Author Topic: Offal - do you eat it?  (Read 1673 times)

Re: Offal - do you eat it?
« Reply #50 on: June 12, 2012, 02:06:19 PM »
My main issues are with texture and more unusual (or usual, but unwanted) smells- eg as a kid, eating roe was fine, but soft roe made me want to gag..which since it's fish spunk, must put me in the first of spit/swallow/gargle...I've also had the joy in the past of some rather pissy-smelling kidneys, but it's hasn't  put me off steak n kidney pudding

Since butchers shops have all but disappeared, people just aren't used to seeing anything else and have got squeamish about it. Tho' I must admit not being awfully convinced after asking my mother what the white carpet-like stuff in the butchers window was (ie tripe). ISTR something on the telly last year about offal use, and a bunch of people going 'yakk' over cooking some ox tongue - it didn't even occur to me it was offal since it was so common in the 60s and 70's.  Which reminds me, one of my favourite things was haslet (assorted pigs innards AFAIA) - haven't seen that in years..

I must admit I'm not a huge meat eater - and have to be in the right mood to eat a lump of rare steak - but it seems a bit disrespectful to kill something and not eat or make efficient use of it. Tho' I think I'd draw the line at 'connective tissue', as used to bulk up cheap sausages, and grisly bits and lumps of fat (as in white/black pud) get pushed to one side...

Re: Offal - do you eat it?
« Reply #51 on: June 12, 2012, 02:56:11 PM »
The French typically eat the inside and wear the outside of any living creature.  Good luck to them.  Even their supermarkets reveal where meat comes from (see rows of dead, skinned rabbits, dead and unplucked chickens, live seafood swimming about in tanks...etc). You can always hear British adults and children making "that's disgusting" comments in French supermarkets whereas the French are presumably saying "that looks scrummy".

They've retained that association between animal and food that we've lost (Where Chicken comes from Nuggets).
It's like Mrs B's reaction (which I think may be typically Japanese) to the sight of almost any marine fauna, particularly crustaceans: "Yum yum!".  :thumbsup:
"Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" Benjamin Franklin

Julian

  • samoture
Re: Offal - do you eat it?
« Reply #52 on: June 12, 2012, 06:01:31 PM »
My 2012 goal is to get out and shoot some rabbits for a pie I have in mind.  I'd very much like to close that gap between animals and food as currently my Rabbit comes in the form of convenient diced cubes.

Me too.  I've said it before, although I have no plans to stop eating meat, my ideal diet would be vegan apart from anything I raise and / or kill myself.

If you want to know how to skin, gut and butcher your rabbit (as well as useful tips on myxy etc) then I heartily recommend this course which i did a few months ago.  The woman who runs it is ace, and although she farms the rabbits she has plenty of useful hints on what to do if you're shooting them (take lots of kitchen roll to stuff the cavity for example).  I know I can shoot a rabbit, but that course has given me the confidence on what to do next!

Re: Offal - do you eat it?
« Reply #53 on: June 12, 2012, 06:13:57 PM »
My 2012 goal is to get out and shoot some rabbits for a pie I have in mind.  I'd very much like to close that gap between animals and food as currently my Rabbit comes in the form of convenient diced cubes.

Me too.  I've said it before, although I have no plans to stop eating meat, my ideal diet would be vegan apart from anything I raise and / or kill myself.

If you want to know how to skin, gut and butcher your rabbit (as well as useful tips on myxy etc) then I heartily recommend this course which i did a few months ago.  The woman who runs it is ace, and although she farms the rabbits she has plenty of useful hints on what to do if you're shooting them (take lots of kitchen roll to stuff the cavity for example).  I know I can shoot a rabbit, but that course has given me the confidence on what to do next!



 :D

My paternal grandfather kept rabbits throughout the war. They were never short of meat..
Not fast & rarely furious

tweeting occasional in(s)anities as andrewxclark

citoyen

  • Cat 6 Racer
Offal - do you eat it?
« Reply #54 on: June 12, 2012, 07:24:19 PM »
If you want to know how to skin, gut and butcher your rabbit (as well as useful tips on myxy etc) then I heartily recommend this course which i did a few months ago. 

Ooh, that looks like it could be just the thing for me! (I think I may have mentioned our rabbit problem previously.)

d.
The UCI are terrorists, clowns, liars, no different to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

Re: Offal - do you eat it?
« Reply #55 on: June 14, 2012, 11:14:48 AM »
My 2012 goal is to get out and shoot some rabbits for a pie I have in mind.  I'd very much like to close that gap between animals and food as currently my Rabbit comes in the form of convenient diced cubes.

