Offal

Offal, also called variety meats, is the internal parts of an animal that people sometimes eat. It can also mean parts left over from processing grains like corn or wheat.

Some cultures do not eat offal, while others enjoy it as regular food or special dishes. Some offal foods, like foie gras and pâté, are considered fancy treats. Other traditional dishes include sweetbread, Jewish chopped liver, Scottish haggis, U.S. chitterlings, and Mexican menudo. Intestines are often used to make sausage casings.

Depending on the situation, offal might only mean the parts of an animal that are thrown away after butchering or skinning. Offal not used for eating is often made into fertilizer, fuel, or pet food.

Etymology and terminology

The word "offal" comes from old words meaning "garbage" or "waste." It is used to describe parts of an animal that are removed during butchering. In some languages, it is used to name food. For example, in Afrikaans it is called afvalvleis, meaning "off-fall-flesh." In German, it is called Innereien, meaning "innards," and in Swedish, it is inälvsmat, meaning "inside-food." The word came into English from an old Dutch word, afval, from af (off) and vallen (to fall).

It is not related to the word awful, which once meant "inspiring awe" before it came to mean "very bad."

Organ meat has special names, like beef heart for a cow’s heart and pork heart for a pig’s heart.

Types

Offal includes many parts of an animal that are used as food. Some common types are:

• Arteries
• Bone marrow
• Bladder
• Blood
• Brain
• Bronchus
• Capillaries
• Cheeks
• Chitterlings
• Ears
• Eyes
• Gallbladder
• Gizzard
• Heart
• Head cheese
• Hooves
• Horns
• Hide
• Intestines
• Kidney
• Lips
• Liver
• Lung
• Omentum
• Oxtail
• Pancreas
• Trotters
• Snout
• Spleen
• Sweetbread
• Swim bladder
• Throat
• Tongue
• Tripe
• Udder
• Veins

Europe

In parts of Europe, people eat many different parts of animals. These include the animal’s feet, heart, head, kidney, liver, lungs, and stomach, among others. These foods are enjoyed in many countries and are sometimes special treats.

Great Britain

See also: British cuisine

Long ago, people in Britain made food from animal parts that were not the usual cuts of meat. One famous Scottish dish is made from a sheep’s stomach filled with liver, heart, and other ingredients. In some parts of England and Wales, people make a dish from ground pig parts mixed with bread and herbs.

Today, two main dishes with these special parts are still popular: a pie made with steak and kidney, and liver served with onions and a rich sauce.

There are also foods like a cooked mix of meat from around the animal’s skull, and a type of sausage made from pig’s blood and oatmeal.

Ireland

See also: Irish cuisine

In the past, people in Ireland often ate these special parts because they could not afford the more expensive cuts of meat. Foods like sausages made from pig’s blood, pig’s feet, and liver were common.

A famous character in a book enjoyed eating many of these foods, like soup made from animal parts and special dishes with kidneys.

Nordic countries

See also: Nordic countries and Scandinavian cuisine

Norway

See also: Norwegian cuisine

In Norway, one traditional dish is made from a sheep’s head. The head is prepared and served with mashed vegetables. Another dish uses lamb’s feet, and there is also a special Christmas food made from a cooked pig’s foot.

Other common foods include dishes made from liver and lung, as well as special types of sausages.

Denmark

See also: Cuisine of Denmark

In Denmark, liver spread is very popular and is often eaten on bread. There are also special sausages and dishes made from heart, often served with vegetables and potatoes.

Iceland

See also: Icelandic cuisine

Iceland has traditional dishes made from blood and liver, as well as a dish similar to the Norwegian one made from a sheep’s head.

Sweden

See also: Swedish cuisine

Sweden has its own versions of special sausages and dishes made from liver, heart, and other parts. These are often served with potatoes and other side dishes.

Finland

See also: Finnish cuisine

Finland also has special sausages and dishes made from liver. One popular dish is a thin, fried snack made from blood, often enjoyed with jam.

Western Europe

In France, the city of Lyon is known for its many dishes made from special parts of animals. In Germany, some regions have traditional dishes like sour tripe and heart-based stews. Liver is used in many recipes there.

In Austria, traditional dishes include a mix of veal lungs and heart, and special types of sausages.

In Belgium, classic dishes sometimes include liver or kidney.

