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The White Hat Guide to Offal
Offal is the name usually given to the internal organs of an animal. Typically theses may include, liver, kidneys, heart, lungs and intestines. When an animal is butchered and gutted this central collection of organs is usually extracted in one piece known as the 'pluck'.In addition organs such as the brain, tongue, hooves (trotters) and other 'non-meat' items are generally referred to as offal. Offal has got a bad reputation in certain societies. Sometimes this is due to memories from childhood. 'Tripe in White Sauce' cooked in the English manner will justifiably be one of the first nominated for many peoples '10 Worst Foods of All Time. However, there are many great offal dishes out there and few people will go past a good pâté, often oblivious to its main ingredient being offal. There are also strong environmental reasons for eating offal. See for instance our article Fussy eaters harm the environment in a previous White Hat Food & Wine Newsletter. The good news about offal is that it is usually cheap and highly nutritious. The bad news is that it is often high in cholesterol, so if you need to watch that side of your diet, go easy on the offal. - When an animal is slaughtered, the 'meaty' part of the carcass is left to hang for a period of time to improve its edibility. Thus you might see a butcher promoting 'aged beef'. However with offal, the general rule is the fresher the better. For that reason we always buy our offal from a butcher or a market where you can ask how fresh it is. Staff in a supermarket, on the other hand, are unlikely to know how long their offal has been deteriorating under the plastic - they will only know the use-by date. The irony is that the fresh offal from the butcher or market will usually be less than half the price of the somewhat less-than-fresh offal at the supermarket.
- Kidneys are not kidneys. Lamb kidneys are suitable for fast cooking and are at their best when served slightly pink on the inside. They are not suitable for a long slow-cooked dish like steak and kidney - this requires ox kidney which is better suited to slow cooking.
- Offal is often used to 'add body' to more bland meat dishes. Australians will know that the standard Australian meat pie usually contains offal (in an unrecognisable form). Italians will often use chicken liver to add depth to a Spaghetti Bolognese. See The White Hat Guide to Spag Bol.
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