Re: Chicken Feet....EEEEEEWWWW BLECK!

[Guest guest]

>And what's with the gizzards? Thank God the farmer showed me how to

>peel them, else I would've thrown the whole stupid thing in, rocks

>and all. And please someone tell me how you specifically de-vein a

>chicken liver? I've never seen, let alone *touched* a chicken

>liver...they're soaking in lemon juice in my fridge.....I haven't a

>clue what to do with them next. I have a feeling they have a date

>with my disposal. There was a reason I failed health and biology....

>

>I think I'll stick to my safe soaked oatmeal.

>

>cindy

You should really, really take it slow! If you haven't ever

eaten a gizzard, the leap to feet is a pretty big one!

I was real proud of myself the last batch of chickens, I

actually saved the feet, and peeled them. I called my

Mom, who then told me how if you want REAL GOOD chicken

soup you should boil it with the heads, and then you

crack them open with nutcrackers and eat the brains ...

OK, I'm not there yet.

It's kinda like yoga ... do the move, don't force it,

eventually things loosen up and before you know it you

are doing handstands.

Fortunately I grew up with a Mom who did things like

make head cheese at home (brought home a hog's head

and boiled it) so it's not so big a leap. But the fact

is, if you just stop eating so much processed food and

eat a little more " real " food you will be a lot more

healthy, even if you don't eat heads and feet. Don't

be intimidated by the s of the world, just

use them as role models for eventual growth ...

-- Heidi Jean

[Guest guest]

> In " real " Chinese restaurants, like in Chinatown in Los Angeles,

you can order a plate of boiled chicken feet (with toes). My aunts

and uncles do this and chow down on them. Probably has a lot of good

proteins, gelatin, cartilage, etc.

>

In the UK, you can buy chicken feet in bulk from chinese

supermarkets. They looked at me strangely when I, a non-chinese

person, bought them. Weren't impressed when I said they were for

stock. They thought I'd actually be eating them!

Which I'm not, I'm not there yet either!

Jo

[Guest guest]

I had my first chicken feet as Chinese Dim Sum. It was fabulous. Very

tasty.

As for chicken stock, I could not imagine making any without them. I

just wash them real good and ozonate them prior to tossing them into

the pot. They are a great source of flavor, gelatin, and minerals.

Take that big step (ha, ha) and use those feet.

jo

[Guest guest]

At 09:07 PM 8/5/2004, you wrote:

>And what's with the gizzards? Thank God the farmer showed me how to

>peel them, else I would've thrown the whole stupid thing in, rocks

>and all. And please someone tell me how you specifically de-vein a

>chicken liver? I've never seen, let alone *touched* a chicken

hey, cindy, it's not just you...there's rocks in a gizzard? and what is a

gizzard, exactly?

i'm all brave about beef, but i'm not a lover of poultry, so i'm moving

slower there...

-katja

[Guest guest]

Well, as was shown to me in my little 'dissecting lesson' at the farm, the

gizzard is muscle and fatty tissue that surrounds a little sac in which

everything the bird eats is masticized (sp?) or metabolized and digested. It

'pumps' around the sac. He took a dull knife and gently sliced the meat

(similar to scoring an orange peel) and peeled back the gizzard away from the

sac. He sliced open the sac to show me the contents which contained

half-'chewed' bugs, grass, feed and rocks. He likes to salt gizzards and let

them cure, then gently smoke them and eat the meat like a piece of ham. He also

chops it up and uses it in casseroles that call for sausage. Sally doesn't have

any recipes that use them except for putting them in stock, which is what I'm

doing.

The tissue is purple and red with fatty deposits here and there....looks like a

miniature heart that fits in your palm, until you peel the outside meat from the

sac.

hth~

cindy

Re: Chicken Feet....EEEEEEWWWW BLECK!

At 09:07 PM 8/5/2004, you wrote:

>And what's with the gizzards? Thank God the farmer showed me how to

>peel them, else I would've thrown the whole stupid thing in, rocks

>and all. And please someone tell me how you specifically de-vein a

>chicken liver? I've never seen, let alone *touched* a chicken

hey, cindy, it's not just you...there's rocks in a gizzard? and what is a

gizzard, exactly?

i'm all brave about beef, but i'm not a lover of poultry, so i'm moving

slower there...

-katja

[Guest guest]

I was just reading this thread in my email digest and was just

like... LOL! I don't know if it's my Chinese heritage or what but I

just LOVE to eat weird parts like tripe, pig ears, duck brains, and

especially chicken feet (also called Phoenix Claws in Chinese...

makes it sound so much cooler). Heart and duck liver are some of my

favorites as well. And the fish head goes to ME (and my dad). I'm

still working on liver though

Nina

[Guest guest]

> especially chicken feet (also called Phoenix Claws in Chinese...

> makes it sound so much cooler).

Hmmm...that could be a good marketing tactic. The phoenix rose again

from the ashes, right? And if you make good " Jewish penicillin " with

chicken feet, your sick patient will live to rise again, too.

;-)

[Guest guest]

>He sliced open the sac to show me the contents which contained half-'chewed'

bugs, grass, feed and rocks. He likes to salt gizzards and let them cure, then

gently smoke them and eat the meat like a piece of ham. He also chops it up and

uses it in casseroles that call for sausage. Sally doesn't have any recipes that

use them except for putting them in stock, which is what I'm doing.

Cleaning a gizzard makes one not want to eat them, but I was introduced to

them at the Pike Place Market, where you could buy a big bag of fried gizzards

for a few bucks. We used to chow down on them ... I think they just breaded

them and deep fried them. Yummm! My Mom would just cook them ... I boil

them in stock or bake them, I do love them, tho no one else will eat them.

You do need to peel them ... there is membrane on the inside that comes right

off,

so the meat hasn't been in contact with all the yecchy stuff on the inside.

-- Heidi Jean

[Guest guest]

>>>They looked at me strangely when I, a non-chinese person, bought them<<<

Yesterday, I bought a bag of chicken skin from the butcher for frying up. The

young chap that was sent out the back to get it was giving me strange looks and

I'm sure he was about to say 'why would anyone want to buy the skin?' I'd better

not ask for the feet.

Cheers,

Tas'.