This food is something that one either likes or dislikes. There is no gray area. Why I like this particular food is unknown to me. I do recall, however, having my 1st taste as a young child, before I knew what it was.
Maybe it's a texture thing: chewy interior with a crispy fried exterior. Sometimes, I just like to "work" at my food. And I do actually enjoy the "mouth feel" of these tasty tidbits.
Or maybe it's the subtle garlic, salt and red pepper seasoning blend added to the flour that is a perfect complement to texture of this particular food. A little spice that can be cooled down with a favorite dipping sauce (barbecue works well).
And what tasty morsel am I talking about?
Chicken gizzards, of course!
A special thanks to Cindy Lepp, over at AllRecipes.
I used her recipe as a starting point in preparation of the gizzards above.
And now for a quick lesson: What exactly is a "gizzard"?
A gizzard is a secondary stomach used by birds to "grind" their food before digestion. A bird does not have teeth. Because of that they need a way to help break down their food. What some (but not all birds) do is swallow small stones. These end up in the gizzard, which has a tough inner membrane surrounded by a muscular pouch. This muscular pouch provides the grinding action.
End notes: My 10 year old son tried these for the 1st time yesterday (when I made them) and really enjoyed them. My daughter, not so much. Regardless, I hope this post allows you to open your mind to something that may not have been on your food radar in the past. Maybe, just maybe, you will enjoy them as much as I.
4 comments:
mmmmmm... I love them, too! I think I love them because my mom used to feed me all kinds of what I always called "farm food". She grew up on a farm and they used EVERYTHING! There are many foods on the list that I do not enjoy... tripe and cow tongue soup among them... but chicken gizzards and livers are a secret (or not so much now!)indulgence of mine as well! I probably don't even eat them once a year... but when I do, I am a very happy woman! : )
oh, and I don't know why, but I always eat them with marinara sauce. The flavors work together very well!
Man, now I want some!
hmmmm, I don't know about these, they look great though! Isn't it funny how some of those craving stick with ya, and your just not satisfied till you have it? :)
They look yummy... it must be one of those things that you don't think about WHAT you're eating and just enjoying the flavor and texture... for me it's calamari. I just don't think of it as squid. Gizzards sound much better than stomachs! LOL!
My Dad remembers feeding the chickens "sand" so they could digest their food, and I have no doubt he's had these before! I would give these a try! The picture looks great!
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