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Chicken - liver, gizzard, heart

15 years ago

You know how when you buy a whole chicken there is the 'stuff' inside? How do you tell what is what?

I'm wanting to make a rice dish tonight and I'm remembering a recipe that calls for the 'innards' (don't laugh) ok, go ahead and laugh. Anyway, I've read quite a few recipes that say to leave one of them out. Is it the liver or the heart? Can't remember and can't find the recipe. And... how do you tell the difference?

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Comments (6)

ghoghunter
15 years ago
Well the liver is the really soft sqishy part, the heart is a little round or oval (not really heart shaped)part and the gizzard are the firmest roundest part. In my family I always cook them with the neck in chicken broth and then when my son was home we would sort of juggle to see who would get to eat the liver and heart. We all loved them..I like the gizzard too...we used them like treats before dinner We do that at Thanksgiving too with the turkey. When you have a large turkey of course they are all bigger but still like the description above. I don't have a picture to share so I hope my description makes sense!
Joann
rob333 (zone 7b)
15 years ago
I was wondering if I was the only one the other night...

I think of those as those as hors d'ouevres eaten while wating on the baked chicken. ghog, I feel less alone "...we used them like treats before dinner" (((smiles)))
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aliceinmd
15 years ago
You leave out the liver because its strong flavor can dominate a recipe and because it will make stocks cloudy. The gizzard is very firm and sometimes has a whitish membrane/skin appearance to it. The heart is a little softer, smaller, and has a definite shape. The liver is very amorphous, and somewhat flat.
annie1992
15 years ago
I agree, leave out the liver, or it can make everything taste like liver. I love chicken liver and cook it separately, but never add it to gravy, stock, soup, etc.

The gizzard is very "muscular", it's part of the digestive system and has to be cooked for quite a while before it's tender. The heart is shaped like the heart of every other creature and is the only piece left after identifying the liver and gizzard out of that little package of giblets.

My girls used to fight over the heart. I like gizzards done in the pressure cooker, it tenderizes them nicely. The livers I just want sauteed with bacon and onions.

The cooked gizzard and heart used to get diced up and added to the gravy when Grandma was cooking.

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trsinc
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you! :)
centralcacyclist
15 years ago
I feed them all to my grateful Lab...

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