Learn how to clean gizzards, cook gizzards, and fry gizzards with this Fried Gizzards Recipe - a classic southern delicacy and true comfort food.
Fried Gizzards: A Crunchy Treat
When it comes to making the most of your hard-earned game birds, gizzards are often overlooked by both waterfowl and upland bird hunters. But trust me, they shouldn’t be. These little nuggets of flavorful, tender meat are not just for the birds. With the right recipe and a little effort, you can turn duck, goose, or pheasant gizzards into an irresistible appetizer or snack. Plus, there’s something deeply satisfying about using every part of the bird you harvested.
Back in my 20s, I worked at a bar and grill, slinging drinks, burgers, and fried chicken gizzards during Happy Hour. Those golden, crispy bites disappeared faster than you can say “What is a gizzard?” - which, by the way, is a question I answered more times than I can count. Now, as a wild game chef, I’ve refined my approach to these savory morsels, making them even more delicious.
In this recipe, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know: what a gizzard is, how to clean and cook it, and - most importantly - how to fry it to crunchy perfection.
What is a Gizzard?
Gizzards are the stomach of a chicken, pheasant, duck, goose, or any other bird. Since birds don’t have teeth, they need a way to grind up their food before it enters their digestive tract. This is where the gizzard plays its part in bird anatomy.
As birds peck at the ground eating bugs, shoots of grass, and seeds and berries, they also pick up itty bitty pieces of gravel and pebbles. All of this food and grit moves through the esophagus, gets stored in the crop (a storage area), and eventually ends up in the gizzard. Enzymes along with the gizzard’s muscles contract while the grit acts as little teeth to help pulverize the food so it becomes small enough to be digested.
How to Clean Gizzards
Before you fry up your gizzards, they need some TLC. Here’s how to do it:
1. Slice and Inspect: Cut the gizzard in half along the grinding plate (the yellowish, tough section) and open it up. Inside, you’ll find grit and stones—the bird’s built-in food processor.
2. Rinse: Remove the grit and stones under running water over a bowl to avoid clogging your sink.
3. Trim: Lay it on a cutting board and carefully slice away the grinding plates and any membranes or silver skin. What’s left is the edible red meat.
4. Tenderize: Use a Jaccard meat tenderizer to break down the muscle fibers, then cut them into 1-inch pieces. This step ensures they’ll be tender after frying.
How To Cook Gizzards
Tender gizzards are the key to a successful fry. Here’s how to achieve that perfect texture:
1. Simmer: Place your cleaned gizzards in a 6-quart Dutch oven. Add two chicken bouillon cubes and a teaspoon of black pepper, then cover with water by a few inches.
2. Cook: Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to low and simmer, covered, for about two hours. They should be tender but not falling apart.
3. Cool and Dry: Let them cool in the pot for 15 minutes. Then transfer them to a cutting board and pat them dry with paper towels. Discard the cooking liquid and clean your Dutch oven for the next step.
How to Fry Gizzards
Now for the fun part: frying. Here’s how to achieve that coveted golden crunch:
1. Prepare the Oil: Fill your Dutch oven with vegetable or canola oil to a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil to 375 degrees F. Use a candy thermometer for accuracy.
2. Set Up Your Stations: Mix flour, cornstarch, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper in one bowl. Pour buttermilk into another bowl.
3. Dredge: Lightly coat them in the flour mixture, dip them in buttermilk, and then coat them again in the flour mixture. Press the flour mixture into the gizzards to ensure a thick, crunchy coating.
4. Fry: Gently place them in the hot oil, working in batches to avoid overcrowding. Fry for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown.
5. Drain and Serve: Remove the gizzards with a slotted spoon and transfer to paper towels. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce.
Tips For Perfect Fried Gizzards
- Don’t Rush the Tenderizing: Simmering the gizzards for two hours might seem long, but it’s worth it for melt-in-your-mouth results.
- Keep It Hot: Maintain your oil temperature at 375 degrees F. If the oil is too cool, your gizzards will turn out greasy instead of crispy.
