How to cook chicken stomachs until tender and soft

Chicken gizzards, like most by-products, have a very low cost and are a dietary meal - the caloric content of 100 g is only 140 kcal. They are used in many hot and second courses, salads, appetizers, and even in baking, but sometimes there are some difficulties with their preparation.

Most often, you have to work hard to keep the stomachs tender in any condition - even though hot, though chilled. How to achieve this?

How to achieve the softness of chicken stomachs?

Even a high-class professional will find it difficult to make tender initially tough meat, therefore, in order for the idea to be a success, approach the choice of by-product responsibly. It must be very fresh, have a uniform color and texture, be devoid of bruises, dark spots, yellowness and, of course, an unpleasant smell.

Good chicken stomachs have a sweetish aroma, not sticky, keep their shape, do not crumple under the fingers. Their shelf life is only 48 hours, so make sure when exactly the product arrived on the counter and to what date it is supposed to be sold. If a broader time frame is indicated, it is likely that it is "stuffed" with chemicals - even if they do not play a role in the taste, they can harm your body.

• Keep in mind that if the chicken stomachs are initially very fatty (we are talking about the outer layers of fat), then half of their weight will go away when cleaning, so either take a larger amount than is required in the recipe, or look for a variant with a lower fat content.
• How to cook chicken stomachs so that they are soft? First, they are defrosted in the room: trying to do it with a microwave or oven is undesirable, since the process of heat treatment will begin. If the by-product has been frozen, it must first be determined to the lower level of the refrigerator - it is recommended to do this in the evening so that in the morning you can continue the process of cooking.
• After defrosting, the by-product must be rinsed in a large amount of cold water, completely kicking sand out of it, then dried with paper towels or allowed to drain on its own.
• Then they need to be cleaned from the outer film, which the manufacturer often preserves: its presence does not harm the taste, but can interfere with proper preparation. But any hint of bile should not just be removed, but also cut off if necessary, since it has a bitter taste and will immediately give it to the dish. Professionals advise to do the same with veins, fat deposits.
• Soak the cleaned stomachs in cold water for 1.5-2 hours - this will boil them a little faster.

Regardless of what dish you plan to make, so that the chicken stomachs are soft, they must first be boiled, and only then baked or fried. If you miss this stage, the product is prepared unevenly: when frying, it will get a crisp much faster than it reaches inside. In addition, frying, especially at high power, takes up most of the liquid, which, again, contributes to the dryness of the product.

How much to cook chicken stomachs until ready?

The duration of preparation of this by-product depends on the purpose for which you decided to boil it, whose stomachs were bought (chicken or chicken), as well as on the previous steps. In addition, the use of a pressure cooker significantly reduces this period.

• The maximum cooking time is 1.5 hours: this is necessary for the stomach of an adult chicken. The chicken comes to readiness much faster - in about 30-40 minutes, counted from the moment of boiling.
• In order for the by-product to be gentle and cooked evenly, it is placed in cold, well-salted water, and after boiling the fire is reduced to a minimum. Cooking is done under the lid and is more like a languor: the water should not boil.
• Professionals are advised to always remove the foam that appears on the surface of the water: it is released protein, which can harm the taste of the finished dish. Some cooks cook their stomachs in 2 waters: first boil for 10-15 minutes. after boiling in the 1st pan, and then transfer the by-product to the next one, where by this time the water should boil.

After cooking, chicken stomachs can be stored for no more than 3 days, but there is always an alternative way: to freeze them in any volumes. In this case, you will have a by-product that is ready for use, which you just need to defrost or immediately mix with the other components, for example, if you cook soup or make a casserole.

Chicken gizzards are not always the only additional ingredient: simply extinguish them with onions in sour cream to get a full-fledged hot dish, ideally combined with mashed potatoes as a side dish. No less tasty they will be in tandem with mushrooms or vegetables, but almost all housewives agree that hot chicken stomachs are more attractive than in cold.

Remember that cooking does not put a rigid framework, so do not try to withstand the exact cooking time: check the product periodically, and as soon as it is easy to pierce with a fork, remove the pan from the stove. If you overdo it, the stomachs will become very hard, rubber, their taste will be ruined. And if you plan to fry them, reduce the estimated cooking time by 10-15 minutes.