Southern Europe

In Italy, many different parts of animals are used in cooking. Popular dishes include fried brains, tripe (stomach), and liver. In Rome, a special dish is made from the intestines of young calves.

In Spain, traditional dishes include tripe, liver, kidneys, and blood sausages. In Portugal, tripe and pig’s ears are common, along with dishes made from chicken stomachs.

In Greece and nearby countries, dishes made from liver, spleen, and intestines are enjoyed, especially during festivals. In Turkey, grilled intestines and tripe soup are popular, along with dishes made from liver and brain.

Eastern Europe

In Romania, a traditional Easter dish is made from animal offal, and there are special soups and stews made from tripe and other parts.

In Armenia, a winter delicacy is made from pig’s or cow’s feet and other parts.

In Hungary, tripe stew and sausages made from offal are common. In Poland, sausages made from blood and offal, as well as tripe soup, are traditional.

In Russia, liver and tongue are valued, and there are dishes made from kidneys, brains, and other parts.

South America

In Brazil, churrasco (barbecue) often includes chicken hearts. The typical feijoada sometimes contains pork trimmings. In Argentina and Uruguay, the traditional asado often includes several types of offal (called "achuras"), like chinchulines and tripa gorda (chitterlings).

In Colombia, menudencias refers to chicken leftovers or offal such as the head, neck, gizzard, and feet. In Peru and Bolivia, beef heart is used for anticuchos—a sort of brochette.

Sub-Saharan Africa

In many parts of Africa, people eat parts of animals that are not the main meat. For example, sausage can be made from the small intestine of a goat, cow, or sheep, mixed with chili and small pieces of meat. In Kenya, this is called "mutura" in the Kikuyu language. Stomachs of sheep or goats are also stuffed and cooked in a similar way.

Different animal parts have traditional meanings. For instance, in Kikuyu culture, grilled kidneys were once reserved for young ladies, while the tongue was for men and ears for little girls. Livers are also commonly eaten. Heads, lungs, and hooves are often boiled to make soup, sometimes with herbs for special uses.

In South Africa, many people enjoy eating tripe, which is the stomach skin of animals, along with sheep’s head or shin. Sheep’s head is sometimes called “skopo” or “smiley” depending on how it looks when cooked. Popular ways to prepare these foods include cooking them with small potatoes in a curry sauce served with rice or maize.

In Zimbabwe, nearly every part of an animal is used, including the stomach, hooves, shin, intestines, liver, head, tongue, and more. Blood from beef or goat is sometimes mixed with other parts to make special dishes. In Nigeria, offal is enjoyed by everyone and has special names depending on the language, such as "Inu eran" in Yoruba, meaning the inside of an animal.

East Asia

China

See also: Chinese cuisine

In China, many parts of animals are used for food and medicine. Popular pork dishes include stir-fried pork kidneys with oyster sauce, ginger, and scallions, and a spicy stew with preserved mustard and tofu. Deep-fried pork intestine slices are often sold by street vendors. Pork tongue slices with salt and sesame oil are enjoyed, especially in Sichuan province. Braised pork ear strips in soy sauce and five-spice powder are common appetizers.

Offal dishes are especially popular in southern regions like Guangdong and Hong Kong. In Cantonese cuisine, roasted chicken liver with honey and a special honey-roasted dim sum called "Gum Chin Gai" are enjoyed. Dim sum restaurants also offer chicken, duck, and pork feet in various styles. Fish offal, like the lips of freshwater fish, is used in local dishes.

Japan

See also: Japanese cuisine

Japan has a long history of eating offal. Dishes like horse offal cooked in a pot have been common since the Edo period. Some offal, like liver and chicken gizzards, are popular and served as yakitori. Other parts, called motsu or horumon, are often fried on skewers or served in soups. In different regions, these soups have unique names and ingredients.

Korea

See also: Korean cuisine

In Korea, offal is used in many dishes, similar to China but less frequently. Grilled intestine slices and pork blood are common, as is a traditional sausage called sundae, made from pork intestines filled with pork blood and vegetables. Pork feet steamed in special stock are considered a delicacy, and beef stomach and intestines are popular for cooking. Grilled chicken hearts, gizzards, and feet can be found in traditional street food areas.

Southeast Asia

Indonesia

See also: Indonesian cuisine

In Indonesia, many people eat the inside parts of cows and goats. These can be fried, made into soups called soto, or grilled as satay. Almost every part of the animal is eaten. For example, soto Betawi uses many inside parts, while soto babat uses only tripe. In Minangkabau cuisine, known as "Padang food," offal is often made into a type of curry called gulai, such as gulai otak and gulai babat. Fried liver and spleen are also popular.

