Chicken gizzards' stew - a favorite Portuguese snack
Among many other things, Portuguese cuisine is known by its ability of reduce the waste to the minimum, meaning "Portuguese eat almost every part of the animals included into their diet". In case of pork, actually, we eat everything. And when I say everything, I mean... everything!
With chicken, it happens almost the same thing. We eat legs, thighs, wings, breast, neck, claws, liver, heart, gizzard (or the stomach) and we use the bones either to make stock or soup. In this process of making a less common animal part edible, the inners are probably the biggest challenge. But as all big challenges, when successfully accomplished, it turns into a tasty victory. One of the Portuguese's favorite snack is chicken gizzards' stew. Going to a neighborhood small restaurant/bar/cafe - aka "tasquinha" - and have a serving of gizzards and a cold beer is one of those classics one cannot skip while in Portugal. It is a must have! Hey, I can hear you: "Eww! That is SO gross!". Well, it is not. Give it a try. After all, how can you say it is gross if you never tried it? You will be talking about something that you don't know, and that is being pedantic. And I am positive you are not such a person, so... give it a chance. ;)
This stew is a simple and cheap option for a weekend afternoon snack or meal. It is usually cooked in beer but the version I am sharing today uses red wine (a less common recipe but as yummy as the beer version. I will upload the beer version sometime soon so you can decide which one is your favorite). So here it is my version of gizzards' stew 6 to 8 people:
Start by washing 2 lbs of chicken gizzards under cold running water, removing any remains of fat or skin (usually, the gizzards bought on the supermarket are already clean of skin and fat but sometimes some remains are left behind). Cut them in quarts and reserve. In a medium pot, put one big yellow onion chopped and 3 tablespoons of olive oil over moderate heat. Allow the onion to cook for 3 to 4 minutes until it looks translucent. Add 3 garlic cloves chopped and 2 bay leaves. Let it cook for 2 minutes more and add 1 cup of chopped tomato, peeled. Season with salt and pepper, cover the pot and allow the mixture to cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. At this point, add the gizzards, mix them well with the tomatoes and onion and allow them to brown slightly. Season with more salt, pepper, a pinch of tabasco sauce and 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of dried hot red pepper (depending on how spicy you like your food), and stir everything very well. Then, add 2 cups of red wine and 1 cup of chicken stock. Cover the pot and bring to the boil. Remember that it is NOT okay to use bad wine to cook. A wine that is good to drink is as good to cook. If one uses bad wine to cook, everything that is bad in that wine will pass to the food exponentially due to the cooking process. So, please, stop ruining your dishes by cooking with $5 (or less) wine.
Let the meat boil for 2 minutes, taste for salt and spicy, and correct if necessary. Lower the heat to the minimum, cover the pot and let it simmer for 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally. At the end of this time, the meat should be tender to the bite. It is time to uncover the pot, raise the heat and let the sauce reduce by half (which should take around 15 minutes). You should get a "creamy" sauce and tender meat at the end. If your sauce is too runny, add 1 tablespoon of corn starch diluted in 1/2 cup of warm water into the stew and allow it to cook for 5 minutes. That will thicken your sauce.
And there you go! A perfect taste of a Portuguese afternoon! Do not forget the bread because, believe me, you don't want to spoil the sauce. I hope you like it as much as I do.
Do you know the feeling of either smelling or eating something that takes you back decades to happy, homy moments? I was feeling that way yesterday evening. The stew was on the stove for 15 minutes and the smell was already driving me back to the Spring and Summer Sunday afternoons of my childhood and adolescence when the family gathered all day, enjoyed themselves and kiss "until next weekend" goodbye with a plate of chicken gizzards. The first bite almost brought me to tears - I was 10 again, I was on our country side home (where I still come back to enjoy my grandma every Christmas), in the company of my favorite family members, unaware of the traps life can place on your path. I was happy and that is everything I expect from food.
With chicken, it happens almost the same thing. We eat legs, thighs, wings, breast, neck, claws, liver, heart, gizzard (or the stomach) and we use the bones either to make stock or soup. In this process of making a less common animal part edible, the inners are probably the biggest challenge. But as all big challenges, when successfully accomplished, it turns into a tasty victory. One of the Portuguese's favorite snack is chicken gizzards' stew. Going to a neighborhood small restaurant/bar/cafe - aka "tasquinha" - and have a serving of gizzards and a cold beer is one of those classics one cannot skip while in Portugal. It is a must have! Hey, I can hear you: "Eww! That is SO gross!". Well, it is not. Give it a try. After all, how can you say it is gross if you never tried it? You will be talking about something that you don't know, and that is being pedantic. And I am positive you are not such a person, so... give it a chance. ;)
This stew is a simple and cheap option for a weekend afternoon snack or meal. It is usually cooked in beer but the version I am sharing today uses red wine (a less common recipe but as yummy as the beer version. I will upload the beer version sometime soon so you can decide which one is your favorite). So here it is my version of gizzards' stew 6 to 8 people:
Start by washing 2 lbs of chicken gizzards under cold running water, removing any remains of fat or skin (usually, the gizzards bought on the supermarket are already clean of skin and fat but sometimes some remains are left behind). Cut them in quarts and reserve. In a medium pot, put one big yellow onion chopped and 3 tablespoons of olive oil over moderate heat. Allow the onion to cook for 3 to 4 minutes until it looks translucent. Add 3 garlic cloves chopped and 2 bay leaves. Let it cook for 2 minutes more and add 1 cup of chopped tomato, peeled. Season with salt and pepper, cover the pot and allow the mixture to cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. At this point, add the gizzards, mix them well with the tomatoes and onion and allow them to brown slightly. Season with more salt, pepper, a pinch of tabasco sauce and 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of dried hot red pepper (depending on how spicy you like your food), and stir everything very well. Then, add 2 cups of red wine and 1 cup of chicken stock. Cover the pot and bring to the boil. Remember that it is NOT okay to use bad wine to cook. A wine that is good to drink is as good to cook. If one uses bad wine to cook, everything that is bad in that wine will pass to the food exponentially due to the cooking process. So, please, stop ruining your dishes by cooking with $5 (or less) wine.
Let the meat boil for 2 minutes, taste for salt and spicy, and correct if necessary. Lower the heat to the minimum, cover the pot and let it simmer for 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally. At the end of this time, the meat should be tender to the bite. It is time to uncover the pot, raise the heat and let the sauce reduce by half (which should take around 15 minutes). You should get a "creamy" sauce and tender meat at the end. If your sauce is too runny, add 1 tablespoon of corn starch diluted in 1/2 cup of warm water into the stew and allow it to cook for 5 minutes. That will thicken your sauce.
And there you go! A perfect taste of a Portuguese afternoon! Do not forget the bread because, believe me, you don't want to spoil the sauce. I hope you like it as much as I do.
Do you know the feeling of either smelling or eating something that takes you back decades to happy, homy moments? I was feeling that way yesterday evening. The stew was on the stove for 15 minutes and the smell was already driving me back to the Spring and Summer Sunday afternoons of my childhood and adolescence when the family gathered all day, enjoyed themselves and kiss "until next weekend" goodbye with a plate of chicken gizzards. The first bite almost brought me to tears - I was 10 again, I was on our country side home (where I still come back to enjoy my grandma every Christmas), in the company of my favorite family members, unaware of the traps life can place on your path. I was happy and that is everything I expect from food.
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