- Experiment with Sauces: While ranch and hot sauce are classics, our 10-year-old daughter loves eating them with her favorite Yum-Yum Japanese steakhouse sauce.
Why Keep Gizzards?
For waterfowl and upland bird hunters, saving gizzards is a rewarding practice. It means you care about using all of the animal you are harvesting.
It's ironic that I'll meet a group of duck hunters in a small town bar in North Dakota chowing down on a plate of fried chicken gizzards and washing them down with a cold beer. But when I ask them if they've every kept duck or goose gizzards, they stare at me like a deer in headlights. There's really no difference between a duck gizzard and chicken gizzard, other than the extra effort to clean and cook them yourself.
Why is it that so many hunters will spend up to 12 hours in a vehicle to come here to North Dakota to bird hunt, spend three days hunting, drive 12 hours home, but refuse to spend 15 minutes to clean a pile of gizzards? "It's just too time-consuming," they say.
If you aren't in that boat, and you've decided to keep the gizzards and try this recipe, I applaud you!
Need More Bird Recipes?
Whether you are looking for a game day appetizer to share with buddies, a quick weeknight supper, or a fancier dish for a date night at home, there's a tried-and-tested recipe for every occasion.
Here are some more specific ways to use duck and goose organ meat, if you want to try them:
Come Hunting in North Dakota!
If you would like to come to North Dakota and experience an amazing waterfowl or upland bird hunt, check out the North Dakota Game and Fish website. And if you want me to come along with you as your camp cook, photographer, or butcher, you can find out more details here.
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The Best Fried Gizzards Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds duck, goose, or pheasant gizzards (or 1 pound already cleaned store-bought chicken gizzards)
- 2 chicken bouillon cubes
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- vegetable oil or canola oil
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cup buttermilk
Instructions
How to Clean Gizzards
- A gizzard is made up of two muscles separated by a grinding plate that might have a yellow color. Slice gizzard in half along the plate and open it up. You'll find the grit and stones used by the bird to grind and digest their food.
- Rinse off the grit and stones over a bowl of water so it doesn't clog up your drain.
- Place the gizzards on a cutting board and use a knife to slice off the grinding plates and any other white or yellow membrane or silver skin so you are left with just the red meat that we'll use for frying.
- Place the trimmed gizzards on a cutting board and tenderize with a Jaccard meat tenderizer before cutting into 1-inch pieces.
How to Cook Gizzards
- Put the gizzards, chicken bouillon cubes and black pepper in a 6-quart Dutch oven and cover with water by a few inches. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered, until gizzards are tender, about 2 hours. Remove from heat, and let stand, uncovered, until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes.
- Using tongs, transfer gizzards to the cutting board and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Discard liquid remaining in the Dutch oven, and wash and dry the Dutch oven.
How to Fry Gizzards
- Pour oil into the same Dutch oven to a depth of 2 inches and heat on stovetop to 375 degrees F using a candy thermometer.
- While oil is heating, in a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, salt, garlic powder, onion powder and cayenne pepper until thoroughly mixed. Set aside.
- Pour the buttermilk into another bowl large enough for the gizzards to be immersed in the buttermilk.
- Prepare your dredging station. Place your gizzards in a bowl. Next to that, your bowl of buttermilk, and next to that, your dry mixture.
- Take your gizzards, lightly dust them with your flour mixture, then dip them in the buttermilk until they are coated, and then place them in the flour mixture again. Be a little aggressive here and push the flour mixture into the wet gizzards. Make sure they are very thoroughly coated, or you will not achieve the crust and crunch you are looking for.
- Gently place the gizzards in the hot oil and fry for until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to paper towels and sprinkle with a little salt. Serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce.
Sam says
I made this for buddies over for New Years and they loved it. I wish I would have made more! Can't wait to make it again next year when i have more gizzards in the freezer.
Jeff Benda says
Thanks Sam! I'm glad to hear your friends rang in the new year with one of our recipes!