Offal

Article & Recipe: Britain gets an offal taste of austerity.

Scroll to the end of the article for three recipes.

In The River Cottage Family Cookbook, Fearnley-Whittingstall points out that muscle, or flesh, makes up only 60 per cent of a carcass: why waste the rest?

"Many people are squeamish about eating offal – some seem to assume that they won't like it before they have even tried it," he grumbled. "This is partly because it seems so different from the meat they are used to. And partly perhaps because, unlike ordinary red meat, when you look at a piece of offal it is hard to forget where it comes from.

"But the offal cuts are often some of the most interesting and delicious parts of an animal; sweeter, more tender and usually more interestingly flavoured than the muscle meat. Try it; you might like it."

Offal can be the ultimate fast food, he said – a slice of liver can be fried quicker than bread toasted. A teaspoon of mustard, a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce, a pinch of cayenne, and some crème fraîche made some dressing.