Chefs like Jacques Pépin, Tom Colicchio, Angie Mar, Anthony Bourdain, and Marcus Samuelsson know that offal is the key to rich, waste-free flavor.
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Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Barrett Washburne
Call them offal, nose-to-tail, variety meats, or "the nasty bits" à la Anthony Bourdain — the organ meats, bones, heads, feet, and tails that some diners eschew are the parts that plenty of cultures around the world treasure. Whether it's oxtails in a Trinidadian stew, a pig's foot in a French onion soup, liver and gizzards in a savory dirty rice, or fish heads in the best bouillabaisse you've ever tasted, these humble cuts and guts are the key to maximum flavor — and may even help you save a few bucks at the butcher or fishmonger.
01 of 29
Sea Urchin and Crab Fondue
CEDRIC ANGELES
Briny seafood pairs perfectly with a rich, buttery potato puree in this career-making combination from Top Chef star Tom Colicchio. He served this dish when he was selected as a 1991 F&W Best New Chef, and it so impressed restaurateur Danny Meyer, that he decided to go into business with him at Gramercy Tavern.
02 of 29
Mapo Tofu- and "Wok-Style"-Inspired Ramen
MasterChef Jr. contestant and Do Not Disturb chef Josh Reisner's mapo tofu ramen is a beautiful marriage of mapo tofu, the spicy tongue-numbing Sichuan dish, and Japanese ramen. It calls for chicken and tofu. Stick solely with the tofu if you want to create a vegetarian version, but use chicken feet for a supple heft to the broth.
03 of 29
Oxtail Soup
Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Priscilla Montiel
Oxtails, a historically inexpensive but increasingly pricey cut of beef, are making a resurgence, and Osei “Picky” Blackett, chef and owner of Arapita in Brooklyn, is part of the push. “I just love oxtail. I love the fattiness of it,” says Blackett, “I love the excess.” That comes through in his rich and intensely savory stew made with a slow braise that tenderizes the oxtails.
04 of 29
Kare-Kare (Filipino Beef and Peanut Stew with Vegetables)
Food & Wine / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle
Tender beef cheeks shredded into a rich peanut buttery sauce nestle alongside vegetables and rice in this classic Filipino dish by chef Miko Calo. Beef tendon is technically optional, but it adds tremendous dimension to the braising stock.
05 of 29
Fried Boudin Balls with Creole Mustard Dipping Sauce
These crispy, savory, pork shoulder and chicken-liver-filled snacks are a Cajun food tradition balanced perfectly by a pop of Creole mustard and hot sauce.
06 of 29
Chicken Liver Ragù Rigatoni
Using store-bought chicken liver mousse makes this recipe quick without sacrificing flavor. It's stirred into pasta cooking water to make a sauce to coat bronze-cut rigatoni topped with rosemary, sherry vinegar, and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
07 of 29
Chicken Liver Pâté
Diana Chistruga
Jacques Pépin's recipe for chicken liver pâté is silky-smooth, kissed with whiskey or Cognac, simple to make, and perfect with a cocktail or glass of wine before a meal.
08 of 29
Crispy Duck with Duck Dirty Rice and Peach Salad
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Barrett Washburne
Top Chef contestant Tiffany Derry's crispy duck, savory dirty rice, and a sweet peach salad give this dish memorable contrasts in flavors and textures. If you've ever wondered what makes rice "dirty," generally speaking, it's innards — and in this case, chicken liver and gizzards.
09 of 29
Stuffat Tal-Fenek (Maltese Braised Rabbit)
Chef Matthew Hamilton's cozy and rustic Maltese stew is studded with carrots, potatoes, sweet garlic confit, and perfectly cooked rabbit — including the kidneys and heart. A combination of fresh thyme and rosemary add complexity and stand up to the robust red-wine-and-tomato-based braise. Serve this saucy stew with a large piece of crusty bread for optimal sopping.
10 of 29
Leftover Chicken Soup
Chef and author Marcus Samuelsson's chicken soup is fragrant with ginger, star anise, and lemongrass, and uses whole chickens — livers and skin included — to make a nearly no-waste meal.
11 of 29
Duck Liver Pâté with Blackberry Conserva
The tartness and texture of Angie Mar's blackberry conserva is a compelling contrast to the rich, silky pâté of duck liver. Spoon leftover blackberry conserva on pancakes, waffles, or ice cream.
12 of 29
Juniper-Rubbed Roast Duck with Cherry Jus
2017 F&W Best New Chef Angie Mar models her roast duck on the one her father made every Christmas. After a prolonged salt cure, he’d cold-smoke it so the fat picked up the whiff of sweet smoke. Then he’d slow-roast the bird until it resembled the crisp-skinned, mahogany-hued ducks that hang in the windows in Chinatown. Mar serves hers with a rich sauce of reduced duck broth (made with the duck's heart, gizzard, and neck) and tart cherries as a nod to the cherry trees in the Pacific Northwest where she grew up.
13 of 29
Duck à l’Orange
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless
Jacques Pépin’s crispy-skinned duck in a silky orange duck sauce bolstered with hearts, gizzards, and necks provides a stunning special-occasion centerpiece and makes maximum use of the whole bird.
