OFFAL

Getting Creative With Organ Meats. The Only Other Thing You’ll Need is a Nice Chianti

- JR Young

There couldn’t be a better time to write this article than right now, given the state of the world in dealing with COVID-19. Hunting licenses, both new and renewals, are up across the nation. Once again there’s another boost for hunting, angling, and procuring wild proteins. This series of articles has been about getting the most out of your kill. It’s time to take it to the next level: offal. Historically, Americans have been squeamish about the wobbly bits of an animal.

Our palates have been made weak by the idea that prime cuts for steaks and roasts are the best parts. Before we even leave the kill, we’ve decided all those extra odd bits are nothing we want near our prized muscle. In traditional hunting from a prehistoric perspective, the whole animal was consumed or used, and offal was the initial focus. It was the prize of the hunter or the privilege of a tribal leader or expectant mother to eat the heart and/or the brains of the animal that had been killed. Interestingly when we massacred the bison in the late 19th century, it was documented that their tongues were most prized in New York and elsewhere in cities east of the Great Plains.

Fear of meat shortages and cleanliness, given the risks at packing facilities during our current pandemic, has us taking a second look at the harvest of our game. As you take the field this fall, consider indulging the culinary experience of respecting the whole animal. Tongues, hearts, livers, gizzards, kidneys, and even parts of the stomach and testicles should be taken into consideration.