Fried Chicken Gizzards
Crispy Fried Chicken Gizzards have a deep, rich, meaty flavor, sliced into twisted bits and fried to perfection. It’s cheap yet so tasty and addictive. This will undoubtedly become your new favorite party appetizer or snack!
I was surprised to find out how many people love gizzards. When I was a kid, I would sneak into the kitchen before dinner and see if I could nab it before dinner was served. It’s probably my favorite part of the chicken.
And my son loves these fried chicken gizzards as much as I do. He’ll keep snacking on them after the meal is over if there are any leftovers. And I can’t blame him because they’re really addicting. 😉
What Are Chicken Gizzards?
Did you know that these babies are a delicacy reserved for guests and the head of the house in Africa? Yes, they can be tough if not cooked long enough because the gizzard is a well-used muscle in the chicken’s digestive tract. But it’s tender and absolutely delicious if cooked properly.
Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken Gizzards – The show’s star takes 1½-2 hours to become tender, but the wait is so worth it. 😉
- Seasoning – Onion, celery, bay leaves, thyme, and garlic add flavor and a wonderful aroma.
- All-Purpose Flour – The pantry staple makes fried gizzards nice and crispy. However, you can use your staple gluten-free mix with the same amount if necessary.
- Cornstarch – Mix it with flour to get that perfect crispiness. You can add more flour if you don’t have cornstarch.
- Baking Powder – A pantry staple that creates a light and crispy flour coating.
- Seasonings – Paprika, garlic and onion powder, cayenne, dried herbs, and white pepper create a flavorful coating that’s perfect for this dish. An Italian herb mix will be as good if you’re in a hurry.
- Eggs – A flavorful binder holds the herbed flour mixture to the chicken gizzards.
How to Fry Chicken Gizzards
First Step—Simmer
- Season Gizzards – Place the chicken gizzards in a pot with onion, celery, bay leaves, thyme, smashed garlic, and salt. (Photos 1-2)
- Add water – Add enough water to cover the gizzards by an inch. (Photo 3)
- Simmer – Bring the gizzards to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until tender, 1½-2 hours or more, depending on preference. You may need to add more water to keep gizzards covered. (Photo 4)
Step Two—Coating
- Drain – Drain gizzards in a colander, and remove the celery, bay leaves, and onion. Reserve the broth or freeze it for later. (Photo 5)
- Make the Coating – Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, herbs, and white pepper in a large bowl. (Photo 6)
- Coat the Chicken Gizzards – When ready to fry, dip the gizzards in the egg mixture, then dredge them in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess flour. A ziplock bag makes this process easier. Set aside for about 15 minutes. (Photos 7-8)
Step Three—Frying
- Fry the Gizzards – Heat oil in a deep-fryer or cast iron skillet to 375℉/190℃. The temperature will drop once you add gizzards.
- Then carefully add the gizzards to the hot oil and fry in batches until nice and crispy. It usually takes about 5 minutes.
- Remove them from the oil and place them on a plate lined with paper towels to remove excess oil.
Recipe Variations
- Garlic Parmesan Fried Chicken Gizzards – Add parmesan to the mix to kick it up the flavor scale.
- Crunchy Asian Chicken Gizzard – Add a pinch of ginger and five-spice powder to the coating, then drizzle them in your go-to sweet and sour sauce and soy sauce for a delicious Asian twist.
- Crispy Gizzard Taco – Tacos stuffed with chopped fried gizzards, tomatoes, onions, cheese, and your favorite sauce for a hearty yum! 😉
Tips and Tricks
- The gizzards need to be thoroughly cleaned before cooking.
- If you can get your hands on the fresh ones from your local butcher, that’s better. You can ask them to clean them for you (perhaps at an additional cost).
- To tenderize this tough muscle, you can either stew them slowly until fork-tender as I did. Or brine them in buttermilk for 8-24 (preferably 24 hours) before deep-cooking them.
- Simmer the gizzards over low heat to relax the muscle tissues when braising them. Don’t let them boil, or else it’ll get tough.
- After an hour or two of braising, let them cool first and dry them thoroughly before you slice them into strips and bread them.
Make-Ahead Instructions
You can boil the gizzards ahead of time. Drain and dry before placing them in a ziplock bag or an airtight container. Freeze them for two months or refrigerate them for two days.
Note: Thaw the frozen gizzards overnight inside the fridge and coat them when ready to fry to ensure crispiness.
Serving and Storage Instructions
Serve hot off the stove as an appetizer or meal to enjoy the maximum crispiness. You can refrigerate leftovers for 2-4 days. Or freeze them for up to two months. Reheat in a preheated 350℉/170°C oven for 8-10 minutes or until hot and crispy. An air fryer would also crisp them up again.
