Giblets is a culinary term for the edible offal of a fowl, typically including the heart, gizzard, liver, and other organs.[ "giblet" at Reference.com]
A whole bird from a butcher is often packaged with the giblets, sometimes sealed in a bag within the body cavity. The neck is often included with the giblets; in the West it is usually separated from the body during butchering.
History
In his 19th century culinary dictionary,
Alexandre Dumas defines giblets as "the comb and kidneys of the rooster, the wing tips of hens, the spinal marrow, gizzard, and neck of the turkey, calves' sweetbreads and brains". They can be made as a standalone dish with beef marrow bouillon, mushrooms, artichoke, truffles (when in season) and celery. This giblet dish can be served as a
casserole with rice, or used as a filling for the pastry
vol-au-vent. This was considered daily fare, and not intended for special occasions.
[Alexandre Dumas' Dictionary of Cuisine, 1873]
Culture
There are a number of recipes that use giblets. If a bird is to be stuffed, the giblets are traditionally chopped and added to the
stuffing; however, the USDA recommends cooking giblets separately from the rest of the bird.
[USDA Cooking and Food Handling (Cooking Frozen Foods) ] If not, they can be used for other purposes, such as
giblet pie or, a Southern U.S. favorite, giblet gravy. With the exception of giblet gravy, the liver is not usually included in these recipes, as its strong flavor tends to overpower other ingredients. It may be used in liver-specific recipes, such as pâté or
yakitori. Giblets can also be used to make
alicot, a
France stew.
In Turkish cuisine, iç pilav is a traditional pilaf dish, made with rice, chicken liver, nuts, and spices.
In Gurkha cuisine, giblets are cooked with chili pepper and tomato and relished as a side dish or appetizer known as karchi marchi.
Giblets are common in Taiwanese cuisine.
Most poultry, especially those sold in supermarkets, is not sold with the giblets included. Giblets can be bought separately from a butcher, but the demand for human consumption is low in most Western countries, so they are more often sold to pet food manufacturers.
External links
