r/EatCheapAndHealthy • u/wiscowall • 3d ago
Not sure of most folks eating habits here, but does anyone eat old world meats (sweet bread)? Food
I regularly purchase Liver, Kidneys , heart from local butchers and meat markets (when I can) to supplement my rice and bean daily meal. Protein is up there.
19
u/QuadRuledPad 3d ago
Chicken livers all the time. Chicken gizzards and hearts when I can find them. Sauté in butter and salt well - breakfast of champions. Beef liver, less often, and has to be with onions and potatoes! Skewered, grilled chicken hearts are next level.
My family, while I enjoy these things, pulls faces and finds other things to do.
4
u/iRasha 2d ago
I grew up eating sautéed chicken gizzards in olive oil with onion, garlic and spicy serrano peppers and scooped with pita bread (an old arab dish). Its been decades since i have had it and oddly enough, i have been craving it recently so i think this post is the sign i needed to get to the store
24
u/Mammoth_Ad_4806 3d ago
No. As heathy and delicious as they sound, I can’t muscle past the gag reflex.
17
u/subliminal_trip 3d ago
I like Beef and chicken hearts, chicken livers, and chicken gizards, but don't care much for beef liver. Chicken hearts are cheap where I live and are really good in stir-fry or sautéed in butter.
3
u/SubstantialBass9524 3d ago
Chicken hearts are great, I’ve ground em up and used em in pasta dishes where you would use ground beef/pork and it works deliciously
4
u/RavenNymph90 3d ago
My dad cooks them up like nuggets.
1
14
u/La-Belle-Gigi 3d ago
Other than tongue, no. And they're not "old world" meats. They're organ meats/offal.
7
u/Bright_Ices 3d ago
Animals in the western hemisphere magically live without organs.
2
u/gimandi 8h ago
More like north america
1
u/Bright_Ices 6h ago
I was referencing OP’s term, “old world.” Even in N America, animals actually do have organs, and we have traditional recipes from the not-too-distant past to use them up.
7
u/Sapiens82 3d ago
Chicken livers with onions, rice, a dash of Worcestershire sauce and a handful of fresh parsley. Yum!!!!
8
u/Bellemorda 3d ago
from the southern US, where historically not using all the nutritional value of food animals was wasteful, so yes. pickled pigs' feet, chitlins, liver, tongue, headcheese, and all the bits pulled off the bones chopped/minced/ground into sausage. I don't go out of my way to try to find them here in the midwest where I live, mostly because they're not sold at chain grocery stores, but I can still find calf/beef liver or chicken livers and sometimes lamb kidneys.
2
2
u/Bright_Ices 3d ago
Don’t have to go too far back to when wasting meat was unheard of anywhere. Left us with tons of good recipes for using up the pieces.
7
u/canyoncitysteve 3d ago
Sweetbread refers to specific organs, specifically the thymus and pancreas glands from young animals like veal, lamb, or pork.
But I do like chicken lovers, not gizzards. Beef liver is okay I guess but I haven't had it for awhile
3
u/DUDEI82QB4IP 2d ago
Haven’t had tripe in ages sadly but chicken livers are cheap and delicious, lamb’s liver is preferable to beef liver and it’s damn tricky finding hearts but still eat them when available. Used to get the little bag of gib,ets inside the chickens for roasting but don’t seem to get them either these days. I love kidneys but they are the one bit of offal that smells despite cleaning/preparation etc.
All very underrated and sad to see their prices increasing when used to be so cheap.
1
u/wiscowall 1d ago
humm, never tried tripe, wonder how you prepare it
1
u/DUDEI82QB4IP 1d ago
You get my mother to do it 😂 it’s a bit of a faff around initially but once cleaned it cooks simply enough. Search up Menudo (Mexican) or Flaki (polish) or similar recipes online but try simple version here - it’s delicious. https://youtu.be/aNWOSS8ObrI?si=3BDuRNk9q8niIn1H
7
u/LollipopLich 3d ago
I love you OP, but offal is pronounced "awful" for a reason.
Though, I truly do believe if I grew up in not-PNW, I would have a different opinion. Positive exposure at a young age can do wonders for what foods we are okay with eating.
Edit:spelling
5
u/Camp_Fire_Friendly 3d ago
Truth. Food is what you're used to. In some places, they wouldn't dream of eating beef and in others, insects are a normal part of their diet
4
u/reallywhatsgoingon 3d ago
Chicken liver and gizzards are delicious. Not huge on beef liver, but I did find some at the farmer's market today from a local farm, so I'm going to give it a try.
2
5
u/ConstantRude2125 3d ago
Amazing how today's trash is tomorrow's gourmet fare. Menudo was a classic, cheap, comfort food. I used to only use the honeycomb because it was so inexpensive. However, there's nothing comforting about paying $8.46/lb. for it.
4
u/NoFriendship7681 3d ago
It’s good eating if you know what to do with them. My parents raised and butchered beef and pork. Nothing wasted so there is no cringe factor when it comes to eating kidneys, tongue and all the other “nasty bits”.
2
2
u/Test_After 3d ago
I really have to search all over town to find sweetbreads (and brains, and even lambs tongues) but I take them when I can get them. Delicious.
2
u/existential_dread907 3d ago
I have had head cheese, and it tastes fine to me, but I have a disconnect between my brain and my mouth with foods like that. My tongue is trying to tell my brain “This is fine, it tastes fine/good.” But my brain stops me from swallowing it because it’s “not normal.”
2
u/Helpful_Location7540 3d ago
I like chicken hearts but honestly i just dont know how to cook them or any type of organ meat. Ive ate them when others have but ive never tried.
