Cute, sounds like something my Mother would have said.

Sue

from an age when a penny wasn't left laying in the street...

DH's grandmother would abbreviate and just say "Tougher where there's none."

Both of my parents grew up in the depression. I remember Dad saying that when they butchered a pig they used everything but the squeal. I would mention some of the "delicacies" I was exposed to as a child but this is a public forum.

Ron

A wise grandmother

Ron,, You are absolutely correct. As a whole we all prefer the finer cuts but in butcher parlance the term "Offal" refers to the internal organs and portions of the animal that we would normally think is discarded, but many ppl would be surprised to find that some of the Offal is highly prized in other cultures...

By example, back in the slave days they would butcher a hog and save to better cuts for the masters house and the offal was given to the slaves. As a result, many of the items that are highly prized as "Soul Food" come from the Offal, by example, chitterlings (small intestines), Hogs Mauls (the ears), Neck Bones, Short Ribs, pigs feet, tail bones and one of my favorites, Liver & Onions.

In England they not only consume the offal, one of the dishes that is highly prized is "Steak & Kidney pie".

In Scotland they make a dish that is definitely an acquired taste, but they all seem to love it, it is called "Haggis" and made from the intestines.

And even in our culture many would be surprised at what they are actually eating.....

By example, hot dogs and sausages are primarily made with a plastic casing that is removed at the factory, but some ppl insist on having hot dogs or sausages with a natural casing, little do they know, that natural casing is actually the small intestine.

Brains & eggs used to be considered a delicacy but with the advent of Mad Cow disease the FDA has banned the sale of brains.

One of my absolute favorite beef meals is "Stuffed Baked Beef heart". The cavity of the heart is opened up and all the tough grisle is removed, then it is stuffed with bread stuffing and baked in a slow oven.

When your buying lunch meat, note where is says "contains meat by products" that is more offal...LOL.

And next time your in a Jewish deli try the beef tongue,,that is absolutely delicious.

I once worked maintenance in a chicken slaughter house for a short time and was I surprised. What part of the chicken do you think fetches the highest price on the wholesale market? If you guessed the breast you are wrong.....

On the wholesale market the feet cost nearly twice the price of breast meat. The feet were run through a cleaning machine that takes all the yellow scales off the skin leaving them a pale white color almost an exact match to causasion ppl's skin, The feet were then packed in 40lb boxes packed with dry ice and a truck ran them to the airport where they were air freigthed to Japan daily. In Japan they make a chicken noodle soup that has a chicken foot on top and those feet sell for nearly $5 each in a restaraunt in Japan.

And on the gourmet level in the USA, what do you think Liver Pate' is made from? You guessed it, liver, which is listed as part of the offal.

Lazypup,

We must've grown up on the same diet. Cold tongue sandwiches, fried pig brains, and the absolute best is homemade liver sausage using the small intestines for casings.

Dad was the 1st generation born here of German immigrants. We had a breakfast food called Grut Wurst. You start by boiling an entire pigs head, pick off the meat, add barley, prunes, and a few other ingredients. Fry a slab of this until it's crispy black. Excellent!

Ron

I sometimes think how privileged DH and I are to be 'eating high off the hog'! (His family always did. Mine, not as much.)