Not So "Offal" Truth About Variety Meats

The internal hunter-gatherer awakens within us the moment we enter a grocery store. Equipped with a basket or shopping cart, translucent plastic bags, and a hastily scrawled list, we peruse the produce section in search of the ripest McIntosh apples and the most full-bodied blackberries. Some of us may assess the quality of garlic bulbs by evaluating their durability, while others may sift through the vat of beans in avoidance of shriveled or discolored stalks. If hungry, we may survey the room for free samples of cubic cheeses and crackers flecked with herbs. (While foraging on an empty stomach, our wanderings more than often guide us to the bakery corner and compel us to enshrine a fraction of our carts with a torte, or a dozen eclairs: maybe even a double-decker birthday cake (although it’s really no one’s birthday at all)). As you trek into the further realms of the store to acquire the first-priority eggs, breads, and milks, you are distracted perhaps by the aromas of rotisserie chickens, rotating slowly on the axels of metal poles in an oven. Your olfactories are introduced not much later the scent of raw meat products, exhibited artistically behind the glass displays. Shelves abutting the butcher department boast packages of raw chicken, pork, and beef, scintillating underneath pastel plastics.

We are most often shown by grocery stores the types of meats that our culture enjoys; save the Boar’s Head “head cheese” (also called brawn, which is made of the meat and organs extracted from the heads of animals like pigs and sheep), it’s hard to find blatant exhibitions of more of what comes from animals than just the muscle, skin, and bones. Let me agree with you on something: the idea of seeing folds of sheep stomachs or a pig’s uteri sitting beside some bovine naughty-bits does not sound very appetizing. I can’t be the only person to have pulled out a bag of giblets from the cavity of an oven-ready chicken with a little bit of disgust before throwing it away. But how come beef brains are delicacies in many places, and chicken intestines enjoyed as snacks?

I find it extremely interesting how our culture generally does not embrace animal “offal” (pronounced like “awful”, this term is defined as organ and entrail meat). Who might not enjoy fine steak medallions charred on the outside, but succulent and red on the inside, or a slice of chicken roasted on a brick? How about a breast of duck doctored up with a warm raspberry coulis? These types of dishes sound a lot more common than those that spotlight variety meats. Although it’s a pleasure to hunt a good set of ribs or gather a quality chicken breast, perhaps many of us are missing out on the gamut of edible meats.

Many cultures in both the past and present utilize the entirety of the animal; predatory animals do the same thing in the wild. Along with the muscle and fat, the lions we see on Animal Planet help themselves to the viscera of the prey they hunt down. A cat breeder once told me how some feline food products promise “no organ-based ingredients” in their victuals. She told me confoundedly that the organs were what held very concentrated amounts of nutrients. Variety meats tend to be cheaper, most likely due to the fact that a lot of us do not prefer them. However, foodrepublic.com highly recommends that you obtain organs from “grass-fed, fully pastured” and “non feed-lot” livestock. The diets of given to cattle, for instance, on large factory farms are indigestible, and the medications and not-so-pastoral living space contributes to the degradation of the meats. The website also gives advice on how to be more resourceful with animal parts: animal fats can be used to flavor everyday meals or as spreading oils for pan-frying. If you are curious, here are brief descriptions of some variety meats:

Heart

The heart is not considered an organ, but a complex network of muscles. The heart is a source replete with iron, protein, selenium, and various B vitamins. Some of those include Vitamin B2 (helps with growth and energy), Vitamin B3 (beneficial for skin and cholesterol), and Vitamin B12 (cell reproduction and the production of red blood cells). Beef heart can be prepared in a variety of ways, including in stir fries, stews, and steaks. Recipes often serve beef hearts with red wine sauces in order to enrich the taste.

Here is a reference for beef heart if you would like to learn more: http://nutrition.healthgrove.com/l/17560/Beef-Heart

Tripe

Tripe is the lining extracted from the stomach, typically of cows. Different parts of cattle's’ tripe can be enjoyed, including “blanket tripe”, “honeycomb tripe”, and “reed tripe”. Tripe, like many organ meats, are high in cholesterol, so keep in consideration the balance of your diet (go to the link below for more information about serving sizes and more detailed nutrition facts). This delicacy is also high in selenium, an antioxidant that inhibits cell damage and assists the immune system. Tripe also has Vitamin B12 as well as zinc, which facilitates the functions of thyroid and insulin. Tripe tends to be a slow-cooking edible; it is popularly deep fried or prepared Roman-style in a flavorful sauce. These organs are also stuffed with vegetables, rice, and other meats or used in soups.

Here is a reference for tripe if you would like to learn more:

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/benefits-tripe-10659.html

KIDNEYS

Kidneys, often taken from pigs and cattle, are rich with iron and provide a great source of selenium and a tub-load of B vitamins. The kidneys contain more protein than a typical steak. Kidneys are high in cholesterol. This form of offal can be prepared in numerous ways including in chili, soups, and pies.

LIVER

Also high in cholesterol, liver tends to be favored in poultry and beef. Also loaded with iron and B vitamins, liver is especially notable for its bounty in vitamin A, which is beneficial for your ocular cells and your body’s synthesis of mucous and skin cells. You often see liver prepared like steaks, but this type of offal can be doctored up in many creative ways, like all of the organ meats.

Here is a reference for kidney and liver if you would like to learn more:

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/health-benefits-kidney-liver-meat-2714.html

BRAINS

The favorite of all our zombie friends, the cognitive organ is composed mainly of fats, including DHA, which can help lower your likelihood of getting cardiovascular problems. Protein is in abundance in addition to selenium and copper (great for cellular energy and connective tissues). There is no shortage of B vitamins in the brain either.

Here is a reference for brains if you would like to learn more:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/360367-nutrition-value-of-beef-brain/

TONGUE

Cow’s tongue contains B vitamins, zinc, potassium, and sodium, as well as a lot of fats. Tongue is often pickled or used to texture lengua, a Mexican sauce.

Here is a reference for cow tongue if you would like to learn more:

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/nutrition-cow-tongue-1762.html

There many more variety meats that I have not mentioned (are you disappointed that the naughty-bits are left out?), and if you would like to experiment with offal, make sure to check out a prominent cookbook titled The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating (by Fergus Henderson).

Sometimes the variety meats explained above can be contaminated with harmful bacteria, including bovine spongiform encephalitis (“mad cow disease”) in cow brains, so please, for the sake of your health, be careful of trying these types of meats. In addition, if your cholesterol is of concern, be cautious of the serving sizes you consume.

Additional Works Cited

Bible, Adam. "Offal good meats: make meaty moves to feed more muscle by looking for protein in improbable places." Flex, Nov. 2016, p. 80. Culinary Arts Collection, libraries.state.ma.us/login?gwurl=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=PPCA&sw=w&u=mlin_s_norhs&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA468335303&it=r&asid=cc837d3f64f456644cceb2e9ce29d397.

http://www.foodrepublic.com/2015/07/02/a-guide-to-eating-offal-the-most-overlooked-cuts-of-meat/