Pt. 1 Cooking with Offal - Why you should be too

Everyone knows what offal is, you may have just never heard the term for it before. Offal is basically the remains of a butchered animal - the internal organs and entrails left behind after all of the “desirable” meat has been prepared.

And while right now you may think otherwise, there are myriad reasons to cook and consume offal -

It is sustainable - Offal can provide multiple protein packed meals when it might otherwise just have been tossed in the trash, wasting so many valuable parts of that animal

It is nutritious - Most organs are packed with a higher concentration of vitamins, iron, protein and provide many other healthy nutrients

It is affordable - Many people view offal as throw away scraps, which helps keep its cost much lower than that of the “typical” types of protein, making it more accessible for a wider range of people

It may not look that visually pleasing at first, but with a little love, offal can be just as delicious as the more favorable cuts of meat.

Something SO delicious and honestly typically expensive in a restaurant is Pâté. This is basically a spreadable paste made from liver and a few other ingredients that happens to be extremely delicious on a crostini. I was making my version of a Banh Mi, and wanted to make my own pâté for it. It was so easy, and inexpensive - I would highly recommend trying this one.

1 pound chicken livers

2 medium shallots

Thyme (dried)

Port Red Wine (or anything dry, something good to cook with)

Unsalted Butter

Heavy Cream

All you need are a few simple ingredients, a pan to cook on the stove, and a food processor (or even a blender)

Melt your unsalted butter, roughly 3 tbsp in your pan and add in the diced shallots. Cook for a few minutes, until the shallots become close to translucent.

Once translucent, add in about 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme, 1/2 cup wine and a couple cracks of salt and black pepper. Allow everything to simmer for a couple minutes, then add in the livers.

Let the liver brown on both sides, total cook time will probably be about 6-8 minutes. Once browned, add everything in the pan into your food processor or blender along with 3 tbsp heavy cream. Blend until a smooth consistency.

Once blended, you will need to add to a bowl or serving dish and allow at least 3 hours of fridge time for it to set and turn into a paste consistency. Check back in a couple hours and once paste-like, enjoy! Pâté is delicious on crackers, can be spread onto bread in a sandwich, enjoyed as a “dip” with veggies; the possibilities are endless. And delicious, AND affordable. I spent no more than $6 to make over a pound of pâté, a quantity 10x what you would get dining out.

This was my first recipe in my offal series so stay tuned for more recipes that may take you out of your comfort zone, but WILL be delicious. Let me know below your thoughts and pictures if you try this one!

Cheers!