Me too.  I've said it before, although I have no plans to stop eating meat, my ideal diet would be vegan apart from anything I raise and / or kill myself.

If you want to know how to skin, gut and butcher your rabbit (as well as useful tips on myxy etc) then I heartily recommend this course which i did a few months ago.  The woman who runs it is ace, and although she farms the rabbits she has plenty of useful hints on what to do if you're shooting them (take lots of kitchen roll to stuff the cavity for example).  I know I can shoot a rabbit, but that course has given me the confidence on what to do next!

+2 from me. I even have shooting rights agreed with a local farmer. Unfortunately my Dad has confiscated my air rifle to assist in his ongoing war with the local corvids. Hes had it 18 months now and shows no signs of giving it back. Mindy you at 70 he still wont use a scope just open sights and is still a far better shot than I will probably ever be.
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Paul Metcalfe

  • I've got very beautiful lips.
Re: Offal - do you eat it?
« Reply #56 on: June 14, 2012, 11:25:00 AM »
My 2012 goal is to get out and shoot some rabbits for a pie I have in mind.  I'd very much like to close that gap between animals and food as currently my Rabbit comes in the form of convenient diced cubes.

Me too.  I've said it before, although I have no plans to stop eating meat, my ideal diet would be vegan apart from anything I raise and / or kill myself.

If you want to know how to skin, gut and butcher your rabbit (as well as useful tips on myxy etc) then I heartily recommend this course which i did a few months ago.  The woman who runs it is ace, and although she farms the rabbits she has plenty of useful hints on what to do if you're shooting them (take lots of kitchen roll to stuff the cavity for example).  I know I can shoot a rabbit, but that course has given me the confidence on what to do next!

That course looks good and is just 30 mins away.

There are (disturbingly?) plenty of You Tube vids on the topic of preparing your shot rabbit as well.

Julian...you basically attended a Rabbit murdering class...excellent.  What technique did you use?  A car bomb would be my choice but I'm not "country folk".

I think it should be available to school children actually, get us in touch with food again.

Jamie Oliver did a superb job when he demonstrated, to children, the process (and ingredients) used to make their chicken nuggets.  It seemed to comprise mainly of recovering the pink sludge from chickens, the stuff that was left when the nice bits had been taken.

Re: Offal - do you eat it?
« Reply #57 on: June 14, 2012, 11:47:42 AM »
I grew up eating pretty much anything, so liver, kidney etc are all on the "yum" list.

My grandmother cooked tongue and I could never quite get my tastebuds to work with me on that one...usually eaten very heavily hidden in my mashed potato!  I was rather confused as a child however as one of the flat fish is called "tongue" in Swedish, so I was never sure which they were serving til I got to the table...

Sweden has some interesting foods which I always enjoyed (and was usually the only one going for seconds at school when they served), including pölsa-which is nothing like the Norwegian pølse which is just sausage.  Pölsa is the closest equivalent in content to haggis I guess, but closer in consistency (and colour) to gruel.  Served with pickled beetroot of the sweet non-vinegary variety.  Yummy!  ;)  It is apparently known as "lungemos" (mashed lungs) in Norwegian!   :o  We also do a form of black pudding (called blodpudding-blood pudding) which is delicious with lingonberries.

I have eaten sheep's brains once.  I prefer not to repeat the experience as the texture made me gag.  Ditto oysters and snails, on a slight tangent-they're just a bit rubbery for me!

For reasons unknown, I haven't actually had heart, tripe or sweetmeats/breads (I can never remember which is which but haven't had either).  I do have a slightly guilty penchant for foie gras though, which I learned to adore long before I knew the animal welfare issues!  I'd happily learn to kill, skin and eat my own food and am entirely unsqueamish about where it comes from.  Venison, elk and reindeer are all on my "happy to eat" list too   ;D



Re: Offal - do you eat it?
« Reply #58 on: June 14, 2012, 11:50:06 AM »
Its weird what people will and wont eat. I cant get my taste buds top appreciate seafood. It drives me potty. I love the idea of lobster and langustine etc but every time I try I just hate the taste.
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Julian

  • samoture
Re: Offal - do you eat it?
« Reply #59 on: June 14, 2012, 11:54:35 AM »
Julian...you basically attended a Rabbit murdering class...excellent.  What technique did you use?  A car bomb would be my choice but I'm not "country folk".


