heart wrapped in caul. Not sure what the filler is, maybe breadcrumbs? I'll ask at the weekend.
I asked for brain recently and they said it's not available in the UK since BSE. The brain and spinal cord are died purple at the abattoir and destroyed.
I love liver, thinly sliced and lightly fried in butter - still pink on the inside.
Local butcher does fabulous faggots - not entirely certain what's in them but I believe it's liver, kidney and heart wrapped in caul. Not sure what the filler is, maybe breadcrumbs? I'll ask at the weekend.
I asked for brain recently and they said it's not available in the UK since BSE. The brain and spinal cord are died purple at the abattoir and destroyed.
I'll eat pretty much all of it although I'm not a lover of pig's liver and too much ox kidney can be overpowering in a pie.
Tripe is OK if well disguised but the smell of it cooking is rank, although since I lost my sense of smell, this wouldn't be a problem!
I guess my favourites are Lamb's, Calves & chicken liver & Lamb's hearts very slow cooked. Mum used to do a really good kidney gougère. I often have a lamb's kidney with a fry-up (when I'm allowed a fry-up!).
Almost forgot, Arnavut Ciğeri, spicy Turkish liver.
Tripe is OK if well disguised but the smell of it cooking is rank, although since I lost my sense of smell, this wouldn't be a problem!
I guess my favourites are Lamb's, Calves & chicken liver & Lamb's hearts very slow cooked. Mum used to do a really good kidney gougère. I often have a lamb's kidney with a fry-up (when I'm allowed a fry-up!).
Almost forgot, Arnavut Ciğeri, spicy Turkish liver.
LordGrover said:
I asked for brain recently and they said it's not available in the UK since BSE.
The brains from calves (cows under 12 months old), lambs (sheep under 12 months old) and pigs have been approved for consumption by the Foods Standards Agency, but the sale of cows’ and sheeps' brains (from animals more than one year old) is banned in the UK (BBC)Mobile Chicane said:
I love liver but it's a detoxifying organ so I don't touch anything that's been intensively farmed.
Roe deer liver is an absolute treat though not the easiest to get hold of.
I was about to come on and say venison liver. Its beautiful with wild mushrooms and shallots in a creamy sauce.Roe deer liver is an absolute treat though not the easiest to get hold of.
I love lambs' heart and all offal - Friday is Haggis Day so prepped for that already, calves liver, kidneys (in red wine sauce with rice) - Recipe alert:
Slice 4 lambs' hearts into 1cm slices, arrange in a cassarole dish - Season well
Add 1 1/2 pints stock (any meat/veg)
Some pearl barley (Mug full) to thicken the sauce/gravy and then cover with a sage& onion stuffing mix
Roast 160c for about 70 minutes - Should feed 4
Eat with very buttery mash and veg of your choice (Slurp!)
Slice 4 lambs' hearts into 1cm slices, arrange in a cassarole dish - Season well
Add 1 1/2 pints stock (any meat/veg)
Some pearl barley (Mug full) to thicken the sauce/gravy and then cover with a sage& onion stuffing mix
Roast 160c for about 70 minutes - Should feed 4
Eat with very buttery mash and veg of your choice (Slurp!)
devnull said:
Dad used to serve up tripe soup when I was young, and I still like it, though I haven't had it for years.
Maybe it's the way they serve it in Lyon but both times I've had it it was served in a sort of creamy sauce that tasted a bit like squid sliced into weak sloppy scrambled egg with a hint of onions, but not as tasty! 
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