Simmered and Fried Canada Goose Gizzards and Hearts

Goose gizzards and hearts cleaned, simmered until tender, then dredged and fried crisp for a hot snack with hot sauce.

Serves: 4
Hands-on: 1 hr
Total: 3 hr 25 min
Skill: Confident cook

Cooks on: Stovetop · Snack, Appetizer

Ingredients

1½ lbCanada goose gizzards and hearts, from about 5 or 6 geese
1Onions, quartered
3 clovesGarlic, smashed
½ cupMilk
¾ cupFlour
2½ tspSalt, divided
1 tspBlack pepper, ground
6 cups water, for simmering
1 bay leaf
½ tsp cayenne pepper
3 cups neutral oil, for frying
¼ cup hot sauce, to serve

You'll need

Stovetop
Dutch oven
Large skillet, ideally cast iron
Instant-read thermometer

Helpful: sheet pan with wire rack.

Contains

Gluten, Dairy. Hot sauce varies; check the label.

Method

Clean the gizzards: slice each one open along the outside edge, rinse out the grit and food, and peel away the tough, wrinkled inner lining. Trim off the silver skin on the outside. Trim the fat and vessels from the top of the hearts and rinse out any blood.
Put the gizzards in the Dutch oven with the water, onion, garlic, bay leaf and 1½ tsp of the salt. Bring to a boil, lower to a bare simmer, cover, and cook 1½ hours. Add the hearts, which are tender muscle and turn dry and grainy if they simmer the whole time, and keep simmering until a knife slides easily into the thickest gizzard, 30 to 60 minutes more. By then the thickest gizzard is well past 165°F; check it with an instant-read thermometer if you like.
Drain, let them cool 10 minutes, and pat them dry with paper towels so they do not spatter in the hot oil. Cut the gizzards into bite-size pieces along their natural seams and halve the hearts.
Pour the oil into the cast-iron skillet, about ½ inch deep, and heat it over medium to 350°F. Mix the flour, cayenne, pepper and ¾ tsp of the salt in a bowl. In a second bowl, stir 1 tbsp of the hot sauce into the milk.
Dip the pieces in the milk, let the extra drip off, and toss them in the seasoned flour until well coated. Fry in batches without crowding, adjusting the burner to hold 325 to 350°F, until deep golden and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. The pieces are already cooked, so you are only browning the crust and heating them through to 165°F in the center.
Drain on a rack, sprinkle right away with the last ¼ tsp salt, and serve hot with the remaining hot sauce.

When it's done: 165°F

The federal chart lists poultry, including giblets, at 165°F, and Kansas State University Extension says to fully cook game birds to at least 165°F. Check the thickest gizzard piece.

If it goes wrong

Still rubbery: Gizzards need the full simmer. Keep going until a knife slides in easily before you fry them.
Hearts dry and crumbly: They went in too early. Add them for only the last 30 to 60 minutes.
Coating falling off: The pieces were wet. Pat them dry before the milk, let the extra drip off, and fry right after dredging.
Greasy: The oil dropped below 325°F. Fry smaller batches and let the oil recover between them.
Grit in a bite: A gizzard was not fully cleaned. Split each one all the way and rinse until the water runs clear.

Leftovers. Serve right away. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and reheat to 165°F.