Offal Facts for Kids

A variety of pâtés on a platter

Offal, also called variety meats, pluck or organ meats, refers to the internal organs and entrails of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, which varies by culture and region, but includes most internal organs excluding muscle and bone. As an English mass noun, the term "offal" has no plural form. Some cultures strongly consider offal as food to be taboo, while others use it as everyday food, or in delicacies. Certain offal dishes—including foie gras, pâté and sweetbread—are considered gourmet food in international cuisine. Others remain part of traditional regional cuisine and may be consumed especially in connection with holidays. This includes Scottish haggis, Jewish chopped liver, U.S. chitterlings, Mexican menudo as well as many other dishes. Intestines are traditionally used as casing for sausages.

Depending on the context, offal may refer to those parts of an animal carcass discarded after butchering or skinning; it may also refer to the by-products of milled grains, such as corn or wheat. Offal not used directly for human or animal food is often processed in a rendering plant, producing material that is used for fertilizer or fuel; or in some cases, it may be added to commercially produced pet food

Images for kids

An uncooked small haggis
A serving of smalahove at Voss, Norway
Svið served with mashed potatoes and mashed turnips at BSÍ in Reykjavík.
Pieds paquets, a regional specialty of Marseille and southern France
Andouillette from Troyes on sale at a charcuterie in Montmartre, Paris
Kokoretsi on a spit
Shkembe chorba
Peruvian anticuchos
Typical Zimbabwean meal, with sadza, greens, and goat offal 'Zvinyenze' in Shona. The goat intestines are wrapped around the stomach before cooking.
Chinese lou mei, with pig ears (left), and jellyfish (right)
Deep fried pork intestines from China
Motsunabe is a hot pot of offal.
Pig's organ soup from Singapore
Phá lấu as served in Vietnam
Pakistani Ojhari Lamb stomach curry
Tripe bag stuffed with bone marrow from Nepal
Rocky Mountain oysters
Indonesian goat's liver satay
Padang style fried cow lung from West Sumatra, Indonesia
Soto babat, spicy tripe soup.
Gulai otak, Indonesian cattle's brain curry
Deep fried crispy chicken intestines as snack
Sisig is made from pig snout, ears and brain.
Isaw is a popular street food that is made from skewered chicken or pig intestines.
Kare-kare is a stew made from oxtail and tripe.
Dinuguan, a stew made from pig's blood, varies per region.
Sai mu thot, deep-fried pork intestines, here served with spicy nam chim (Thai dipping sauce)
The sauce of kaeng tai pla is made from fish innards
Aep ong-o a northern Thai dish of chopped pig's brain mixed with egg and a Thai curry paste. It is wrapped in banana leaves and grilled
Sa nuea sadung is a northern Thai "salad" of semi-raw beef cuts, including sliced stomach. This particular version also contains nam phia, which are the contents of the first stomach of a cow
Kuaichap is a Thai Chinese noodle soup containing intestines and liver
Yam hu mu is a spicy Thai salad made with slices of boiled pig's ears

Offal facts for kids

Images for kids

See also