Plenty of people eat ducks and chickens, but many are unaware they are throwing out some of the best bits with the entrails. Hearts, livers and even gizzards can make excellent eating, though that last one will take some serious prep work. Read on for how to clean a gizzard for use in gravy, or as even more substantial fare.
Method 1: The Shallow Slice
The easiest way to start is by shallowly slicing the gizzard right down the center to expose the yellow grit sac. If you end up slicing more deeply its not a problem from a culinary standpoint, but the rocks within can dull your knife. Open this sac up and dump it out. It smells terrible, so its best to do this outside, where you can also use a hose. You certainly don’t want to dump gravel down the kitchen sink. Once clean, cut the rest of the yellow membrane away from the two large muscles and violá! You have a clean gizzard.
Method 2: The Slice and Dice
A potentially easier way that the above is to simply slice the muscles right off the exterior of the gizzard. This requires less prep, and less cleaning. Be warned, however. You should have taken a gizzard apart before doing this to familiarize yourself with how its built, as knowledge of the anatomy is required to keep yourself from rupturing the grit sac.
Once either of the above processes are done, trim away silverskin like you would with any other piece of meat. You can skip this step on the smaller gizzards, and the skin will tenderize when cooked. From here its up to you whether they end up in the fryer or the slow cooker. Bon appètit!
A humble homesteader based in an undisclosed location, Lars Drecker splits his time between tending his little slice of self-sustaining heaven, and bothering his neighbors to do his work for him. This is mainly the fault of a debilitating predilection for fishing, hunting, camping and all other things outdoors. When not engaged in any of the above activities, you can normally find him broken down on the side of the road, in some piece of junk he just “fixed-up.”
Scott A. says
Charcoal grilled with fresh minced garlic/olive oil is my go-to.
Neil H Welch says
gizzards and hearts do well together, simply saute in butter and red wine. Serve as snacks, or puree for a nice down-home country-style hummus.