Despatch day

Today we had chicken livers and hearts for lunch which is a sure indicator that we have been despatching more of the latest batch of broiler hens. We bought 20 x day old chicks in the Summer (actually there were 21 when we counted them at home when placing them in the brooder pen). Three more to do which we will finish tomorrow. This will vacate the chicken coop and run we use for this purpose until the next batch sometime in the Spring. We also have a freezer well stocked with chicken meat.

It’s tempting these days to get defensive about this aspect of our lives. But we are smallholders producing nearly all our own food and we eat meat, so to us it is a perfectly sensible thing to do. So I don’t intend to present it’s defence here other than to say that although it’s not a task I particularly relish, I do get satisfaction from doing it well. It is something I’ve become quite skilled at.

Here’s what I do with the chicken livers and hearts. The livers are cut into bite sized pieces. The hearts are cut in half long ways. This ensures that they cook at the same rate. I chop a spring onion, a clove of garlic and grate a small piece of ginger. In a pan or wok on a high heat all can be stir fried together. When the offal is browned all over I add a dash of soy sauce and some sweet chilli sauce. The latter adds some mild spice but also some sweetness to counterbalance the liver. Let it cook for a couple of minutes, but keep stirring. The key thing is not to overcook so as to toughen and dry out the liver but at the same time ensure it is cooked through. The result is some very tender and tasty liver. The hearts will have a firmer texture which goes well with the softer liver. In all it takes just a few minutes to prepare and cook. I serve it on Janet’s toasted sourdough bread with a fried egg. Worth a try if you have residual reservations about eating liver.