This hearty gravy is full of flavor, requires only a few ingredients and will take you straight back to your childhood. These yummy morsels will not disappoint you.
What Are Chicken Gizzards?
You may never have heard about chicken gizzards, and if you have, you may be wondering if I am insane for telling you to eat them. Brace yourself and prepare to fall in love!
A gizzard is a tiny muscle found in the digestive tract of chickens. When a chicken pecks at its food, it often picks up bits of gravel too. The gizzard acts as a net that catches these gravel bits. What’s even cooler about the gizzard is that it then uses the ingested gravel to grind up the chicken’s food before passing it onto the stomach.
I know what you’re thinking, but trust me, when gizzards are cleaned and prepared correctly they are awesome. As a little girl growing up in Ukraine, I was delighted when my mother cooked them. They were an absolute delicacy to me.
What do Gizzards Taste and Feel Like?
Since gizzards are muscles, they are tough and chewy. The taste of chicken gizzard resembles that of dark chicken meat. If you cook gizzards at too high of a heat, they will become rubbery and impossible to eat. But, if you cook them slowly and at a low temperature, they will become rich, tender and undeniably delicious.
What Should I Serve Chicken Gizzards Gravy With?
- Mashed Potatoes – Gravy goes best with mashed potatoes. Try using these mashed potatoes with the Chicken Gizzards Gravy for a delicious combo.
- Quinoa – Want a healthier option? Try Chicken Gizzards Gravy over quinoa. This combo compliments each other well.
- Potato Gnocchi – If you’re a pasta lover, try serving Chicken Gizzards Gravy over Potato Gnocchi. This combo is especially loved by kids.
Reheating Chicken Gizzard Gravy
This gravy will thicken significantly as it cools. Serving it very warm will yield the best flavors and provide a silky, smooth texture. If you are eating it later, you can easily reheat your gravy in the microwave or on low-heat in a saucepan.
Other Ways to Cook Chicken Gizzards
While some may scoff at the thought of eating chicken gizzards, chefs across the globe use them in tons of unique ways. From fancy pates to delicious soups, these little guys are extremely versatile and underrated.
Here are some of my best cooking approaches:
- Chicken gizzards Soup – Make Chicken Gizzards Soup. We love this especially during the fall rainy season. You can always replace chicken gizzards with turkey gizzards.
- Chicken Gizzard Stew – Cook gizzards in chicken stock alongside carrots, potatoes, celery and rice. The dark meat like flavor of the gizzards will provide a heartiness much like that of a beef stew.
- Roasted Chicken Gizzards – Slice the gizzards in half; drizzle them with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake them for 30 minutes at 500 ℉. If you like, throw some onions and other veggies on your baking sheet for a quick dinner.
- Fried Chicken Gizzards – Cut gizzards into small pieces, coat them with seasoned flour and deep fry them until they are fully cooked. Dip them in hot sauce if you like it spicy!
- Chicken Gizzards in a Pressure Cooker – Place chicken gizzards into the pressure cooker with a bit of water and seasoning of your choice. Add onions and bay leaves. Cook on high for 20 minutes.
Best Seasoning for Chicken Gizzards
- Salt & Pepper – I love making chicken gizzards with simple combination of seasoning. Salt and pepper bring out the natural flavor.
- Bay Leaves – I usually add a few leaves to add a nice hint of herb flavor.
- Other chicken seasonings – If you have a favorite chicken seasoning, it will also work great with chicken gizzards.
Nutrition and Benefits of Chicken Gizzards
Gizzards are full of too many essential vitamins and minerals to list. They also boast a ton of protein and are astonishingly low in calories. A 3.5-ounce serving of chicken gizzards is less than 100 calories, has almost 18 grams of protein and contains about 2 grams of fat.
