Latest news with #offal
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Not so awful offal
Hannah Miller Childs, funder of The Lady Butcher Photo: Davina Zimmer One of Hannah Miller Childs' go-to bar snacks is chicken hearts. "A bit of mustard, you can eat it with a toothpick," she says. You could also chop it up, add it into mince and make it a full nutritious meal. Adding offal to mince in government school lunches last week hit the headlines because parents hadn't been warned it was coming. But what's the big deal? Offal is back on the menu not just at school, but in high-end restaurants and one specific pub just off Auckland's Dominion Road. Originally from America, Miller Childs moved to New Zealand a little over a decade ago to pursue a career in butchery. She founded a boutique business, the Lady Butcher, specialising in traditionally crafted, locally sourced meats. She follows the nose to tail philosophy, which as the name suggests, means using the entire animal from nose to tail, including all the crunchy, wobbly, icky bits widely known here as offal. "Stomach, heart, liver... bones can be part of that as well, usually the head in its entirety is referred to as offal, although in more recent years cheeks have become popular so now what we'll do is we'll take the cheeks off, and the rest of the head would become offal," Miller Childs says. While some may remember growing up eating parts like kidney or liver, offal hasn't necessarily been a popular protein choice. Miller Childs thinks offal is having a comeback and is in full support of it. "There's a reason why in nature, when a lion takes down a gazelle, they eat the guts first. That's where the nutrition is," she says. There are different kind of offal, red and green. The former refers to organs like the heart, liver and kidneys and the latter encapsulates things like the intestines, stomach and bladder. Miller Childs says red offal is especially good for you. "Heart particularly, really high in protein, but also vitamins... a lot of women don't get enough iron, eat some heart, and a small amount goes a long way," she says. It's also significantly cheaper than the standard slab of steak or chicken breast. So while you might not want to commit to a whole ox heart, swapping out your chicken breast or steak with something like chicken hearts could significantly cut down your grocery bill. "You're looking at ... a couple bucks, whereas for the same weight-wise for a steak you'd be paying upwards of $20," Miller Childs says. But Miller Childs acknowledges there's an ick factor to eating offal, in part because we've become disconnected from where our food comes from. "The thing with offal is, it looks like what it is, a heart looks like a heart ... so there's that confrontational aspect," she says. Miller Childs thinks as a society we've removed ourselves from that confrontation but says actually knowing what you're eating and where it's coming from is incredibly important. "While I'm pro eating offal, I do want to know what's in my food and I think that we should all have a healthy interest in that," she says. Consuming offal doesn't just mean eating it yourself, it could also mean feeding it to your pets. The main thing is avoiding as much waste as possible. "This animal took years to raise, someone spent their life doing that ... there's a lot that's gone into it and it's very easy, in today's life, to just go, 'buy a packet of mince and off you go', without thinking about it. "If it doesn't get eaten, or if you can't be bothered with taking leftovers for lunch it ends up in the bin and it's a waste of that whole process." Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here . You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter .
RNZ News
17-07-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
A turn off or 'ofally' good? The forgotten food on the cusp of a comeback
While most of New Zealand's offal is exported, there's a growing number of people who advocate for greater use. (File photo) Photo: Pixabay It was revealed earlier this week that offal mince has been used for some of the meals in the government's revamped school lunch programme. The meat in the meal contained 50 percent beef trim and 50 percent beef heart. The food code specifies if a blend was being used it must be disclosed, either as offal or the specific names, like liver and kidney. While most of New Zealand's offal was exported, there was a growing number of people who advocate for greater use, including the organisers of the 'offaly good' festival coming up in Auckland. Hannah Miller, a chef turned butcher who runs 'A Lady Butcher', was also a huge fan of using a 'nose to tail' approach. She told Checkpoint offal came with huge benefits. "Some of the cool things about it... the sustainability from the standpoint of making sure that we're using everything and nothing is being wasted. But more than that really is offal actually has huge health benefits of nutrition around getting your iron, but also has lots of other vitamins as well." Miller called the addition of the food to school lunches "awesome". "I think it's a really smart approach. It's great nutrition for our kids, but also it's a really cost-effective option. So we're sort of delivering a little bit more bang for buck really... getting that higher nutrition content at a lower cost." When it comes to cutting costs, Miller said offal was worth trying. "If people are keen to give it a go, it is worth it because you can actually save quite a bit." She said chicken hearts were a good option for those trying offal for the first time. Hannah Miller is a chef turned butcher. Photo: A Lady Butcher "You can pick those up from your local butcher for you know $12 a kilo... I've seen them quite regularly at Pak n Save... a tray might be a couple bucks. "If you look at that from a protein or vitamin content you're really getting good bang for buck." However, she said actually getting used to the food was the main hurdle for most people. " would love to say, hey, get used to it, get over it. But really that's not that's not the way to do it." "[For] getting people on board finely chopping some heart and putting it into a mince is an easy way to do it." Currently retailers must disclose if meat includes offal. Miller said that when it came to cafes and restaurants, she had never encountered anyone trying to hide the blend. "Technically it is more of a retail requirement... anyone that is using it out in New Zealand, everyone I've found does disclose it." Offal included all the internal organs of an animal, and Miller said there's no part she wouldn't eat. "Pretty much everything can be used so from the bones becoming stocks and broths, to the intestines being cleaned and used to then be filled with meat to make sausages. "Slow cooked pigs head is amazing, tongue is fantastic to use instead of a sort of corned beef... everything really does have purpose." While it may not be for everyone, she maintained that it was worth a go. "By the time it's on your plate, it shouldn't look like what it is." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