A device called a "quick rabbit" which they sell at Hook Farm - it's a long arm attached to the shed wall, you pop Bunny's head into it, grab the back legs and yank.  Instant ex-bunny.  If you do the chicken course, they show you how to use a broom handle to break the chicken's neck, but rabbits don't like being upside down and will scream.  No screams from my rabbit = guaranteed ethically killed.  Apparently an unhappy rabbit will let you know of its distress quite loudly :(

;D to the car bomb.  Not sure you'd have much rabbit left.

Re: Offal - do you eat it?
« Reply #60 on: June 14, 2012, 12:19:24 PM »
Trying to de-bone a rabbit is interesting.  I had to do it for a recipe a while ago and it took ages and I was left with lots of scrappy bits. Either I need a lesson on how to do this or maybe I will just give up and just joint them in future.
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Cudzoziemiec

  • You can sleep on the train back home.
Re: Offal - do you eat it?
« Reply #61 on: June 14, 2012, 12:27:25 PM »
I think it should be available to school children actually, get us in touch with food again.
Seriously. (Unless you're talking about car bombs!) And vegetables too. It would be good if all school children had the opportunity to behead a chicken (or whatever you do with it) and dig up potatoes.
Yet Another Custard Tart.

Re: Offal - do you eat it?
« Reply #62 on: June 14, 2012, 11:24:35 PM »

For reasons unknown, I haven't actually had heart, tripe or sweetmeats/breads (I can never remember which is which but haven't had either).  I do have a slightly guilty penchant for foie gras though, which I learned to adore long before I knew the animal welfare issues!  I'd happily learn to kill, skin and eat my own food and am entirely unsqueamish about where it comes from.  Venison, elk and reindeer are all on my "happy to eat" list too   ;D
Tripe is best discovered in Normandy - "tripes a la mode de Caen" is an excellent introduction. It's (yet another) good excuse for taking a bike to explore the quieter parts of Pays d'Auge (route du cidre) .  The English style of cooking is heavier; a robust food for a cooler climate, but quicker to prepare IMO.

Re: Offal - do you eat it?
« Reply #63 on: June 14, 2012, 11:35:46 PM »
Trying to de-bone a rabbit is interesting.  I had to do it for a recipe a while ago and it took ages and I was left with lots of scrappy bits. Either I need a lesson on how to do this or maybe I will just give up and just joint them in future.
I wouldn't bother to de-bone a rabbit until it was cooked. Skinning, gutting & jointing are pretty straightforward. Boning isn't. Wild rabbits are usually best stewed. The stew will be improved by including the bones anyway.

Re: Offal - do you eat it?
« Reply #64 on: June 15, 2012, 09:09:14 AM »
Trying to de-bone a rabbit is interesting.  I had to do it for a recipe a while ago and it took ages and I was left with lots of scrappy bits. Either I need a lesson on how to do this or maybe I will just give up and just joint them in future.
I wouldn't bother to de-bone a rabbit until it was cooked. Skinning, gutting & jointing are pretty straightforward. Boning isn't. Wild rabbits are usually best stewed. The stew will be improved by including the bones anyway.

I've only ever de-boned rabbit for game pie.
We are making a New World (Paul Nash, 1918)

citoyen

  • Cat 6 Racer
Offal - do you eat it?
« Reply #65 on: June 17, 2012, 10:02:59 PM »
"Mr Leopold Bloom ate with relish the inner organs of beasts and fowls. He liked thick giblet soup, nutty gizzards, a stuffed roast heart, liverslices fried with crustcrumbs, fried hencods' roes. Most of all he liked grilled mutton kidneys which gave to his palate a fine tang of faintly scented urine.”

(Thanks to Radio 4 for reminding me of that pertinent quote yesterday.)

d.
The UCI are terrorists, clowns, liars, no different to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

Eccentrica Gallumbits

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Re: Offal - do you eat it?
« Reply #66 on: June 17, 2012, 10:19:18 PM »
nutty gizzards
:o
That must have been his worst ever fettling injury.
My feminist marxist dialectic brings all the boys to the yard.




Wowbagger

  • Colossal tandem floozie
    • Musings of a Gentleman Cyclist
Re: Offal - do you eat it?
« Reply #67 on: June 17, 2012, 11:04:34 PM »
nutty gizzards
:o
That must have been his worst ever fettling injury.

 ;D Brilliant!

citoyen

  • Cat 6 Racer
Offal - do you eat it?
« Reply #68 on: June 18, 2012, 08:12:39 AM »
nutty gizzards
:o
That must have been his worst ever fettling injury.

;D

d.
The UCI are terrorists, clowns, liars, no different to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.