Discover

'Offal' is the entrails and internal organs of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of organs, but includes most internal organs other than muscles or bones. Depending on the cultural context, offal may be considered as waste material that is thrown away, or as delicacies that command a high price. Offal not used directly for human or animal food is often processed in a rendering plant, producing material that is used for animal feed, fertilizer or fuel.

Contents

Offal as food, by region

Europe

Latin America

Asia

US and Canada

Australia

Food safety issues

References

Offal as food, by region

Europe

In some parts of Europe, brain, chitterlings or andouilles (pig's large intestine), feet or trotters, gizzard, heart, head (of pigs or calves), kidney, liver, "lights" (lung), sweetbreads (thymus or pancreas or both), tongue, snout (nose) and tripe (stomach) from various mammals are common menu items.
The traditional Scottish haggis consists of sheep stomach stuffed with a boiled mix of liver, heart, lungs, rolled oats and other ingredients. In the UK Midlands faggots are made from ground or minced pig offal (mainly liver and cheek), bread, herbs and onion wrapped in pig's caul. Steak and kidney pie (typically featuring veal or beef kidneys) is widely known and enjoyed in Britain. Brawn is an English term for "head cheese" or the collection of meat and tissue found on an animal's skull (typically a pig) that is chilled and set in gelatin.
Iceland has its own version of both haggis and brawn. The Icelandic brawn is always made from sheep and it is eaten either hot or cold off the bone or set in gelatin.
In Greece (and similarly in Turkey), ''splinantero'' consists of liver, spleen and small intestine, roasted over an open fire. A festive variety is ''kokoretsi'' (from Turkish ''kokoreç''): pieces of lamb offal (liver, heart, lungs, spleen, kidney and fat) are pierced on a spit and covered by washed small intestine wound around in a tube-like fashion. The kokoretsi is then roasted over coal fire. It is a traditional dish for Easter. Another traditional Easter food is ''mageiritsa'': a soup made with lamb or kid's offal and lettuce in a white sauce. ''Tzigerosarmas'' (from Turkish ''ciğer sarması'', meaning "liver wrap") and ''gardoympa'' are two varieties of ''splinantero'' and ''kokoretsi'' made in different sizes and with extra spices to improve the taste.
In Bulgaria, Republic of Macedonia and Turkey, Shkembe chorba is a widespread soup variety made from tripe.
In Italy consumption of entrails and internal organs is quite widespread, among the most popular preparations are fried or stewed brain, boiled intestines (Trippa), often served with tomato sauce, lampredotto (the fourth stomach of the cow), boiled in broth and seasoned with parsley sauce and chili, liver (stir-fried with onions, roasted), kidneys, heart and coronaries (coratella or animelle), head, eyes, testicles of pig, several preparations are based on chicken entrails. In Sicily, many enjoy a type of sandwich called "pani ca meusa", or bread with spleen and caciocavallo cheese. In Brooklyn, New York, where it is also commonly eaten, it goes by the name of Vastedda.
In Spain the visceral organs are used in many traditional dishes but their use is falling out of favor with the younger generations. Among traditional dishes are ''callos'' (cows intestines, very traditional in Madrid and Asturias), liver (often prepared with onion), kidneys (often prepared with Sherry wine), brains,''criadillas'' (bull's testicles), cow's tongue, etc.
In the French city of Marseille pig's trotters and a package of pig tripe are a traditional food under the name "pieds et paquets".

Latin America

In some Latin American countries, tripe is used to make menudo; in others, like Peru, cow heart is used for anticuchos - a sort of brochettes.
In Brazil, churrasco often includes chicken hearts, roasted in a big skewer. The typical feijoada sometimes contains pork trimmings (ears, feet and tail). Gizzard stews, fried beef liver and beef stomach stews used to be more popular dishes in the past, but are nonetheless still consumed.