Like other organ meats, gizzards also supply a great amount of iron. Add them to your diet if you suffer from an iron deficiency like anemia.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 1/2 lb chicken gizzards
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 large carrot
- 3 tbsp flour
- 3 cup water
- 1/2 tbsp salt adjust to taste
- 1 tsp pepper
- 3 bay leaves
Instructions
- Prepare all ingredients for the recipe.
- In a pot, preheat oil. Place diced onions and grated carrots to the pot and cook until the ingredients are golden brown.
- Add gizzards, season with salt and pepper. Cook until gizzards are golden. Add flour and cook for another minute.
- Pour in water and add bay leaves. Leave it to simmer for about 30 minutes.
- Serve over barley, mashes potatoes, rice or see above for other ideas.
Gizzards are soul food black people in the south have been eating them for centuries!!! But I doubt they will get tender in under two hours slow cooking how did you do it?!
Hi Davey, because the gizzards are cooked in gravy, they turn out very nice and tender. I agree with you, this is such soul food! we absolutely love it.
The diverse options for this recipe are INSANE…. I followed this recipe as printed. I kinda got heavy handed with the pepper but I was still able to enjoy the end results. But I had quite a lot of gravy left over after cooking my first one pound of gizzards so I added a package of chicken flavored Ramen noodles, without adding the chicken flavor packet and the dish just got “”gooder & gooder”. The third day there was still enough leftover for two more bowels so I added a handful of spinach and about six to eight “non farm raised shrimp” and “O-M-G!!!!”…. I still have one more pound of gizzards to cook and for sure I will be going back to this recipe again…
Hi there! Wow! I am thrilled to hear that the recipe was a success and you were able to use left overs for new and exciting meals! Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback. Enjoy!
Love, love, love this recipe. I use it and get compliments every time (from my in-laws who have been eating gizzards their whole lives). However, I do simmer mine for 1.5-3 hours depending on how much time I give myself before hand. The gizzards get SO tender this way!
Hi Emily- thank you so much for taking the time to give feedback! I'm so glad you found this recipe and that you all love it. 🙂
I am thinking of giving these a try for the first time. Just looking for a little more clarification. 🙂
Most chicken gizzard recipes say that slow cooking them can take 30 min to an hour.
30 minutes is good? What indicates a good texture/finish for this dish?
Hi, I think 30 minutes should be plenty but sometimes you get them pretty large in size, they may need a bit of extra time. They should be tender, not chewy. Enjoy this recipe
Coming from a Ukrainian home this dish was often served. Perohay was always on the table also. That being said My mouth is watering and I’ll be making this in the next few days!! Thank you for the memories.
You're very welcome, Judy! Enjoy.
Hi. You didn't list how much oil to use for sauteing onions/carrots........
Thank you for catching that! I added the info.
In step #3, what temperature do you cook the gizzards at and about how long till they turn golden? I don't want to overcook them! Thanks!
Nicole, we are going for the color here. They would still be raw on the inside.
Thanks for recipe great start. I added a turkey gizzards instead chicken gizzards, few more mushrooms and seasoning and paddled it over bed of wild rice.
I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for the feedback.
I have always eaten chicken gizzards since I was a young boy. Mom made them fried and that is how I have always eaten them. This recipe is absolutely fantastic!! I wish I could find a Ukrainian woman here in New Mexico to marry. The only change I made to this dish was to use red onion as due to COVID no yellow or white onions were available. I really want more Ukrainian food now! Thank you ever so much for this awesome recipe
Brian, I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe. I hope you find more recipes on the website to enjoy 🙂 Thank you for your feedback and comment.
Your are right, they are delicious and inexpensive. I never knew gizzards could be anything other than dog treats!! Enjoyed the recipe and the story.
Christa, I am so glad you tried them, not everyone is willing to go out of their comfort zone. I'm happy to hear you enjoyed them, I also have a soup recipe with gizzards if you want to give them a try in another recipe 🙂
thanks for recipe. great start. I added a few more vegetables and seasoning, and laddled it over a bed of rice
Nikki, that sounds like an amazing combo. Thank you for sharing!