17-07-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
A turn off or 'offally' good? The forgotten food on the cusp of a comeback
While most of New Zealand's offal is exported, there's a growing number of people who advocate for greater use. (File photo) Photo: Pixabay It was revealed earlier this week that offal mince has been used for some of the meals in the government's revamped school lunch programme. The meat in the meal contained 50 percent beef trim and 50 percent beef heart. The food code specifies if a blend was being used it must be disclosed, either as offal or the specific names, like liver and kidney. While most of New Zealand's offal was exported, there was a growing number of people who advocate for greater use, including the organisers of the 'offaly good' festival coming up in Auckland. Hannah Miller, a chef turned butcher who runs 'A Lady Butcher', was also a huge fan of using a 'nose to tail' approach. She told Checkpoint offal came with huge benefits. "Some of the cool things about it... the sustainability from the standpoint of making sure that we're using everything and nothing is being wasted. But more than that really is offal actually has huge health benefits of nutrition around getting your iron, but also has lots of other vitamins as well." Miller called the addition of the food to school lunches "awesome". "I think it's a really smart approach. It's great nutrition for our kids, but also it's a really cost-effective option. So we're sort of delivering a little bit more bang for buck really... getting that higher nutrition content at a lower cost." When it comes to cutting costs, Miller said offal was worth trying. "If people are keen to give it a go, it is worth it because you can actually save quite a bit." She said chicken hearts were a good option for those trying offal for the first time. Hannah Miller is a chef turned butcher. Photo: A Lady Butcher "You can pick those up from your local butcher for you know $12 a kilo... I've seen them quite regularly at Pak n Save... a tray might be a couple bucks. "If you look at that from a protein or vitamin content you're really getting good bang for buck." However, she said actually getting used to the food was the main hurdle for most people. " would love to say, hey, get used to it, get over it. But really that's not that's not the way to do it." "[For] getting people on board finely chopping some heart and putting it into a mince is an easy way to do it." Currently retailers must disclose if meat includes offal. Miller said that when it came to cafes and restaurants, she had never encountered anyone trying to hide the blend. "Technically it is more of a retail requirement... anyone that is using it out in New Zealand, everyone I've found does disclose it." Offal included all the internal organs of an animal, and Miller said there's no part she wouldn't eat. "Pretty much everything can be used so from the bones becoming stocks and broths, to the intestines being cleaned and used to then be filled with meat to make sausages. "Slow cooked pigs head is amazing, tongue is fantastic to use instead of a sort of corned beef... everything really does have purpose." While it may not be for everyone, she maintained that it was worth a go. "By the time it's on your plate, it shouldn't look like what it is." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
17-07-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Is offal on the cusp of a comeback?
A turn off or offally good? A once forgotten food could be on the cusp of a comeback. Offal is now on the menu for some school lunches with the company behind the programme now using a mince that is a blend with beef and trim heart. The food code means that if you are using a blend it must be disclosed - either as offal or the specific names - like liver and kidney. While most of New Zealand's offal is exported, there's a growing number of people who advocate for greater use - including the organisers of the 'offaly good' festival coming up in Auckland. Hannah Miller, a chef turned butcher who runs 'A Lady Butcher' is also a huge fan of using a 'nose to tail' approach and spoke to Melissa Chan-Green. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
Telegraph
22-05-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Devilled chicken livers on toast
Chicken livers are such great value and a really accessible way to enjoy offal – they're way more popular than kidneys or any of those other bits people tend to shy away from. Devilled dishes like this are proper old-school classics. I still cook this regularly using all sorts of offal, and even people who say they're not into offal end up loving it. Overview Prep time 15 mins Cook time 30 mins Serves 3 Ingredients For the sauce 4 small or 2 large shallots, finely chopped 6–10 black peppercorns, coarsely crushed Good pinch of cayenne pepper 3 tbsp cider vinegar 40g butter 2 tsp plain flour 200ml fresh beef stock (or you can dissolve a stock cube in 200ml water) 1 tsp English mustard 2 tbsp double cream 8 small gherkins, finely chopped 1 tbsp chopped parsley 300-350g chicken livers 40g butter 4 slices of sourdough or bloomer-style bread Method Step Simmer gently until the liquid has almost evaporated then add 40g butter and stir in 2 tsp plain flour. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Step Gradually add 200ml fresh beef stock, stirring to avoid lumps forming, season, then add 1 tsp English mustard and simmer gently for 10–12 minutes. Step Add 2 tbsp double cream and continue to simmer until the sauce has a thick, gravy-like consistency. Stir in 8 finely chopped small gherkins and 1 tbsp chopped parsley and keep warm. Step Melt 40g butter in a heavy frying pan set over a high heat until foaming. Season 300-350g chicken livers and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side, they should remain pink in the centre. Step Drain on some kitchen paper then drop them into the sauce. Step Meanwhile, toast 4 slices of sourdough or boomer-style bread on both sides and place on serving plates. Reheat the sauce and livers and spoon on to the toast and serve.
