Offal

Offal is the entrails and internal organs of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of organs, but includes most internal organs other than muscles or bones. In many parts of the United States these portions of the animal tend to be considered "waste parts", although there are U.S. recipes which include chitterlings, hog maw, etc. The parts that constitute offal vary with time, place and cultural tradition. Many items classified as offal are considered to be delicacies, and command a high price, in many places: tongue, sweetbreads, calf's liver, etc.

Related Topics:
Internal organ - Animal - Muscle - Bone - United States

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Offal may be used for human consumption as food, or, often after processing in a rendering plant, for animal feed, fertilizer or fuel. In some parts of Europe, brain, chitterlings or andouilles (pig's large intestine), feet or trotters, gizzard (bird's crop), heart, head (of pigs or calves), kidney, liver, lights (lung), sweetbreads (thymus or pancreas), tongue and tripe (stomach lining) from various mammals are common menu items.

Related Topics:
Food - Rendering - Animal feed - Fertilizer - Fuel - Brain - Chitterlings - Andouille - Feet - Trotters - Gizzard - Heart - Head - Kidney - Liver - Lights - Sweetbread - Tongue - Tripe

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The traditional Scottish haggis consists of sheep stomach stuffed with a boiled mix of liver, heart, lungs, rolled oats and other ingredients. In the UK Midlands faggots are made from ground or minced pig offal (mainly liver and cheek), bread, herbs and onion wrapped in pig's caul.

Related Topics:
Haggis - UK - Faggot - Caul

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In Greece, splinantero consists of liver, spleen and small intestine, roasted over an open fire. A festive variety is kokoretsi: pieces of lamb or kid offal (liver, heart, lungs, spleen, kidney and fat) are pierced on a spit and covered by washed small intestine wound around in a tube-like fashion. Kokoretsi is then roasted over coal fire. It is a traditional Easter feature food. Another traditional Easter food is Mageiritsa: a soup made with lamb or kid's offal and lettuce in a white sauce. Tzigerosarmas and Gardoympa are two varieties of splinantero and kokoretsi made in different sizes and with extra spices to improve the taste.

Related Topics:
Greece - Easter

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In some Latin American countries, cow stomach or intestine is used to make menudo, chinchulines ortripas; in others, like Peru, cow heart is used for anticuchos - a sort of brochettes. In Brazil, churrasco oftenly includes chicken hearts, roasted in a big skewer.

Related Topics:
Peru - Brochette - Brazil - Churrasco - Chicken - Hearts

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In China many more organs and animal-parts are used for food or medicine.

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In the United States offal is less often used for human consumption; when it is used, the euphemism "variety meats" is generally used. When offal is included as an ingredient in animal feed, it is listed under the name "meat byproducts", one of a number of ingredients that may be so listed.

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Certain organs of certain animals are unsafe to consume. The liver of Polar bear and other polar animals is so high in vitamin A that it can have a toxic effect on human metabolism. Some animal intestines may be very high in coliform bacteria and need to be washed and cooked thoroughly to be safe for eating. Other offal (especially nervous tissue) may be contaminated with TSE prions; in some jurisdictions these offal classified as specified risk materials are subject to special regulations.

Related Topics:
Polar bear - Vitamin A - Coliform - Bacteria - TSE - Prions - Specified risk materials

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Offal is usually very high in purines. People suffering from gout should avoid offal in their diet.

Related Topics:
Purine - Gout

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In American English, the words offal and awful are virtually homonyms — one dictionary shows the pronunciation of awful as being the same as the most-frequent pronunciation of offal — a fact which offers opportunity for some really bad puns.

Related Topics:
American English - Pun

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