The cartilage, skin, and tendon from cow legs are used in dishes like tunjang, kaki sapi, or kikil. Cow’s stomach and intestine are popular in soups or fried dishes. Cow lung, called paru, is coated with spices and fried as a snack. The liver can be made into a spicy dish called rendang. Cow or goat tongue is sliced and fried or cooked into a stew called semur.

Chicken and duck offal, like giblets, liver, and intestines, are also eaten, often skewered and fried as snacks.

Malaysia and Singapore

See also: Malaysian cuisine and Singaporean cuisine

In Malaysia, cow or goat lung, called paru, is coated in turmeric and fried to go with rice, especially with nasi lemak. Tripe is used in stir-fries or as satay. The liver is deep-fried or stir-fried with vegetables.

In Malaysia and Singapore, soup made from pig’s organs is common in food courts. Many of the dishes popular in Indonesia and Malaysia are also found in Singapore.

Philippines

See also: Filipino cuisine

In the Philippines, many parts of the pig are eaten, including the snout, intestines, ears, and innards. The dish sisig from Pampanga is made from the skin of a pig’s head, along with ears. Another dish, dinakdakan, also uses these pig parts. Dinuguan is a stew made from pig intestines, meat, and sometimes ears and cheeks, with vinegar and chili peppers.

Pieces of pig’s lungs are skewered and fried as street food. Isaw is a popular street food made from skewered and barbecued pig or chicken intestines, dipped in vinegar. Other street foods include pig ears, skin, liver, and coagulated blood, as well as chicken heads, necks, feet, and gizzards. Chicken gizzard and liver are also cooked adobo style.

Beef tripe is also used in a rice porridge called goto, or in a soup in Batangas. Beef tongue is stewed in a creamy dish called lengua. Beef and pig liver are used in stews like menudo and Ilocano igado.

Thailand

See also: Thai cuisine

In Thai cuisine, many dishes use offal. The dish lap, often made with minced pork, may also include liver or intestines. Deep-fried intestines, called sai mu thot, are eaten with a spicy sauce. Other dishes include the Thai-Chinese soup kuaichap (with intestines and liver) and the northern Thai dish aep ong-o (pig brains).

Vietnam

See also: Vietnamese cuisine

In Vietnam, dishes made from internal organs are popular. Cháo lòng and Tiết canh use pig’s internal organs. Cỗ lòng is a boiled pig offal dish. Bún bò Huế is a noodle soup with oxtail and pig knuckles. Beef tendon and beef tripe are used in southern versions of Pho.

Phá lấu, a beef offal stew, is a popular snack in southern Vietnam, often served with bánh mì and a sweet-and-sour sauce.

South Asia

See also: Indian cuisine and Pakistani cuisine

In India and Pakistan, people eat parts of animals that are not usually considered meat. This includes the brain, feet, head, stomach, tongue, liver, kidney, and other organs from goats and chickens. One popular dish is called Kata-Kat, which includes spices and organs like brains and liver. In some places, fried goat intestines and barbecued chicken tails are special foods.

India and Pakistan

In Hyderabad, a dish called bheja fry made from lamb or goat brain is a favorite. In Mangalore, a spicy dish called raghti uses pork organs and is a traditional meal for some families.

In Tamil Nadu, goat spleen, called "suvarotti," is valued for its iron.

South India

In western India, Christians in Goa and Mumbai enjoy a dish called Sorpatel, made from pig organs like the heart and liver, mixed with spices. Roasted beef tongue is also common at parties. Chicken dishes often include the gizzard, heart, and liver.

West India

In Meghalaya, the Khasi community prepares dishes using pig organs. These include Jadoh, a red rice dish with pig blood, and Dohjem, a spicy dish with pork intestines. Other dishes include Doh Khleik with pig brains and various sausages.

Bangladesh

See also: Bangladeshi cuisine

In Bangladesh, people enjoy eating animal organs such as brain, feet, head, stomach, tongue, liver, lungs, kidney, and heart from bulls or goats, as well as chickens' heart, gizzard, and liver.

Nepal

See also: Nepalese cuisine

In Nepal, people enjoy many organ meats from goats, including brain, feet, head, bone marrow, stomach, tongue, liver, kidney, lungs, intestines, and more. Chickens' heart and liver are enjoyed, but gizzards are highly prized.

