We are great fans of offal of all types. Our favourite is chicken liver. On the days we are dispatching our meat chickens, a special lunch time treat is their livers and hearts. The necks we freeze for a later day. We are fortunate in having ready access to offal because we produce our own meat. It has become increasingly difficult to find offal in supermarkets. Lambs kidneys, which at one time were commonly available, can be a devil to find these days. However, even when we take livestock to the abattoir we have to make a point of stating we want the offal back too as they will otherwise automatically discard it along with the rest of the innards.
I realise that many people dislike or are not keen on offal, perhaps because of the strong flavour. One other reason for this might be past experience of school meals when liver and bacon was on the menu. The liver was tough and dry. Offal can be difficult to get right. Cooking a moment too long and toughness sets in. Thats why quick stir fry, in my experience, is the best approach.
Today I decided to cook a mixed offal dish consisting of mutton kidney, liver and heart. Ginger, garlic and chilli provided added flavours. Stir fried spinach, picked from the greenhouse this afternoon, accompanied it. Not the typical Sunday roast, but we enjoyed it just the same. I would like to say that the whole meal was home produced, as many of our dinners are, but it was served with basmati rice. After lots of research I have reluctantly concluded that growing rice is not a realistic option in our climate.
I've been wondering what happens to the offal at abattoirs these days. Does some go to make pet food? In the interests of nose-to-tail consumption I checked out the supermarket meat counter last week. They had some rather expensive liver. It does seem wrong that so much of the animal is wasted. I agree that school dinners did put many of us off the offal. But I must try again. I agree that it's hard to grow rice in Suffolk. What about quinoa?
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