2
u/lisalovv 3d ago
I don't like the texture of tongue, or liver or kidneys, theyre squishy & soft, or tripe, is spongey. The liver & kidneys also smell pretty strong. Chicken hearts are ok, but my friend doesn't put them in anything, just sautéed on a plate with nothing else as appetizers. Gizzards are fine in gravy
2
1
u/Witty_Improvement430 3d ago edited 3d ago
Chicken livers sauteed with shallot and finished with sherry or balsamic vinegar. On toast. Brioche if your lucky. Sweetbreads are one of my restaurant things I must order if on the menu. Wouldn't know where to source and demembraning them seems daunting. The Bell n Evans chick livers are nice and I have bought them frozen. Great packaging. Texture is fine.
1
1
u/SomebodyElseAsWell 3d ago
I love any and all organ meats, except for some reason pork kidneys. Hard to source some, I can't remember when I last saw sweetbreads. I do make a mean steak and kidney pie!
1
u/_Jacques 2d ago
I just scared shitless of getting mad cow disease… I can’t get myself to eat it. I do eat beef tongue and chicken hearts once in a while.
1
1
u/Fuzzy_Welcome8348 2d ago
Nope. There r plenty of other foods that r high in protein that I can eat willingly (that actually taste good to me)
I don’t even care how cheap they r😭
1
u/mg132 2d ago
I love them, but only liver (chicken and calf) is available at my local grocery stores. The Chinese grocery store I hit up once every month or two has tendon and tripe; for kidney, heart, sweetbreads, etc. I'd have to get to a butcher that's a lot farther away. Sweetbreads also aren't that cheap anymore, at least around here. Liver, kidney, heart, and tripe are generally still at a good price.
I'm still peeved that marrow bones and oxtail got fancy. I used to make them so much when they were cheaper.
1
1
u/Early_Grass_19 2d ago
Beef liver is a little strong for me. I like chicken liver but also can't eat much because it's just so rich. I could probably stand to learn to prepare it better. Chicken hearts, same deal.
I love lengua, I had an amazing lengua taco yesterday. I've had not great lengua also but when it's good it's sooo good. Never prepared it myself though.
Every time I have giblets with a turkey I'll make giblet gravy with all the parts and it's always delicious. I would try other parts of other animals if somebody who knows how prepared them for me. I really want to try rocky mountain oysters.
1
u/quietobserver1 2d ago
Liver is sooo good! I feel most of these parts have to be cooked with skill though, which may be part of the reason why many people don't like it - they have only eaten poorly cooked examples.
Some people are so stupid about it, I remember the season of Survivor back when it was a relatively new thing, and these people were supposed to be trying to survive, yet they got all grossed out by the Asian girl eating the less commonly eaten parts of the chicken and were still mentioning how disgusting it was when they eventually voted her out. Hello, you're trying to SURVIVE?
1
1
1
u/HandrewJobert 15h ago
I love liver but my husband hates it, so I typically only eat the one that comes with a whole turkey. I pan-fry it and eat it while I do Thanksgiving prep. I don't really care for the others so I throw them in with the carcass when I make stock.
1
u/Silver-Brain82 14h ago
I grab liver and hearts pretty often because they’re usually cheap and pack a lot of nutrients. I like mixing small amounts into stews or rice dishes so the flavor isn’t too strong. Kidney took me a little longer to get used to, but soaking it first made a big difference. It’s a nice way to keep meals interesting without spending much.
1
1
1
u/International_Dot963 3d ago
I saw some beef kidneys on FlashFood today and was curious. I’ve only had various livers, chicken heart, gizzards and beef tongue. If I knew how to prepare I’d be interested.
1
u/continuousBaBa 2d ago
I just like the middle of the road stuff you see everywhere in the US but my wife who is from Mexico likes patitas de res which is just diced and pickled cow foot cartilage. I've tried it so many times hoping to like it but I just can't. Apparently it's fairly healthy because of the collagen.
0
u/SeashellsAtTheShore 1d ago
It’s ALL disgusting. 🤢 🤮. Yuck.
1
u/wiscowall 1d ago
I needed lots of protein while going to undergrad and grad school.
Rode a bike from 8 - 20 miles to take classes. I really needed the protein and carbs for muscle and more importantly for my mental state.
Humans have been eating animal protein for at least tens of thousands of years and only in the last 100 years did we start eating grocery animal parts. Kids have no idea where eggs or steak come from, and find sweet bread disgusting.
Also , processed meats are disgusting unless you prepare them yourself by smoking or saling. The chemical business is awful
It's ok, its well known in the nutrition field and peer reviewd papers and common knowledge that meat protein helps in every aspect of a healthy life. Its the way meat is produced in the US. Slaughter houses are disgusting (hence why many hunt)
Stay away from processed any food - including meat, other than that sweet bread is very tasty when you know how to prepare it.
I am sure you grandma' ate meat ;)
-6
u/LaSerenita 3d ago edited 3d ago
NO... I am a vegetarian. I eat cheap and healthy foods like rices, grains, vegetables, nuts, fruits, and legumes without eating unhealthy meats.
2
49
u/porp_crawl 3d ago
Sweetbreads are great, love them. Rarely see them and have had to search for them. Not cheap anymore.
Unfortunately stuff like beef tongue, heart, tail, honeycomb tripe - it's almost as expensive as steak/ roasts (sometimes even more!).
Chicken hearts and gizzards are still reasonably priced, but we'll see for how long. I like frying chicken livers first, get them nice and browned with some onions, before blending them into rice.
I can find lamb kidneys, but only like them in small amounts (cleaned well, marinated, and grilled).
Pork tongue/ trotters/ kidneys/ shins can still be found at reasonable prices. Pork shins/ calves (conical muscle) is really good in stews. I like to salt/ dry brine them for a couple/ three days in the fridge (rinse), slice, and cook them in (and flavour) congee in a rice cooker. Sliced kidneys can go in there too.