4th
Liver/heart
OK, so you got one of those local, organic chickens that comes with the gizzards et al. inside. What are you gonna do with that stuff? The neck’s easy—save the neck for stock, along with the wing-tips (and the backbone, if you’re spatchcocking). But what about the heart and liver? Here’s what.
Put ‘em in the fridge. Now make your chicken as planned. The next day, you’re making lunch for one. Wash the liver and heart pretty thoroughly, then cut the liver into manageable pieces, and the heart into four pieces, trimming off the big patch of fat on there. Get a pan going on medium-high heat with a bit of butter. Start sauteing some chopped onion (say half a small onion?) in the butter. A pinch of salt.
Toss your liver and heart pieces in some seasoned flour, then shake off the excess and add the pieces to the pan. Brown well, and take out the liver pieces after 3-4 minutes. Keep cooking the heart for another couple of minutes, until your onions are threatening to burn, and the flour in the pan is getting pretty dark. Pour in maybe a half a cup of chicken stock and stir, letting it cook down to a gravy. When it gets thicker and gravy-like, add another pat of butter to finish.
Put back in your liver pieces and toss them around in there. Then pour the whole lot onto a thick slice of bread, preferably home-baked and a day old. A few drops of vinegar on top cut through all the richness. Enjoy.