Asia

In China, many organs and animal-parts are used for food or traditional Chinese medicine.
In Singapore, pig's organ soup is a common feature of hawker centres.
In Indonesia, goat's organs are very popular for soups. Almost all of the parts are eaten, including intestines, brain, and eyes.
In Japan chicken offal is often skewered and grilled over charcoal as ''yakitori'', to be served alongside drinks in an ''izakaya'' (Japanese food-pub). Offal originating from cattle is also an ingredient in certain dishes (see ''yakiniku'').
In the Philippines, people eat practically every part of the pig, including snout, intestines, ears, and innards. ''Dinuguan'' is a particular type of blood sausage made using pig intestines.
In Pakistan, the goat's brain (''maghaz''), feet (''paey''), head (''siri''), stomach (''ojhari'' or ''but''), tongue (''zabaan''), liver (''kalayji''), kidney (''gurda''), udder (''kheeri'') and testicles (''kapooray'') as well as chickens' heart and liver are enjoyed. One popular dish, ''Khata-Khat'', is a combination of brains, liver, kidneys and other organs.
In the state of Karnataka in southern India, a strong-smelling dish called ''rakhti'', made of heavily spiced porcine offal and cartilaginous tissue, is considered a homely indulgence by the local Christian community (observant Hindus and Muslims avoid pork products).
In Bangladesh, a goat's brain (''magoze''), feet (''paya''), head (''matha''), stomach skin (''bhuri''), tongue (''zihba''), liver (''kalija''), kidney and testicles are delicacies. Chickens' heart and liver are also enjoyed.
In Nepal, a goat's brain (''gidi''), feet (''khutta''), head (''tauko''), stomach skin (''bhudri''), tongue (''jibro''), liver (''kalejo''), kidney, lungs(''phokso''), fried intestines (''aandra''), fried solidified blood (''ragati'') and to a lesser extent testicles are considered delicacies and are in very high demand in Dashain when families congregate and enjoy them with whiskey and beer. Chickens' heart and liver are also enjoyed but it is chicken's gizzards that are truly prized.
In Lebanon, lamb brain is used in ''nikhaat'' dishes and sometimes as a sandwich filling. A tradition practiced less often today would be to eat fish eyes either raw, boiled, or fried.
In Iran, sheep liver, heart and kidneys are used as certain types of ''kebab'' and have a high popularity among people, as well as sheep intestines and stomach, though the latter is boiled. Sheep brains and tongue, alongside shins, as a type of breakfast, are boiled in water and eaten with traditional bread.

US and Canada

In the United States, the giblets of chickens, turkeys and ducks are much more commonly consumed than the organs of mammals, except for the liver, which is quite commonly eaten by people. Ground chicken livers, mixed with chicken fat and onions, called ''chopped liver'', is a popular staple with Jewish-Americans. In some parts of the country the euphemism "variety meats" is used for mammal organ meat. It is illegal to sell lungs or ''lights'' for food in the United States, although some ethnic groups have traditional dishes made from them (such as ''lungen stew'' among Jewish-Americans.) Mammal offal is somewhat more popular in the American South, where some recipes include chitterlings, chicken gizzards and livers, and hog maw. Scrapple, sometimes made from pork offal, is somewhat common in the Northeast US. Fried-brain sandwiches are a specialty in the Ohio River Valley. Traditional recipes for turkey gravy typically include the bird's giblets.

Australia

In Australia offal is most commonly consumed in meat pies, or in ethnic dishes. Food regulations since 2003 have lifted the prohibition of offal in the meat standard, which had previously specifically banned things such as snout, genital organs, lips, lungs and scalp. These may now be added to foods, but must be named specifically in the ingredients list (not just as "offal").^[1] The food standard also allows meat pies to contain snouts, ears, tongue roots, tendons and blood vessels without specific labelling.

Food safety issues

Certain organs of certain animals are unsafe to consume:

★ The liver of the polar bear and other polar animals is so high in vitamin A that it can have a toxic effect on the human metabolism.

★ The internal organs of the Fugu pufferfish are highly toxic—in Japan, fugu can only be prepared by trained master chefs, working under extremely strict regulations, sanitary conditions, and licensing. Even a residual portion of fugu toxin can be fatal.

★ Some animal intestines are very high in coliform bacteria and need to be washed and cooked thoroughly to be safe for eating.

★ Other offal (especially nervous tissue) may be contaminated with TSE prions, which cause bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, “mad cow disease”); in some jurisdictions these offal are classified as specified risk materials and are subject to special regulations.
Offal is usually very high in purines. People suffering from gout should avoid offal in their diet.
The practice of feeding raw offal to work dogs on farms and ranches is known to spread echinococcosis.

References

1. Choice: August 2003. p12.