Hearts

Organ meats are the most nutrient dense foods. They concentrate the same nutrients that the animal has and was eating. For example: a free ranging cow or lamb is going to eat grass. The grass  is full of beta carotene, it has vitamin K1, cobalt, non-heme iron and other minerals and phytonutrients from the sun ☀️ The cow or lamb eats the grass and uses its intricate stomach system to digest the grass. They convert the beta carotene to Vitamin A or retinal that humans can absorb. They, or rather the bacteria in their digestive tracts convert the vitamin K1 to vitamin K2 and the cobalt to Vitamin B12 that humans can also absorb more easily.  They convert the non-heme iron to heme-iron which, you guessed it, humans absorb more readily! And we eat that tasty meat and get highly bio-available nutrients,  vitamin A, K2, B12, iron and more. 

Any animal's organs require concentrated amounts of nutrients because they're doing hard work. Amazing. So when we eat them, they are like power packed super foods which we can digest more easily than plant superfoods!

Does that make sense? Holler if you have questions.

Now that you are just dying to buy organ meats, Miller's Biodiversity Farm has a fantastic selection of organic, pasture raised meats. This is where I purchased numbers one through three below.

Organ Meat Count Down

My husband and I love a good adventure: we hike, study new subjects, travel, and we cook organ meats. I'm so grateful he will try anything I venture into. Except for Barre classes. Here is my top 6 list of organ meats. There are 6 because I have only tried 6 different ones. I hope to add to the list ;)

#6 Kidneys. 

Now if you think a moment (as I did not at the time), kidneys filter urine. So yeah. Not so tasty. Apparently if you get them butchered really well the smell goes away. But our experience was, let's just say, "offal". If there was a number 10 I would put kidney there.

#5 Tongue

We have tried beef tongue stew. That was interesting. Not bad flavor, kind of sweet. But it was really tough. Maybe I need to learn to cook it properly. I think it is a Latin American staple.

#4 Sweetbreads

They are tender and mild delicacies which are unfortunately very hard to find. They also require a bit of preparation: soaking in milk and then cooking, pressing and then frying. Let me know if you have a source! And then coat them with coconut flour and pan fry in lard. Mmmm. 

#3 Gizzards

These are mild tasting and can be found as salad toppers in French cafe's.  They can be prepared the same way as the recipe below. According to wikipedia, emus, chickens, turkeys, ducks and parrots have gizzards. But I have only ever seen chicken gizzards. These, again are sadly very hard to find.

#2 Liver

Liver is the superman of organs. Maybe because it is big, maybe because it is so nutrient dense. Either way, it is great. Always remember to soak in lemon juice for a few hours before cooking to help reduce the metallic flavor. Classic usage for liver is paté or "liver and onions". I have posted before about liver, and trust me, you'll hear from me about it again. It's powerful and good. So eat it, and feed it to your kids.

#1 Heart

Heart wins this time because of its versatility and flavor. If you want to eat organ meats and are afraid, then this is a good place to start. ❤ Hearts are milder than liver but still rich in iron and vitamin B. Chicken hearts are delicious by themselves (I will put a recipe below).

If you have a meat grinder, you can grind beef or lamb heart and make tartar, or add into hamburgers or meatloaf. You can chop it up and mix it into a braise or stew. I recently slow cooked lamb leg and chopped up lamb heart, and my very picky two year old only wanted to eat the heart pieces!!! They're that easy to enjoy.

Simple chicken hearts recipe

• 1/2 to 1 lb chicken hearts -  from Miller's Biodiversity Farm  or your local farmer!
• 1 tsp garlic powder or 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp onion powder or 2 tbs grated fresh onion
• 1/2 tsp cumin seed powder
• Sea salt and black pepper 
• 2 tbs lard, tallow, ghee, or olive oil
• Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Toss the chicken hearts in a bowl with the spices. This can marinade for a few minutes or up to 48 hours in the fridge.

Heat a cast iron skillet and when warm, add the fat/oil. One at a time, leaving excess liquid behind, add your chicken hearts. Do not crowd the pan. Saute the hearts until they brown a bit on each side.

Add salt and pepper to taste and optionally, parsley.