Dreaming about fried chicken gizzards!

Sorry to start your day off with a story about chicken innards and entrails but that’s what I am thinking about on this finger lickin good Thursday, April 16, 2009. Since I have been out and about more lately which takes me away from the office, I often find myself in need of a snack before I get back. As it turns out I found this wonderful fried chicken joint in a small town and they fry up the very best gizzards you could ever dream about or imagine. So you have never dreamed about or imagined yourself eating fried chicken gizzards? While you are probably not alone, you also likely do not have a clue as to what you are missing! The scientific name for a bird gizzard is: ventriculus, gastric mill, and/or gigerium. Gizzards are considered to be a dietary staple and great finger food in many places all over the world. Sure, some folks would rather not even think about eating an organ whose primary purpose is to help grind up food for digestion BUT the proof, my friend, is in the eating, not the science!

I can’t even remember when I began liking chicken gizzards. I know I never became a lover of chicken livers but I remember that even as a kid my mom would cook the gizzards and set them aside for me. My wife picked up on this when we started out so I have been a committed chicken gizzard consumer for nearly my entire life. A few years ago I learned they were not entirely helpful in terms of managing cholesterol levels. In fact, one cup of gizzards will provide 179% of the daily cholesterol one should be consuming. What a bummer! This news caused me to back way off gizzards for a long time even though I never read anywhere about chickens suffering from high cholesterol.

Now I am back on the gizzard wagon but must try to do my best not to over do it. In addition to the cholesterol issues these little tasty delights tend to throw my blood sugar for a loop for at least a day or two. Therefore, I must exercise some strict discipline because to tell the truth, it’s hard to pass up this place when I am out and about. It seems that my subconscious kicks in because in my trips I somehow end up landing near this place. Here’s what happens when I go in there. They now know me and ask immediately if I want my dozen gizzards. I nod and they signal the cook. He gets them quickly into the fryer and in about ten minutes they fill up a basket with my dozen (it’s typically 15 or more), and I head on down the road chewing on these remarkable little culinary treats. I have had to give up so much since learning about having diabetes but chicken gizzards are still in play at this time. Most folks will never have to worry about cutting back on their intake since they are not even close to being tempted by the thought of a wonderfully battered, deep fried, scrumptious gizzard. That’s not the case for me but I will do my best to force myself to drive a different route except for those days when I agree with many other folks when they say: “Well, we all gotta go someday, why not let it be while enjoying some piping hot fried gizzards?” You’ve never heard that said before? Wow! You do need to get out more. Have a wonderful day and may God help you to find something you really enjoy as well as I do my fried gizzards! Amen. ……..More later.