Offal
Offal is the entrails and
internal organs of a butchered
animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of organs, but includes most internal organs other than
muscles or
bones. Depending on the cultural context, offal may be considered as waste material that is thrown away, or as delicacies that command a high price. Offal not used directly for human or animal food is often processed in a
rendering plant, producing material that is used for
animal feed,
fertilizer or
fuel.
Europe
In some parts of Europe,
brain,
chitterlings or
andouilles (pig's large intestine),
feet or
trotters,
gizzard (bird's crop),
heart,
head (of pigs or calves),
kidney,
liver,
lights (lung),
sweetbreads (thymus or pancreas),
tongue, and
tripe (stomach) from various mammals are common menu items.
The traditional Scottish
haggis consists of sheep stomach stuffed with a boiled mix of liver, heart, lungs, rolled oats and other ingredients. In the
UK Midlands
faggots are made from ground or minced pig offal (mainly liver and cheek), bread, herbs and onion wrapped in pig's
caul.
Steak and kidney pie (typically featuring veal or beef kidneys) is widely known and enjoyed in Britain.
Brawn is the British term for "
head cheese" or the collection of meat and tissue found on an animal's skull (typically a pig) that is chilled and set in gelatin.
In
Greece,
splinantero consists of liver, spleen and small intestine, roasted over an open fire. A festive variety is
kokoretsi: pieces of lamb offal (liver, heart, lungs, spleen, kidney and fat) are pierced on a spit and covered by washed small intestine wound around in a tube-like fashion. Kokoretsi is then roasted over coal fire. It is a traditional
Easter feature food. Another traditional Easter food is
Mageiritsa: a soup made with lamb or kid's offal and lettuce in a white sauce.
Tzigerosarmas and
Gardoympa are two varieties of
splinantero and
kokoretsi made in different sizes and with extra spices to improve the taste.
In
Italy consumption of entrails and internal organs is quite widespread, among the most popular preparations are fried or stewed brain, boiled intestines (
Trippa), often served with tomato sauce,
lampredotto (one of the cow intestines), boiled in broth and seasoned with parsley sauce and chili, liver (stir-fried with onions, roasted), kidneys, heart and coronaries (
coratella or
animelle), head, eyes, testicles of pig, several preparations are based on chicken entrails.
Latin America
In some Latin American countries,
tripe is used to make
menudo; in others, like
Peru, cow heart is used for
anticuchos - a sort of
brochettes.
In
Brazil,
churrasco often includes
chicken hearts, roasted in a big skewer. The typical
feijoada often contains pork trimmings (ears, feet and tail). Gizzard stews, fried beef liver and beef stomach stews are also popular dishes.
Asia
In
China many organs and animal-parts are used for food or
traditional Chinese medicine.
In
Japan chicken offal is often skewered and grilled over charcoal as
yakitori, to be served alongside drinks in
izakayas (Japanese food-pubs).
In
Korea and
Japan, offal (especially from cattle) is often served in Korean barbecue restaurants. See
bulgogi (in Korea) and
yakiniku (in Japan).
US and Canada
In the United States, offal is less often used for human consumption. Sometimes the euphemism "variety meats" is used. Offal is somewhat more popular in the
American South where some recipes include
chitterlings,
hog maw, or other offal.
Scrapple, made from pork offal, is fairly common in the Northeast US.
Fried-brain sandwiches are a specialty of St. Louis, Missouri. Some traditional recipes for turkey gravy include the bird's
giblets.
Certain organs of certain animals are unsafe to consume. The liver of
Polar bear and other polar animals is so high in
vitamin A that it can have a toxic effect on human metabolism. The internal organs of the
Fugu pufferfish are highly toxic and in Japan can only be prepared by trained master chefs, working under extremely strict regulations and licensing. Some animal intestines may be very high in
coliform bacteria and need to be washed and cooked thoroughly to be safe for eating. Other offal (especially nervous tissue) may be contaminated with
TSE prions; in some jurisdictions these offal classified as
specified risk materials are subject to special regulations.
Offal is usually very high in
purines. People suffering from
gout should avoid offal in their diet.
The practice of feeding raw offal to work dogs on farms and ranches is known to spread
echinococcosis.
The words
offal and
awful are
homophones — one dictionary shows the pronunciation of
awful as being the same as the most frequent pronunciation of
offal — a fact which offers opportunity for many inevitable
puns.
*
Pronunciation of offal*
Pronunciation of awful
