Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with offal

Tell me how to pick offal, and what to do with it

Mutant — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:02:04 -0800

Offal. I know what it is but need your help with selection and cooking. Mrs Mutant is a carnivore and likes her meat. Although I'm basically a pescatarian I do all our cooking and genuinely enjoy preparing her meals.

I've got about a dozen stock dishes that I can prepare, and by using chicken, pork loin, beef or various mince I can present roughly three dozen meals. I cooked my way through part of my undergraduate education, and I'm comfortable with most techniques, including separate sauce preparation, even going so far as to prepare and bake meat pies so no worries there.

While doing our food shopping I've noticed that offal (e.g., chicken or calves liver) is massively cheaper than equivalently sized other cuts of meats. There are loads of of offal on offer here, but I'm not really sure how to prepare it.

So what can I do with offal? I'm looking not only for recipes but also suggestions for useful cuts (is that the correct word to apply for offal?). We've got several British butchers close by, and I know they speak offal.

Just tell me what to ask for and how to prepare it.

What's the best way to cook beef heart?

jason's_planet — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 10:34:23 -0800

What's the best way to cook beef heart? I just bought a pound's worth of beef heart, in three slices, about a half inch thick. In the past, I've cooked beef heart in the pressure cooker but the result was always chewy and not terribly appetizing.

So what's the best way to prepare beef heart? Is it the traditional Peruvian style? Are anticuchos the way to go? Can I use the pressure cooker without turning the meat into grey rubber?

How would you prepare a half pound of sliced beef heart? What's your recipe? Fancy and complicated recipes are OK (for later), but the simpler, the better. This is meant to be an unemployed bachelor's lunch.

Many thanks in advance!

What do I do with beef tongue?

schroedinger — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:58:42 -0800

Help with all things beef tongue. I bought a tongue from the farmer's market and am clueless how to handle it. I read this thread and need more detail. Peeling? What do you mean, it needs to be peeled? How? Can I overcook it? Should I eat it in a stew, or some other way? What are your favorite tongue recipes? I should note I haven't actually taken it out of the packaging, as I've seen pictures of what it should look like online and need more time to build my strength. So it may or may not be peeled, though I'm guessing not.

eating "disgusting" animal parts

mrkohrea — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 16:51:07 -0800

What are some "disgusting" animal parts (i.e animal parts that "normal" Americans don't eat for reasons of revulsion) that are good for you nutritionally speaking? Also, what are some animal parts that are unhealthy for you? Bonus points if the animal parts are cheap and/or readily available. An example that comes to mind might be liver.

That's "Offal," Not "Awful"

stonerose — Fri, 28 Jan 2005 18:14:15 -0800

Along with some foodie friends, we're having a "winter of offal." The idea is to expand our culinary horizons, and show respect for our food animals, by getting together every few weeks and learning to cook *excellent* food from organically raised trotters, entrails, and other bits commonly thought of as nasty. This week, I'm cooking beef tongue - so suggestions for that are particularly welcome. But any and all gourmet offal (not awful) recipes would be great.