Hearts, livers and gizzards—if you haven’t ventured into eating game bird offal, this is your invitation to do so. Fans of chicken, duck, or pork liver will find these wild “wobbly bits” delightful, whereas hunters who are less excited about the idea might use offal to enhance the flavor of other dishes.
So, the next time you shoot a mess of upland birds or waterfowl, salvage these often-thrown-out parts. Here are a few ideas for how to use them.
Cleaning Offal To save the hearts, simply cut them free, wash them under cold water, and gently squeeze to remove blood left inside the ventricles.
To save the liver, carefully slice it free, but be careful not to puncture the gallbladder. This organ looks like a small, green-ish sac located underneath the liver. If punctured, it will leak a green-ish fluid that is staining and may impart a bitter taste. If you do puncture it, immediately rinse the liver with water.
The gizzards take a bit more work to clean. Slice them open to reveal the inside, which will likely be full of ground up food. On the inside walls of the gizzard will be a yellow-ish, leather-like membrane that needs to be removed. The gizzard is a tough muscle, so remove silver skin as well, especially if you plan on simply frying them. I like to use a smaller fillet knife, working carefully to trim off the tough parts while taking as little of the edible parts as possible. Wash well with cold water.
Cooking Liver, Hearts, and Gizzards: Little Bites Cornmeal-coated, deep-fried pheasant hearts over polenta, sautéed mushrooms and greens. (Photo courtesy of Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley) I am a chicken liver fan, and I prepare game bird livers no differently. My favorite way to have it is simply seared in butter and seasoned with salt, pepper, and maybe a little bit of thyme and caramelized onion. I might even deglaze the pan with a little bit of cognac toward the end. I prefer liver slightly pink in the middle and piled on top of crostini. I enjoy this delicacy with port or rye whiskey. The most prized livers come from birds that have enjoyed a hearty diet— their livers will be lighter in color, indicating the presence of more fat. Hunters call these livers wild foie gras. Hearts can be sautéed similarly as well.
Hearts are also tasty on the grill. Pheasant and duck hearts can be marinated and skewered. If you can find some sturdy rosemary sprigs, you can use them instead of wooden or metal skewers to impart their woody, aromatic flavors over the fire. Cook them over a medium-heat grill until cooked through, but slightly pink.
Deep frying is a classic way to enjoy liver, hearts, or gizzards. I prefer a cornmeal-based dry coating, but use whatever coating or batter is your favorite. You can use the same batter you use to fry chicken. Like fried chicken gizzards, game bird gizzards will be the toughest bit of the three. Gizzards are not my favorite, but my husband enjoys their chew.
Cooking “Dirty Rice” with Game Bird Offal The addition of liver gives dirty rice, an old Southern dish, its depth and character. (Photo courtesy of Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley) “Dirty rice” was a Southern staple, historically prepared by the slaves and the poor. Throw-away bits of offal were minced and cooked with rice, onion, mild peppers, and spices. It’s like Cajun fried rice, if you will. Add ground meat to the mixture to make the dish more filling, while the little bit of offal adds earthiness and depth.
You can make this rice dish to taste. In addition to bell peppers and onion, my version also includes a bit of chopped jalapeno pepper, paprika, garlic powder, thyme, oregano, cayenne, black pepper, and Lawry’s seasoned salt. I garnish with freshly chopped green onion. The rice should be a little moist, so a splash of chicken stock will help.
Game Bird Giblet Gravy Minced game bird offal makes delicious old-fashioned giblet gravy. (Photo courtesy of Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley) Like the giblet package included with your store-bought Thanksgiving turkey, offal makes delicious gravy and sauces. In this case, treat game bird offal the same way you would chicken or turkey giblets. Although not considered “offal,” you can save the neck on your game birds as well to make old-fashioned giblet gravy.
Start by boiling the heart(s), gizzard(s), and neck(s), if available, until tender—about 1½ to 2 hours. Then, add the liver(s) during the last 30 minutes. Remove meat from the cooking liquid, mince, and set aside. The more offal you use, the stronger the gravy will taste. I find game bird offal mild in general—as opposed to the strong flavor of deer liver, for example—so don’t be too afraid of it.
Next, proceed with making the gravy as normally: Make the roux with drippings/butter and flour, and then slowly stir in the cooking liquid—offal stock. Add whole milk or half and half. At the end, stir in the minced giblets and season to taste.
Pasta Sauce Liver, in addition to pancetta and ground venison, gives this red pasta sauce richness. (Photo courtesy of Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley) Pasta sauce is a good place to utilize offal, where it can add meatiness and enhance the richness of red sauces. Try adding it to your homemade Italian meat sauces, such as Ragu or Bolognese. I simply mince the liver, gizzard, and/or heart, and add them at the same time as I would other meats, such as ground beef and pancetta. Liver, especially, adds a creaminess that I love. Simmer the sauce until flavors marry and meat becomes fully incorporated. Toss with a hearty pasta, such as tagliatelle or pappardelle.
Using Giblets for Stuffing Stuffing made of a mallard duck’s liver, heart, gizzard, apple, potato and spices. (Photo courtesy of Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley) If you don’t add the giblets to your Thanksgiving gravy, then you can use it in stuffing. Mince offal and cook it with the stuffing mixture before finishing it in the oven in a baking dish or stuffing it in your gamebird. If you choose to leave the gizzards in larger pieces, it’s best to boil them first until tender.
An Irish-inspired recipe, I’ve made stuffing with minced duck offal, apple, and potato. I stuffed it inside a mallard before roasting the bird.
Game Bird Liver Pâté Spread Pâté is a French-style liver spread. (Photo courtesy of Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley) It’s hard to think of liver without thinking of pâté—a French liver spread that’s delicious on bread or crackers with some butter. You will need about a half pound of livers to make this charcuterie board item. There are loads of recipes online, so look for a highly-rated chicken or duck liver pâté recipe and substitute with whatever game bird livers you have on hand. I enjoy pâté with gherkins, or cornichons, to balance the richness of the spread.
Though I haven’t tried it, you could also utilize game bird offal in German braunschweiger.
Making Dog Treats Out of Offal Wild game liver, whether from a deer or upland bird, can be dehydrated to make dog treats. (Photo courtesy of Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley) If all else fails, and you decide that you still hate all foods that even remotely remind you of liver, your four-legged friend will appreciate the treat. Offal is highly nutritious and well-tolerated by dogs. I sometimes boil offal and chop it up to mix with kibble, saving the cooking liquid as “gravy.” If I have enough of them, I might dehydrate the livers to make “chews.” My dog goes nuts for offal.
Just remember to remove shotgun pellets before feeding game meat to your dog.
