Fried Chicken Gizzard – crispy fried chicken gizzards with a deep, rich, meaty flavor that are sliced in twisted bits and fried to perfection.
The cheapest meat and it’s so tasty and addictive. This could go with almost any kind of dish!
What is chicken gizzard?
I know what’s on your mind and we’ll obviously deal with that first. Your thoughts are screaming, “What the heck is G-I-Z-Z-A-R-D? Is it even edible?”.
If you are from Africa, you know that gizzard “use to be” highly valuable, only reserved for the head of the house. Check out this African Fried Gizzard with plantains here Gizdodo (Gizzards and Plantains)
So what are gizzards? A gizzard is a tough muscle that’s part of the digestive tract of a chicken. It can also be found on some animals like ducks, fish and crustaceans.
To illustrate, when a chicken swallows bits and pieces, it goes through its digestive tract and then to the gizzard before it moves to the stomach. The gizzards grind up the food (er, even gravels pecked by chicken) and then continues to the stomach in its tiniest form.
So by now, you already have the idea that gizzards are tough muscles which means if it isn’t cook the right way, you’ll end up a tougher cut.
And you say, “What about the taste?”. I’m glad you asked. People are usually skeptical with this underdog as it is simply snubbed since it’s one of those “miscellaneous parts” along with the kidney, heart, giblets and liver. However, it is very tasty when cooked properly.
How to cook chicken gizzards?
Below are the easy step-by-step instructions on how to achieve an addictive super crispy and tasty fried gizzards.
After thoroughly washing the chicken gizzards, place the gizzards in a pot with onions celery, bay leaves, thyme and smashed garlic and then salt to taste.
Add enough water to cover the gizzards by 1 inch. Bring the gizzards to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until tender, about 1 ½ – 2 hours or more depending on preference. You may have to add more water, if needed, to keep the gizzards covered.
Drain gizzards in a colander, pick out or remove celery, bay leaves and onion. Reserve the broth or freeze for later use. Then in a large bowl whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, herbs and white pepper.
When ready to fry, dredge the gizzards in the egg mixture, then on the flour mixture, shaking any excess flour. You may use a ziplock bag for this process. Set aside for about 15 minutes.
Heat oil in a deep fryer or cast iron skillet to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Temperature will drop once you add gizzards.
Oh boy, they sure don’t know what a real gizzard is. The time will come when people will come lining for a serving of this crunchy and smokey often forgotten meat like how chicken wings used to be back then.
These Fried gizzards could be enjoyed as is or with fried rice, nachos, enchiladas, lasagna, soups, greens and grits. Name it! Choose your route. You’ll definitely enjoy these crispy bits! Serve warm and with this homemade remoulade sauce.
Watch How to Make It
Tips and Notes:
- It’s very important for the gizzards to be thoroughly cleaned before cooking. If you can get your hands on the fresh ones from your local butcher, the better. Just either ask them to clean it up for you (perhaps at an additional cost) or bring them home and wash them yourself.
- To tenderize this tough muscle, you can either stew them slowly until fork tender like I did in this recipe OR brine them in buttermilk for 8 hours or preferably 24 hours before deep frying them.
- When braising the gizzards, make sure you cook them slowly over low heat to relax the muscle tissues. Don’t let them boil or else it’ll get tough.
- After an hour or two of braising, let them cool first and dry thoroughly before you slice them into strips and bread them.
Fried Gizzards
Ingredients
Boiling
- 2 pound chicken gizzards
- 2 stalks celery , cut into chunks
- 1 onion , chopped
- 1-2 Garlic Clove Smashed
- 1-2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- salt and white pepper to taste
Coating
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cornstarch (sub with flour)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 3/4 teaspoon salt , adjust to taste
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- ½ -1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1-1/2 tablespoon dried herbs (Thyme, Oregano, Parsley)
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- Place the chicken gizzards in a pot with onion, celery, bay leaves, thyme and smashed garlic – salt . Add enough water to cover the gizzards by 1 inch. Bring the gizzards to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until tender, about 1 ½ – 2 hours or more depending on preference .. You may have to add more water , if needed, to keep gizzards covered.
- Drain gizzards in a colander , pick out or remove celery, bay leaves and onion. Reserve the broth or freeze for later use.
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, herbs and white pepper.
