Imagine you’re sitting at a dinner table filled with steamed white rice, fried chicken, which is piled high on your plate, mashed potatoes possibly on the side, all hot and smelling like good, delicious fried chicken that you are excited to get into. Then all of a sudden after you’ve taken some bites and are hungrily digging in, you find something hard and rubbery on your plate with your fried chicken. You have likely even heard someone say they found a “chicken gizzard,” but like, come on, what is that?!
What are we talking about? Some leftover part of the bird they just slop on your plate? Some weird delicacy you’ve just never had before? Because sorry, but “gizzard” does not really imply “delicious,” even if you knew what it was.
So here is the skinny of it: a gizzard is a stomach, but a chicken’s stomach is not a stomach like you and I have. A chicken’s stomach is not a soft, squishy bag. As I have stated already, it’s a workhorse. A gizzard is a muscular organ in the chicken’s digestive system that presses the food into something the chicken can actually use.
Chickens don’t have teeth, right? So like what happens is that when they find some grains, seeds, or whatever else they are pecking, they will swallow them whole (and they literally swallow them whole). The fact of the matter is that the food goes directly to the gizzard. Inside the gizzard, that food is smashed; the gizzard, which is a muscular organ, will contract in succession while the food is moving around, almost as if it were in a mini rock tumbler creating the grinding motion to break up large pieces of food (or whatever it found to eat). Chickens will even swallow small stones, or pebbles, sometimes to aid the gizzard’s function, believing that they are little grinders to help them break up food into small mushy pieces that are digestible.
What are Chickens’ Gizzards for?
If you have ever wondered why chickens evolved this strange prosthetic to the digestive process, just imagine having no teeth. They can’t chew at all… ever. That is why they have a gizzard, because without a gizzard, something would need to break down quickly – it would be sitting in a chicken’s mouth as whole seeds or whole grains… just sitting and waiting to go somewhere.
That is also why chickens seem to pick up bits of grit or tiny stones as they are pecking about in the dirt and grass. Upon eating, those bits would be dropped into the gizzard. The gizzard would then use those bits as grinding stones to break that food up. It’s a bit like having a built-in blender.
It is amazing to think about how well-designed nature can be, sometimes. Some organs work together collectively.
How it works
So now visualize a pouch, not a big pouch, but with some seriously powerful muscle layers. The chicken gizzard contains layers of muscle that squeeze and twist, pushing the food and grit together in a grinding motion.
Each time the chicken swallows, the new food pushes into the gizzard and the gizzard contracts and grinds. It keeps going while the chicken eats. It is sort of like a small assembly line that just continually feeds its work product….
This allows a chicken to take a mouthful of dry kernels of corn and change them into something it can actually utilize to gain nutrients. I think it is pretty amazing and a little gross to think about, but that is what happens if you think about it too much, but it works.
And since we’re on the topic of chicken anatomy, have you ever noticed while cooking chicken sometimes there is weird-looking white snot that oozes out? That is nothing but protein coagulation from heat. That is nothing related to the gizzard, just one of those “wait, what is that?” things people ask about chicken all the time.
Gizzards are Edible
Ok, now this is where it really gets exciting, or probably disturbing depending on how bold you have been eating food in your life. There is not just benefit to the chicken with gizzards. They are definitely edible too.
You know, there are a lot of people that do not even know this. When people find gizzards listed on a menu, or in the butcher aisle, some folks are like, “uh, no thanks. I don’t want any of that weird leftover stuff, or stuff from a chicken’s insides.” But gizzards, as I said, are delicacies in many cultures. They are chewy, and cooked properly, they soak up flavor like little sponges of goodness.
How Do They Taste?
So, what does a chicken gizzard taste like? It is just difficult to describe.
They are rich. They are savory. A tiny bit earthy, but not muddy. They have a firm texture. If you cook them quickly, there is a little snap to them, but if you slow cook or braise them, they melt in your mouth.
They have great flavor from the first bite, they have a little more guts than a regular piece of chicken thigh. You will definitely have a chew, but not a rubbery chew. More of a satisfying resistance that just gives way.
Eat them solo, or part of a meal? So, are you going to sit down and put a dent in a bowl of gizzards? Well, you could, to be honest, a lot of people do, and for good reason.
They are just as good on their own, especially deep-fried and with a little hot sauce on the side. They are a great bar snack/appetizer. And I would rather my kids snack on ‘actual’ chicken than store-bought potato chips. But you can also use them in rice, stir-fry, soup, or stew. Gizzards have a meatiness to them that makes everything just go up a level. They are not one of those foods that gets lost in everything else. They have a flavor profile that makes them stand out.
How to Prepare Chicken Gizzards
So you have decided to try gizzards. The first thing you want to do is clean them.
Sometimes they come clean from the store, and sometimes they don’t; if they don’t, you want to take off any tough membranes or yellow lining that might be on them.
To clean them, you want to rinse them very well with cold water. Gizzards have a tendency to have grit or pieces of stone stuck in them, because they are designed to grind food, so a good rinse is necessary.
After rinsing them, you have the option to soak them in a marinade of whatever flavors you want. Think garlic, pepper, soy sauce, and a small splash of vinegar, or maybe you want to spice them up a little with hot chili flakes and paprika. The longer they soak, the better the flavor will be.
What Can I Cook with Gizzards?
Honestly, the better question is what can’t you cook them with.
Personally, I enjoy deep frying them until they are golden and crispy for a crunchy, addictive snack. I have braised and cooked them in a rich sauce with onions and peppers until they are tender enough to cut with a fork. I have also stir-fried them with ginger and garlic for a quick, fast meal that has lots of flavor.
Or, if you want to go the slow-cooked stew route, you really can’t go wrong adding gizzards for some tasty, savory depth to the dish that you won’t get from just chicken breast. My father-in-law really liked this one, and even asked me to make it again. Or you could skewer them and cook them over the open flame if you are looking for that smoky char. Personally, the way I enjoy them the most is frying them in a pan until they are suuuper crispy, and if I am not feeling too lazy, I let them start to cook a bit first, and add some onion and garlic to it. So good!
The reality is, you have endless options.
So next time you see chicken gizzards on a menu or in the store, don’t get turned off and make a face, like I used to, I admit.
They are one of those underappreciated parts of the chicken that are surprisingly delicious and versatile. Not to mention, not only this, but half the fun of cooking is trying new things anyway. I have even made them a few times and my kids ate them, and very well too! I didn’t tell them what the meat was called but I knew they would wrinkle their nose and make a stink about being gross if they knew.
My kids are definitely obsessed, even though they don’t realize what they are, and personally, I am too!