14 of 29
Anthony Bourdain's Soupe de Poisson
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless
Anthony Bourdain's take on this Southern French classic goes heavy on the fish heads, primarily from whiting and porgy. Garlicky rouille is a must on the croutons.
15 of 29
Bone Broth Is Liquid Gold — Here’s How to Make It
Madeleine_Steinbach / Getty Images
"Sipping a steaming mug of rich and savory chicken bone broth brings comfort and warmth to chilly winter days," says F&W's Paige Grandjean. "While grocery stores carry a variety of beef and chicken bone broths, the homemade stuff is infinitely better than most store-bought versions, uses inexpensive ingredients, and is much easier to make than you might think. Despite its long simmer time, cooking this collagen-rich liquid is primarily a hands-off process. Here’s how to make bone broth for sipping and soups."
16 of 29
Spaghetti ai Ricci di Mare (Sea Urchin Spaghetti)
Cedric Angeles
If you’re lucky enough to have fresh sea urchin on hand and are wondering what to do with it, chef Evan Funke's classic sea urchin spaghetti is your answer. The answer to the other question you may have is that the edible part of a sea urchin is, in fact, gonads.
17 of 29
Mexican Tripe Soup
Health blogger and cookbook author Russ Crandall's tripe soup features a gelatin-rich broth made by simmering pig’s feet. Served with hominy, it is called menudo. Without, it is pancita.
18 of 29
French (Canadian) Onion Soup
M. Wells founder and chef Hugue Dufour makes a pork broth for his gooey Gruyère-topped French onion soup using bacon for smokiness and a pig's foot for richness.
19 of 29
Mushroom-and-Chestnut Stuffing with Giblets
Bobby Fisher
This rich and delicious make-ahead stuffing by the late chef, TV host, and author Anthony Bourdain gets its flavor from giblets, fresh herbs, and turkey pan drippings.
20 of 29
Best-Ever Turkey Gravy
How do you make the best possible gravy? Start with the best possible broth, made extra flavorful with turkey necks, livers, hearts, and gizzards.
21 of 29
Bouillabaisse à l'Américaine
This luxe seafood soup from 1988 F&W Best New Chef Daniel Boulud starts with a fantastically rich-flavored broth made with fish heads, bones, aromatics, and tomatoes. Saffron-laced potatoes, snapper and bass fillets, shrimp and mussels all go in at the end and the dish is served with gloriously pungent rouille.
22 of 29
Ragout of Chicken with Potatoes and Chorizo
Spanish chef Julian Serrano knows that buying whole chickens and cutting them up at home isn't just economical; it also yields trimmings — such as necks, hearts, and gizzards — that make sauces extra flavorful. This forms the backbone of his gorgeous ragout, packed with squash, zucchini, potatoes, chicken, and smoky chorizo.
23 of 29
Crispy Fried Chicken Livers
Dress up your offal in chicken-nugget style with chef Ashley Christensen's crispy, tender appetizers. You're free to sauce them as you choose, but a simple wedge of lemon is all you really need.
24 of 29
Schmaltzy Pâté
To make his chopped chicken liver as luxurious as pâté, chef Michael Solomonov adds schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) to chicken livers for richness, then passes the result through a sieve to make it impossibly smooth.
25 of 29
Turkey Liver Mousse Toasts with Pickled Shallots
This hors d'oeuvre is a Louisiana take on traditional French chicken liver pâté. Slade Rushing and Allison Vines-Rushings create a silken mousse with livers from the quintessentially American bird, turkey, but you can also use chicken livers. Instead of cornichons, they add a sweet-and-tangy Southern accent of pickled shallots.
26 of 29
Steamed Red Snapper Packets
In Jamaica, this dish is called "roast fish," even though the seafood actually steams in a foil packet with vegetables. 2004 F&W Best New Chef Bradford Thompson follows tradition by serving the fish with a side of "fish tea" — a broth similar to bouillabaisse that's eaten as a kind of sauce. Start with five pounds of red snapper bones and you're halfway there.
27 of 29
Red Snapper Soup with Fresh Bean Sprouts and Garlic Oil
The late Charles Phan recalled eating numerous versions of this slightly sweet and pleasantly tangy fish soup while growing up in Vietnam. He added freshly squeezed lime juice for a hit of sourness instead of the more traditional tamarind pulp and amped it all up with a bevy of fish heads and snapper bones.
28 of 29
Grilled Marrow Bones with Rosemary-Lemon Bruschetta
Chef Chris Cosentino uses the phrase "God's butter" to describe rich, decadent bone marrow. Here he serves it alongside grilled toasts rubbed with rosemary and lemon. For a more potent herbal flavor, singe the rosemary sprigs on the grill for a few moments before rubbing the toasts.
29 of 29
Pot au Feu
Food & Wine Video Team
"In France, pot au feu is our chicken soup,” says chef Ludo Lefebvre. With this nostalgia-inducing dish of multiple braised meats and root vegetables, the chef serves simple boiled potatoes alongside marrow bones that guests can scoop and savor.
* This article was originally published here
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