Two Gnomes Table

Have I mentioned before how important it is to get to know your local farmer? Well, I’ll say it again. Get to know you’re local farmer! It is truly life changing. For them – and for you! Stay tuned for an upcoming post featuring our Family’s local farmer- and good friends – Apsey Farms , and how you can get 20% off your first purchase on any of their delicious cuts.

The Apsey’s know how much my boys enjoy chicken gizzards. At my most recent visit to the farm, I was so generously gifted a couple pounds – so I baked up a special dinner for the family.

If our goal is to have overall health, it is vital to eat the overall animal. Different parts of an animal offer different nutrients and a wide variety of amino acid profiles. – so lets eat mouth to tail. Gizzards are very high in Vitamin B12 – essential for a healthy functioning brain, and the production of white blood cells and riboflavin. Vitamin B12 is also responsible for the formation of niacin – which promotes circulation, produces hormones and can aid in detoxing the liver – to name a few. Chicken gizzards also boast of a very high amount of protein – one cup contains 45 grams! What a powerful food.

I decided to add Fennel to this recipe in particular – for the digestive aid. In a lot of other cultures, its popular to chew on fennel seeds before and after a meal for this purpose – though they use the seeds raw to get the maximum benefits. ( I will often end a meal with a slice of my Grain Free Quick Bread, smothered with coconut oil and sprinkled with raw Fennel seeds. Its delicious.) Because I have a particularly difficult time breaking down proteins, adding fennel gives my body the boost it needs to digest my meal properly, while also working in some essential vitamins and minerals like magnesium, selenium, beta – carotene and copper just to scratch the surface!

If cooking and baking unusual proteins intimidates you, check out my post on simple and effective tools I utilize daily in my kitchen to take away the time, stress and fear behind dry, overcooked and flavorless protein. Now then, lets get to it – shall we?

Red wine and Fennel Gizzards.

You will need:

• 2 pounds of Chicken Gizzards
• 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1/2 cup Red wine
• 1 Onion
• 4 cloves of Garlic
• 2 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Pepper
• 1 tbsp Fennel seeds

1. Rinse your gizzards. (I definitely typed that up with a southern accent. I could not be more podunk)
2. In a large dutch oven, place your gizzards, apple cider vinegar, red wine, onions, garlic, salt, pepper and fennel in that order.
3. You can at this point let the gizzards and seasonings hang out for a while and get to know each other, or you may move forward to the cooking.
4. Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees. Bake the chicken gizzards for 4 hours. At the two hour mark, it can be helpful to begin pulling the gizzards, but this is not necessary. It all depends on how you would like to enjoy them. See my Pulled Chicken Gizzards here for extra info on that. A crock pot will also work here – I just don’t own one. I prefer the “old fashion” way of cooking.

I baked my gizzards in the morning, and allowed them to remain the warm dutch oven, inside my oven until dinner time that evening. They had soaked up so much flavor, and melted in your mouth. These gizzards pair very nicely with a dry red – just in case you’re lost at what to do with the leftover bottle.

Thank you for your time, comment below and let us know what you think!