Minnesota Cooking: How to Make Pickled Chicken Gizzards and Hearts
Pickled Chicken Gizzards and Hearts
Chicken Gizzards and Hearts Need Pre-Boiling
Chicken gizzards need to be washed, placed in a large stock pot, covered with water, and then lightly boiled for three hours.
They need to be boiled so that they become tender. This takes up to three hours. The water that you cook them in should have some sort of salty seasoning added to it. A package of Lipton Onion Soup mix would work. We did a venison roast the day before with Lipton Herb and Garlic, which made the roast taste amazing.
I did not have another package, so I used a Garlic, Herb, and Wine marinade package from McCormick. This was added to the boiling water. I also added two frozen garlic gloves to the water and two boullion cubes I don't recall if I added canning salt, but if I did, it was 2 tablespoons.
Ingredients
- 4 pounds raw chicken gizzards/hearts
- 1 package Garlic, Herb and Wine Marinade, McCormick
- 2 boullion cubes Chicken Flavor
- 2 tablespoons Canning Salt
- 1 package, prepared Mrs. Wages Spicy Pickle Mix, 2 cups per jar
- 2 cloves garlic cloves, per jar
Cook Time
Instructions
- Boil gizzards in water for 3 hours. Enough water to cover the gizzards. 3 quarts. The water should have 2 chicken boullion cubes, Grill Mates Garlic, Herb and Wine dry marinade and 2 whole garlic cloves.
- After three hours of boiling, drain the gizzards and place gizzards in a clean quart jar. Place 2 garlic cloves in each jar and fill with Mrs Wages Spicy Pickle brine. Seal jar with Kerr Canning lid. Let cool.
- Place in refrigerator.
Discard the Original Water
You will remove the gizzards from the water that you boiled them in. Discard the water.
Gizzards go into a jar. Add two garlic gloves. I use peeled, frozen cloves. Fill jar with brine. Put lid on jar. Let cool. Put in refrigerator. Eat in two days.
There is no way to determine the nutritional value of these gizzards. There is no way to determine how much salt or garlic or any ingredient is in them.
The Brine Mix
I used Mrs. Wages Spicy Pickle Mix in the jar. Their mix. My vinegar and water. I follow their directions on the label.
I Used Four Packages
Added to My Boiling Water
Wash the Gizzards First
Put in Large Stockpot
Cover With Water
Add Soup Mix or Marinade Mix and Boullion
Follow Package Directions to Make Brine
Two Chicken Boullion Cubes
Gizzards Will Turn a Grey Color
If You Decide to Deep Fry - Use Fry Magic
The Finished Pickled Gizzards and Hearts
How About You
Do you pickle gizzards or anything else, like eggs, asparagus, mushrooms? Share!
Feedback
So, once you've tried this recipe, can you please come back and share what you've decided about the recipe, like whether you liked it or not.
Previous to using Mrs. Wages mix, I used to mix my own brine, and this seems to be equally as delicious, however, I did not include that recipe on this page. This is easier and the mix is available on Amazon.
This Spicy mix is perfect for using in this recipe.
Questions Asked - How Long Can They Be Refrigerated?
How long do they last in the refrigerator? Well. Good question. Best answer is, until someone eats the last one. Otherwise, if no one eats them, I'm sure they can stay in there a long time.
As someone pointed out, you go to the bar and decide you want to eat one out of the jar that is on the counter. They don't even refrigerate them, ever. Like my hubby pointed out, once they are pickled, it's like a corpse. They are pickles.
Well. That's the unappetizing thought about it.
Quite frankly, I don't know how long you can leave them in your refrigerator. I have some pickled mushrooms that have been in my refrigerator for at least a year. Why? Because I made so many of them, and of course, I had forgotten about them. Let me go try one, and if I stop typing in mid sentence, you'll know why... smile.
I think I made my mushrooms last year and they still taste okay. Now, the gizzards are long gone, but as long as they smell okay, I think you're okay to eat them. If you open the jar and it smells like a mouse died in the jar, don't eat them. The garlic does turn the brine a little murky colored and your gizzards will get a little jellied, but that's all okay. I used garlic that was peeled and since I froze it before I used it, I think it softens up a little in the gizzards.