Middle East

Jerusalem mixed grill is a tasty dish from the Mahane Yehuda Market. It includes chicken hearts, spleens, and liver mixed with bits of lamb.

In Syria, lamb brain is used in special dishes. In Iran, many parts of the sheep are used in different types of kebab.

Pacha is a traditional dish from Iraq made from parts of a sheep, all slowly boiled and served with bread. In Kuwait, Bahrain, and other Persian Gulf countries, it is also enjoyed. In Egypt, fried beef and lamb liver is a popular dish, often served in sandwiches.

North America

United States

See also: Cuisine of the United States

In the United States, people often call offal "variety meats" or "organ meats". Some places use certain animal parts more than others. For example, many people eat the giblets from chickens, turkeys, and ducks, especially during Thanksgiving when they are used in gravy and stuffing. Mammal offal is less common, but liver is popular in dishes like liver sausage and liver and onions, often found in diners.

Some places have special dishes using offal. In the American South, there are recipes using chitterlings, livers, and hog maw. In the Mid-Atlantic, especially around Philadelphia, Scrapple is made from pork offal. In the Ohio River Valley, some people enjoy fried-brain sandwiches. In the western US and Canada, some people eat beef testicles, called Rocky Mountain oysters. In South Carolina, pork liver and other organ meats are often cooked into a stew called "hash".

Offal dishes from other cultures are usually found in communities that brought them. For example, American Jewish culture has chopped liver and beef tongue, and Mexican-American culture has menudo. Some fancy restaurants now serve offal dishes like roasted bone marrow and fried pork rind.

Some people in history were given less desirable parts of meat to eat.

Mexico

See also: Mexican cuisine

In Mexico and some other Latin American countries, many internal parts and organs are eaten regularly. Chicken hearts, gizzards, and livers are often fried or boiled, either alone or in broth.

Offal is used in many taco dishes, including:

• tacos de lengua: boiled beef tongue
• tacos de sesos: beef brain
• tacos de cabeza: every part of the cow's head
• tacos de ojo: cow's eyes
• tacos de chicharrón: fried pork rinds (chicharrón), a common snack
• tacos de tripas: beef tripe (tripas)

Many regional dishes in Mexico use offal. Menudo, a dish made of tripe, is common near the United States border. In Central Mexico, tripe without hominy is called "pancita". Cow kidneys and liver are popular in dishes like "higado encebollado" or "riñones a la Mexicana". Bone marrow is used in soups like "sopa de medula". In northern Mexico, tacos de "tripa de leche" are made from cow intestines, and in the south, pig intestines ("tripita") are eaten. Chicken innards are commonly eaten, like sweetbreads ("sopa de molleja") or other innards ("sopa de dentros de pollo").

Caribbean Islands

See also: Caribbean cuisine

Sheep's or goat's head are eaten in a dish called barbacoa, which comes from the Taino people. Cow cod soup is a traditional Jamaican dish made with bull penis. Morcilla (blood sausage), Chicharrón (fried pork rinds), and other pork offal are served in a Puerto Rican Cuchifrito. Sopa de mondongo, made with tripe, is common in the Caribbean and Latin America. Gandinga is a hearty stew from Cuba and Puerto Rico, made from the heart, liver, kidneys, and esophagus of pork or beef.

Australia

See also: Australian cuisine

In Australia, some dishes use offal, the inner parts of animals. For example, liver is used in liver and onions, and kidney is used in steak and kidney pie and some rissoles. Sometimes, people eat fried lamb brains. Different foods from other cultures also include offal. In Australia, food rules say that if a food has offal in it, it must say so on the label. This includes parts like brain, heart, kidney, liver, tongue, or tripe.

Health and food safety issues

Some animal parts, called offal, can be unsafe to eat. For example, the organs of a special fish called fugu or pufferfish are very poisonous and can only be prepared by special chefs in Japan. Eating the liver of a polar bear can make you very sick because it has too much vitamin A. Some animal intestines need to be washed and cooked well to remove harmful bacteria.

There are also rules about which animal parts can be sold in some places to keep people safe from diseases. For example, the United Kingdom does not sell animal brains to help stop the spread of a disease called "mad cow disease." The Food and Drug Administration in the United States has rules about animal lungs for safety reasons as well.