- When ready to fry dredge the gizzards in the , egg mixture , then the flour mixture, shaking any excess flour. You may use a ziplock bag for this process. Set aside for about 15 minutes.
- Heat oil in a deep fryer or cast iron skillet to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Temperature will drop once you add gizzards .
Nutrition Information:
Edna mcclain says
Can you use milk instead of butter milk to coat your gizzards
ImmaculateBites says
Yes you can. Or try out his homemade butter milk here https://www.africanbites.com/how-to-make-buttermilk/
Mark Klem says
How long do you cook them?
ImmaculateBites says
It takes about 1-2 hours to cook.
Heather Johnson says
I love gizzards, I always make gibblet gravy. I am so excited to try this recipe. I have tried several of your recipes all delicious. I am gonna pair this with rice, veggies and cornbread.
ImmaculateBites says
So excited for you to try it out . Enjoy!
Lillian Whitt says
Do you think chicken hearts would work well with this method? I want to do a 50/50 mix of gizzards and hearts. Thank you
ImmaculateBites says
Yes they would work out just fine . Enjoy!
Chukwuka Promise says
Nice recipe
Piotr says
It’s not a meal with least work, or with fastest cooking time, but these gizzards are pretty cheap so it is kinda well worth it to prepare them well given they can be pretty hard and tough to chew when dealt improperly. As a bonus you get a nice pot of brew for “chicken soup” or rather duck soup. I’m from Poland, and thanks for the recipe!
Imma says
Greetings Piotr! Thank you for your review. I love gizzards and I’m glad you enjoyed them as well 🙂
Andrew Hernandez says
Do you cook them whole, or do you cut the tough middle part out?
Jaine says
When you simmer for the allotted time then deep fry them that part in the middle gets very soft. So you just leave it.
Tom says
So glad I found this recipe. I have loved the gizzard and heart all my life and frankly enjoyed them crunchy and plain.
For many years I have enjoyed just putting them in the oven with BBQ. Granted, this way takes a few hours but well worth it.
imma africanbites says
Indeed, it’s all worth it. Please do let me know how this one turns out for you. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy!
David C Randall says
My experience with gizzards in the midwest has always been a flavorful but unchewable hunk of meat. Because of their cheapness though,I started experimenting. A slow simmer (way below boiling) with aromatics, onion, garlic, bay, transforms them into hunks of pure protein, to be used as wished. Battering and frying, or even dredging and a hot saute, turns them into what a road-trip friend calls “meat cookies”. Season the dredge as desired. But merely tenderized (and if done long and slow you dont have to remove any gristle, just the occasional remnants of the yellowish leathery layer and rare globs of fat). This unfried product is ready to throw into stir-fries, chopped into salads, or to hearten a pasta sauce (commonly done in southern Italy)
When they’re marked down I stock up my freezer.
David C Randall says
Oh, and the cooking broth is invaluable. Loaded with gelatin, flavor and umami
David says
I used a can of chicken both plus the water and added a tsp of Old Bay seasoning for the boil. What to do about the soggy coating of leftovers? Air fryer brings back the crispy!
Kelley W says
Thanks for the tip! Never thought about putting the rare leftovers in the air fryer!
Courtney Thompson says
What do you save the broth for?
ImmaculateBites says
I use it just like you would use chicken broth. For soups, stews and casseroles.
Carl says
Thanks for making me “hip to tha game.” Dont knw why I never thought about boiling them first. My question is why are nutritional values so high? Are they for entire 2lbs? Cant wait to look at some more of your recipes!
ImmaculateBites says
No just for a cup of gizzard . Nutritional value is determined by nutritional software
David says
This recipe sounds awesome. But I’ve always just cleaned them, breaded them, and fried them. I think this would definitely be worth the extra effort but I was wondering if they retain much of their chewiness. Hopefully my 7 and 12 year old might even try them. But I doubt it….
imma africanbites says
Not that much, David. The steps and tips above make the gizzard fork tender. It’s all worth it. Please let me know how this one turns out for you. Happy cooking!
Rusty says
Can you simmer them . Then refrigerate them overnight. Then fry the next day
imma africanbites says
I haven’t tried that way tho. But I don’t see why it won’t work. Just dry them up before placing in the fridge.
