Giblets

Chicken giblet, here the genitals of a rooster, shown in a gulai (Nusantara-style curry) in Minangkabau cuisine, Indonesia

Giblets /ˈdʒɪbləts/ is a culinary term for the edible offal of a fowl, typically including the heart, gizzard, liver, and other visceral organs.^[1]

A whole bird from a butcher is often packaged with the giblets, sometimes sealed in a bag in the body cavity. The neck is often included with the giblets, as in the West it is usually separated from the body during butchering.

There are a number of recipes that use giblets. If a bird is to be stuffed, the giblets are traditionally chopped and added to the stuffing; however the USDA recommends cooking giblets separate from the bird.^[2] If not, they can be used for other purposes, such as giblet pie or, a Southern U.S. favorite, giblet gravy. With the exception of giblet gravy, the liver is not usually included in these recipes, as its strong flavor tends to overpower other ingredients. It may be used in liver-specific recipes, such as pâté or yakitori. Giblets can also be used to make alicot, a French stew.

In the Turkish cuisine, iç pilav, a traditional pilaf dish, is made with rice, chicken liver, nuts, and spices.^[3] Jerusalem mixed grill is an Israeli delicacy made with giblets, usually eaten with pita bread.

Most poultry, especially those sold in supermarkets, is quartered and consequently the giblets are not included. Giblets can be bought separately from a butcher, but the demand for human consumption is low in most Western countries, so they are more often sold to pet food manufacturers.

References

1. "giblet" at Reference.com
2. USDA Cooking and Food Handling (Cooking Frozen Foods)
3. http://www.kultur.gov.tr/EN,35502/pilaf-with-liver-and-nuts.html

External links

• USDA Giblets fact sheet
• Tillery, Carolyn Quick (2005) [1996]. The African-American Heritage Cookbook: Traditional Recipes and Fond Remembrances From Alabama's Renowned Tuskegee Institute. New York: Citadel Press Books. ISBN 9780806526775.