The Organ Meats thread
 

I am NOT a fan of offal, but many are and there seems to be a recent uptick of things being prepared snout/beak-to-tail. Recently I went to a yakitori joint and had some pretty tasty things, but on the whole, it's just not for me.

(Do we include foie gras in this?)

The few things I've enjoyed:
FOIE GRAS (since, technically, it's an internal organ I suppose).
Chicken heart - Aforementioned yakitori place not only served us chicken hearts, but separated the atria and ventricles out onto separate skewers... and they were damn tasty!
Liverwurst, especially Braunschweige - don't ask, I just like it.

Other than that, everything else just tastes gamey to me. I can't handle the liver and onions, and chicken gizzards and livers are just... no thank you!

Maybe if I pour Sriracha on everything...

It's all good! (Although some things need to be well cleaned)

:D Of course!

Offal is not a staple part of my diet, but I do enjoy certain types. I really like beef tongue, especially in Asian cuisine (Korean BBQ and any kind of various hot pots).

I had a fantastic spicy hot pot in Tainan with cubes of duck blood. Very rich and delicious.

Chicken hearts at my favorite churrasco restaurant are a nice treat. I don't fill up on them, but I do like them.

Every now and then I'll get pho with tripe in it. I usually end up regretting it as it tends to have that "funky" flavor.

My grandmother would make a pretty good pan-fried liver and onions which I loved as a kid. I haven't had it since she died.

I need to get over my fear of prions so I can try brain at some point. I'm told it's quite good. (Brains... not just for zombies!)

Of course, that's the idea. Sweetbreads are my favorite meat; you don't see them much any more. My favorites are barbequed, like at a few places in the central coast of California (though I detest the sweet barbeque sauce that some places add) or fried in bacon fat at Vidalia in Washington, DC.

I have also had nice sweetbreads and chicken hearts at Brazilian churrascurias.

Bladder, from the pig I think, is popular in some French cuisine. At Pierre Gagnaire, I had foie gras inside of this, and it was blown up like a balloon. They cut away this part and brought back the foie gras, presumably with the flavor infused from the organ. It was a delicious and memorable dish. Any French offal, where it's often roasted and chopped up, is excellent.

I am also not a fan of calf or chicken liver, or most of the interchangeable offal that many Chinese restaurants serve.

Rognon a la moutarde - yum.

Just realize rognon blanc ain't kidney in white sauce.

I've never got on with the flavour of kidneys, but I'll eat pretty much anything else. Staying true to my roots, haggis is an incredibly tasty dish, and it's probably a good thing that you can only get it where I live around January! It has pretty much everything in it - even the lights if properly prepared.

There are all sorts of tasty type of liver out there - goose is probably my favourite, although I tend to avoid foie gras, as it seems unnecessary. A good (normally raised) goose liver is a thing of beauty in itself.

Brain isn't unpleasant, but old fashioned brawn is a little much for me.

Tripe needs to be well prepared. You do get some awful stuff, but I've had some memorable fish and tripe dishes in Spain, as well as some decent andouillette.

In Kazakhstan, I had some dish that was made up sheep offal: chopped up heart, liver, kidney, and lungs (yes, lungs). It was actually pretty good.

My mom makes a tasty liver and onions.

I've never knowingly eaten brains. I have no aversion to it, I just haven't had the occasion to.

Lamb brains are common in Lebanese cuisine, especially as a cold starter. It's awful in my opinion -- sort of like soft, spongy scrambled eggs with a not-very-distinctive flavor.

I don't really like livers. They are too soft and got an after taste makes the back of my tongue feels slimy. But I love kidney and hearts. Pig hearts are the best!

I had a good "mosh pit" (the texture, that is) of sheep's brain in Marrakech, at Djemma el-Fna. Probably went down ok since cumin was present.

At a restaurant in Palermo, I thought I ordered a vegetable-laden focaccia dish. Turns out it was u pani ca meusa, or bread with spleen. Guess I should practice my English...

Another haggis lover. I like the taste of tongue, but i've found it harder to eat since I saw my mother prepare one from scratch :eek:

Can't stand kidney though, since I know what they do and what they are filled with (it's never all going to come out :o). If I have a steak and kidney pie, i'll pick out the kidneys (while admitting they add to the flavour).

Liver I can eat with other things, but not a fan of liver and onions (I don't think, haven't had in years, maybe time to retry?)

My old Mum used to do that but I still love it, always got some in the fridge as well as Liver.

Still can't eat Tripe though, she used to cook it for my Dad and it stank the house out ( as did Winkles )

I love haggis.

Yes, it's not for the squeamish. My great-gran used to press a tongue every New Year (we'd eat it for lunch on Ne'erday), which inevitably meant she was preparing it on Hogmanay, meaning that we were constantly on the lookout for her doing things like leaving wooden spoons on a gas stove, etc.

Tasted great, though.

Likes:
Sweetbreads
Goose and chicken liver pate, but not true FG due to the means by which they produce it.
Pig intestines
Tripe, if prepared properly
Chicken/turkey giblets in gravies and stuffings
Uni (sea urchin gonads, I believe)
Ankimo (monkfish liver)
Amaebi (sweet water shrimp) heads which have been either deep fried or cooked in miso.
Lobster tomalley (liver and pancreas)
Pork belly (cured or smoked)

Dislikes:
Kidneys
Mammalian liver
Brains (Mmmmmm, brains)
Tongue
Testicles
Eyes (fish, fowl or mammal)
Pig ears (wife likes these)
Duck or chicken blood
Snouts