Sharon says
I start every Thanksgiving meal prep by simmering giblets, adding lots of black pepper and a few whole cloves to your recipe listed here. Broth and chopped giblets go into stuffing and remaining used for gravey. Can’t wait to try your fried version, cleaning and putting on to simmer right now! Yum yum yum
Sunny says
Amazing recipe!!! The gizzards turned out absolutely delicious, we could not stop eating them. We had them with a Bajan hot mustard pepper sauce and horseradish mix, yom!!! Will definitely make these again with your recipe 😀
imma africanbites says
Thank you! Oooh, that sauce sounds delightful. Glad it turned out well for you, Sunny!
Pat Neuberger says
Have you cooked the gizzards in a pressure cooker successfully?
ImmaculateBites says
Yes, it took about 15 minutes or more. Can’t say for sure…..Check your settings for cooking times . Remember you can always add more time.
Mark Scott says
In the photo area garlic and white pepper are mentioned, but they are not on the ingredient list. How much of each should be used/
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Mark! I have updated recipe to make it clearer. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
DEMOORE says
My son’s and I loved these gizzards. Next time I will make more because they dissapeared so fasr and I will make sure to sprinkle on salt after I take them out of thevhot grease. Yummy, cant wait to make them again.
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome! So glad to hear it was a hit with the family! Thank you so much for taking the time out to share this with me .
Jimmy says
How long do you fry the gizzards?
ImmaculateBites says
About 3-5 minutes or until it’s golden brown.
Ann says
Oh my gosh! I have looked at many sites for all kinds of recipes and never wrote a review. This one, I had too. I’ve always wondered if there was a way to cook these where they were tender. I always just fried them after cutting out the tough part in he middle. I still cut out the middle and followed the recipe exactly. I have problems with my teeth where I can’t eat meat but this was so tender I could eat it. I absolutely love this recipe! Thank you. Merry Christmas 2017.
ImmaculateBites says
Am so honored to be your first! Thank you so much!!!Glad to hear it worked out so well for you. Merry Christmas to you too my friend !!!!
sarah says
I made these chicken gizzards today and they were so tasty! My mom really loved them too and wants me to make then again soon. My mom is in her 80s. They were also very easy to make. I can’t use regular flour due to a food allergy, so I ground up quinoa to make flour and it worked great! This was the first recipe I used the homemade flour on. Thank you for the wonderful recipe. I’m going to make the puff puff next. They sound like the donuts my grandmother made when I was a kid (but she was polish). My mom is eager to try those too.
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome ! Glad to hear it worked out well for you Sarah. Thanks for taking the time to let me know. Am sure you are going to enjoy the puff puff as well . It’s one of my favorites. Happy Cooking
A Lemos says
Olá
Em Portugal comemos como mostra numa das fotos refogadas tipo aperitivo, no final esta receita fica com muito bom aspecto, vou experimentar e espero gostar. Obrigado
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome! Do let me know how it works out for you.
Kelsey says
Very nice. How do I preserve the leftover flour for next time use. I have quite a bit left. Thx
ImmaculateBites says
It depends , if it’s unused I like to just save it in an airtight container. I don’t usually preserve any used flour seasoning because of contamination.
Andi says
Freezer bag and put in freezer
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks for the tip.
Sariah says
I have refused my flour for many months , after use , I put in the freezer. When I’m ready to use it again, take it out , sift out the hardened lumps , and use. Then cycle through it again and again until you run out …
Precious @ Precious Core says
This looks so tasty, Imma! Fried gizzards for the win!
Deb says
Oh gosh! This reminds me of my childhood. My mom used to fry the gizzards (and the heart) when she fried a whole chicken. We kids loved them! Funny how things change — I never hear of people eating them anymore — until I saw this post. Thanks!
ImmaculateBites says
Yes, people do eat them. And it’s quite tasty too! Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts Deb.
Franklin Griffis says
If you were raised in the south, on a farm, you probably ate chicken gizzards regularly, both fried and boiled. If you boil them, throw a few (cleaned) chicken feet in with them, especially good in chicken and dumplings, using the broth! The Asian people get most of our chicken feet, anymore. They are one of their many delicacies. All Asians know what good food is and how to cook it. Just finished eating some delicious fried chicken gizzards a few minutes ago. I like to wash and clean them very good and then soak in buttermilk for at least 24 hours. Do not over fry. I deep fry mine on 325 F. for 5 to 6 minutes, depending upon size. Self rising flour works best for me.