Monday evening and into Tuesday, temperatures plummeted to -5.
And you know what happened Monday night???????
WE LOST POWER!
Around 9pm, as I was rocking the baby to sleep, the power cut out. And the temperature in our house came down, quickly.
I believe the lowest it got in the house was in the 40's. Thank GOD pipes didn't burst like some of our neighbors did.
Whatever happened damaged a lot of electrical equipment, apparently. We were out from 9pm Monday evening until about 5pm Tuesday evening.
Wednesday morning there were crews outside EVERYWHERE still as all underground wiring had to be replaced - IN THE COLDEST FREAKING TEMPS IN OVER FREAKING 20 YEARSSSSSSSS!
Poor guys, but so thankful for them restoring power.
So, I didn't cook a meal on Tuesday night - instead I cleaned up from Monday nights meal. So, I do not have my TIOT meal recipe and review blog. However, Monday night I did make....
HEARTS AND GIZZARDS!!!!!!
and I snapped photos!
I WARN YOU BECAUSE WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE MIGHT BE GROSS TO YOU. LOL. BECAUSE FOR SOME REASON A GIZZARD IS GROSS BUT RAW GROUND MEAT OR A BLOODY STEAK OR LIVERS ARE NOT GROSS..... BUT WHATEVER. IF YOU ARE A WIMP, THIS MIGHT BE GROSS.
So, today's TIOT post will be my recipe (if you can even call it that) for Chicken Hearts and Gizzards!
CHICKEN HEARTS AND GIZZARDS
I've been eating hearts and gizzards since I was a kid. My step father introduced them to me, among many other ethnic foods. These really aren't ethnic, but I had never had them, and never would have if it hadn't been for him introducing us to different kinds of food. And, they are CHEAP. A serving offers over 30 grams of protein and at under $3.00 a package, it was a perfect food to feed our family.
I am not sure really where the gizzard is on a chicken, but I know it's part of the digestive tract that grinds up the food the chicken eats. And the heart is self explanatory.
Gizzards have a texture unlike any other 'meat' in that they are actually kind of crunchy. That's the best way to explain it.
My husband won't eat them at all due to the sound they make when I eat them, but he'll agree they smell amazing - so amazing my kid couldn't contain herself and she had to try them for herself.
Once way to reduce the 'crunchiness' is to boil them, they become tender. I only eat them boiled on Thanksgiving, when they have been sitting at the bottom of the roasting pan in the broth from the turkey. Otherwise, I make them like this......
You will need:
1 package thawed chicken hearts and gizzards
2 TBS butter
1 TBS olive oil
2 tsp each of: garlic powder, salt, pepper, onion powder, season salt
medium saute pan
Here is what to do:
First you need to prep the gizzards. There is a shiny white/blue (and inedible) membrane/connective tissue that connects the two edible chunks of meat together (how you like that for a description?)
(the gizzard - made up of two little meat chunks and connective tissue between)
That tissue/membrane needs to be removed. I think this is what turns most people off to gizzards because you really can't eat this part. You remove the tissue by flipping over the gizzard and separating it from the meat by sliding the knife between the meat the the tissue
(this is the gizzards backside - you can see where the lighter color is the white part on the other side and the darker area is the meat)
(I took a sharp knife and placed it where the skin and meat meet and slid the knife under it, separating the meat from the tissue)
(finished, prepped gizzard - little meat chunk on the bottom and the connective tissue at the top)
(here is my cutting board when complete - gizzard meat to the left, discarded tissue to the right)
DO NOT prep or eat a gizzard if it looks like the one above. I have no clue what that shit is but its gross and, just, no. Just throw it away!!!!
Melt the butter and the oil in a pan, throw them bad boys in there and put all seasoning and let cook on a medium high heat, stirring often.
I generally cook them until they have all turned dark brown - on med/high heat I would say maybe 20 minutes.
Viola! The finished product (green things are Brussels sprouts)
They are 'crunchy' - and I LOVE THAT TEXTURE. As does my 9 year old. As will you.
I eat these right out of the pan with the sauce that they create - I am sure they would be excellent over rice - if you are into that kind of thing.
I'm beginning to think chickens are heartless animals, because every time I buy a package of gizzards and hearts, there are 0 - 1 hearts and the pack says "mostly gizzards" so I don't have a heart photo but, if you happen to get one, you will know its a heart. And, there is no prep for those - just put those prized nuggets (they are my FAVORITE) in with the gizzards and try not to let anyone steal them!
Seriously, try these, and enjoy. They are so, so delicious.
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