Grilled Chicken Hearts for Supper

You may have noticed already, but we like offal at our house.  Offal is all the edible parts of an animal that aren't the usual retail meat cuts.  Offal is one of those things that is under utilized by most here in the US.  Not only is most offal more affordable but organ meats tend to have more nutritional benefit than muscle meats.  Give them a try and you might be surprised.

I don't remember when I first had chicken hearts.  When I was growing up, ready cut chicken parts weren't nearly as common as they are now.  I learned how to take apart a whole chicken from my maternal grandmother.  Of course, whole chickens come with the heart, liver, and gizzard in a small bag inside the chicken.  My grandmother would fry them right along with the chicken.  It turns out well for us since I prefer the heart, my good wife prefers the gizzard, and we both like the liver so we each get the piece we like and split the liver.

One of the benefits of living in a larger city on the east coast is the availability of a wide variety of ethnic grocery stores.  One of our favorites is called Grand Mart.  It is primarily Asian and Hispanic foods plus some other types of foods.  They have a wide selection of produce, a good seafood section, and a well stocked meat department with lots of offal on display.  One of our routine purchases is a package of chicken hearts as this is the only place I've found just the hearts available.

Grilled Chicken Hearts were accompanied by grilled yellow squash and zucchini and by pick eye purple hull peas.  The yellow squash and the zucchini came from our garden and the peas were canned from last year's crop.  You can't beat home grown veggies and canning them lets you enjoy them throughout the year.  The good wife spends many hours canning the produce of our garden.

Pint jar of peas

Grilled Chicken Hearts

10 - 12 chicken hearts per person
season salt
garlic powder
bamboo skewers

Thread the chicken hearts on a pair of skewers so they are lightly touching.  Season with the season salt and garlic powder on both sides.  Put on a pre-heated grill on medium heat.  Cook 3 - 4 minutes per side until they are done to about medium.  That will have them done without drying them out.

Grilled Squash

Slice squash in 1/4 inch thick slices and place in a large bowl.  Drizzle with good olive oil and toss to coat evenly.  Put on hot grill and season, I used Uncle T's grill seasoning.  Grill for 4 - 5 minutes or until lightly browned and then turn over and grill till that side is browned.

On the grill beginning to cook

Pink Eye Purple Hull Peas

1 pint canned peas
1 large clove garlic
1 medium Serrano pepper
1 Tbs bacon grease

Put the peas in a pot.  Mince the garlic and the Serrano pepper and add to pot.  Add the bacon grease then put on the stove to get hot. 

A lovely tasty supper

Pink Eye Purple Hull Peas are in the same family as Black Eye Peas so you can use those if that is all you can find.

The grill pan that the squash was cooked on was found at Bed Bath & Beyond.  It is non-stick and definitely keeps the squash/zucchini slices from falling through the grates.

Since this is Summer and the time when most people use their grills, this is a good time to give these a try.

Uncle T