Chicken Gizzard Soup with Dill and using all the giblets

You know how when you get a chicken, it has all that stuff inside?

Or, wait… does it?

Well, imagine it does for just a moment.  All of the giblets (save the liver) can go in the stockpot.  The single liver can be sauteed for a single bite of toast. Or you can squirrel them all away to make a collection of each of them.

Of course you know what to do with the liver.  And the hearts.  But what about the gizzard?!

Even when the chicken is sold in parts, if all the organs are sold out, there is likely to be some gizzards leftover.  They are also very likely to be the cheapest.  So, where’s the love!?

Technically, the gizzard is the second stomach of the chicken, and along those lines – I say that it deserves as much love as tripe!

Chicken Gizzard Soup is a great way to make new friends with the last giblet holdout.

Preparing the gizzards

Preparing the gizzards (like many of the organs) for your Chicken Gizzard Soup takes time since the silverskin is thick and slippery.

There are three knobs and I start at the end, cutting off the two sides to form a triangle piece of meat.

Next, I attack the middle knob by slicing off sides and top, then flipping over to easily slice off what is now the top layer again.

Same drill for the last side knob as the first.  Like all my favorite kitchen jobs, it’s a practice in mindfulness.

Dark meat on any animal has more blood and is higher in nutrient content than white meat.  Pulling the meat from your broth bones along with the gizzards makes for a nice mix.

Clockwise: Cleaned gizzards with heap of silverskin below; in the pot with chicken wings, chopped white meat with gizzards for returning to soup

Chicken Gizzard Soup

I adapted a couple of recipes to find something that would work for us.

First, I used Alice Water’s Chicken Noodle Soup as a start.  I love the way the flavors come together in that soup: carrot, parsnip, celery and dill.  In a different style though, that soup is woefully fat-free, or ‘light.’  But how else to absorb all the minerals from the soup without some healthful fats?

The Hunter’s Giblet Soup in Innard’s and Variety Meats suggested using a quick roux to add flavor and fat.  And I liked their addition of lemon as well – to each their own in my version.

I confess that there were some complaints about the Chicken Gizzard Soup. “Why do we have to have soup tonight?!” says an exasperated child. “Because it’s Wednesday.”  But after an ice cube was added to cool their portion, silenced ensued after the first bite.  “I like this soup.”

Thanks to Sarah for recently asking about gizzards and inspiring this post.  For the rest of us, be sure to never throw them away again!

Chicken Gizzard Soup

March 27, 2019

by Janine Farzin

Category Misc

Persons

6

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

2 hours, 30 minutes

Total Time

3 hours

Ingredients

• 1-2lbs chicken gizzards

For the broth

• 3lbs chicken wings, backs and/or necks
• 1 carrot, peeled and sliced
• 1 parsnip, peeled and sliced
• 1 celery stick, sliced
• 1 bay leaf
• salt

For the soup

• 8 T butter (one stick), divided plus garnish
• 6 carrots, chopped
• 4 celery sticks, chopped
• 1 parsnip, chopped
• handful of mushrooms (optional)
• salt
• 2 T flour or arrowroot
• 1 c cooked (wild) rice (optional)
• 1 T dill, minced plus garnish
• lemon slices for garnish

Instructions

1. Prepare the chicken gizzards by removing all the silverskin, or heavy outside layer. Work with a sharp knife and cut away the skin leaving three nobs of meat from each gizzard.

For the broth

1. Add gizzards with chicken parts to pot, cover with water. Bring to a boil on high heat, then set on low. Skim any foam that rises to the surface. Add carrot, celery, parsnip, and bay leaf. Keep at a modest simmer for about 45 minutes. Remove any bony pieces with chicken meat on them and, when cool enough to handle, pull off all the meat and reserve. Return bones to the pot. Simmer for another hour or two.
2. Strain broth from pot through a sieve. Collect gizzards and reserve with pulled meat. Add a little broth to bowl to keep moist.
3. Season broth, adding 1/2 teaspoon salt per quart of broth. Wash pot and return to stove.

For the soup

1. Add 6 tablespoons of butter to the pot, heat on medium-high until foaming subsides. Add chopped vegetables to pot, and mix well to cover with butter. Let cook for 5-8 minutes, season with salt, and cover with broth. Bring to a boil, then return to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes until vegetables are tender.
2. Meanwhile, chop reserved chicken and gizzards and set aside. Next, prepare a roux for thickening the soup. In a small pot, heat remaining 2 tablespoons butter on medium heat until starting to brown. Do not let burn! Add flour and whisk continuously for about 3-5 minutes until it is bubbly. Keep whisking as color begins to deepen. When the color is a bit darker, whisk in a small ladle of broth. The mixture should seize up. Continue whisking as you add several more ladles of broth (about a cup in total, right from the soup), allowing each one to be incorporated before adding the next. Cook for several minutes to thicken. Reserve roux.
3. When the vegetables are tender, add roux to soup, slowly, mixing well. Add optional rice and reserved gizzards and chicken meat. Cook together for another minute or two until meat and rice are warm. Add dill, mix into soup and all together.
4. Garnish each bowl with dill and a pat of butter. Serve with a slice of lemon.

Tags

Alice Waters,

mindfulness,

soup

https://offallygoodcooking.com/chicken-gizzard-soup/