FAQs
This appetizing nugget is similar to dark meat in flavor, with a little extra intensity. It takes 50-90 minutes for them to cook tender, but it’s oh-so worth it.
They need moisture and time to get tender. If they dry out, they’ll become little rocks. I like to put them where they stay moist while baking a whole chicken.
Yes, I do. It’s easy to rinse them to get any grit out and remove the extra fat. They’re usually already clean in the States, but I still like to give them a rinse.
What Goes With Fried Gizzards
These babies are great appetizers and love to be paired with others of like mind.
More Deliciously Crispy Chicken Recipes to Try
- Southern Fried Chicken
- Baked Crispy Chicken Wings
- Air Fryer Southern Fried Chicken
- Oven Fried Chicken
- Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Livers
Conclusion
Crispy, tender fried chicken gizzards always make wonderful comfort food. What’s your favorite way to enjoy gizzards? Comment below and let me know.😍
Watch How to Make It
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This blog post was originally published in October 2017 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video.
Fried Chicken Gizzards
Ingredients
Boiling
- 2 pounds (900g) chicken gizzards
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, cut into chunks
- 1-2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon (1g) thyme
- 1-2 cloves garlic, smashed
- Salt to taste
Coating
- 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (120g) cornstarch, or sub with flour
- 1 teaspoon (4.5g) baking powder
- 1 tablespoon (7g) paprika
- ¾ teaspoon (2g) salt, adjust to taste
- 1 tablespoon (4.75g) garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon (7g) onion powder
- ½-1 teaspoon (1-2g) cayenne pepper
- 1-1½ tablespoons (6-9g) dried herbs (thyme, oregano, parsley, etc.)
- White pepper, to taste
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
Boiling
- Place the chicken gizzards in a pot with onion, celery, bay leaves, thyme, smashed garlic, and salt. Add enough water to cover the gizzards by an inch.
- Bring the gizzards to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until tender, about 1½–2 hours or more, depending on your preference. You may have to add more water to keep gizzards covered.
- Drain gizzards in a colander, and remove celery, bay leaves, and onion. Reserve the broth or freeze it for later use.
Coating
- Whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, herbs, and white pepper in a large bowl.
- When ready to fry, dredge the gizzards in the egg mixture, then the flour mixture, shaking off any excess flour. A ziplock bag works great for this process. Set aside for about 15 minutes.
- Heat oil in a deep fryer or cast-iron skillet to 375℉/190℃. The temperature will drop once you add the gizzards.
- Then carefully add the gizzards to the hot oil and fry in batches until nice and crispy. It usually takes about 5 minutes.
- Remove them from the oil and place them on a plate lined with paper towels to remove excess oil.
Tips & Notes:
- The gizzards need to be thoroughly cleaned before cooking.
- If you can get your hands on the fresh ones from your local butcher, that’s better. You can ask them to clean them for you (perhaps at an additional cost).
- To tenderize this tough muscle, you can either stew them slowly until fork-tender as I did. Or brine them in buttermilk for 8-24 (preferably 24 hours) before deep-cooking them.
- Simmer the gizzards over low heat to relax the muscle tissues when braising them. Don’t let them boil, or else it’ll get tough.
- After an hour or two of braising, let them cool first and dry them thoroughly before you slice them into strips and bread them.
- Don’t skip on the cornstarch and baking powder when making the flour mixture to get the perfect crispiness.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
Nice recipe
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!
Greetings Piotr! Thank you for your review. I love gizzards and I’m glad you enjoyed them as well 🙂
Do you cook them whole, or do you cut the tough middle part out?
When you simmer for the allotted time then deep fry them that part in the middle gets very soft. So you just leave it.
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.
Indeed, it’s all worth it. Please do let me know how this one turns out for you. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy!
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.
Oh, and the cooking broth is invaluable. Loaded with gelatin, flavor and umami
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!
Thanks for the tip! Never thought about putting the rare leftovers in the air fryer!
What do you save the broth for?
I use it just like you would use chicken broth. For soups, stews and casseroles.
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!
No just for a cup of gizzard . Nutritional value is determined by nutritional software
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….
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!
Can you simmer them . Then refrigerate them overnight. Then fry the next day
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.
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
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 😀
Thank you! Oooh, that sauce sounds delightful. Glad it turned out well for you, Sunny!
Have you cooked the gizzards in a pressure cooker successfully?
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.
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/
Hi Mark! I have updated recipe to make it clearer. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
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.
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 .
How long do you fry the gizzards?
About 3-5 minutes or until it’s golden brown.
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.
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 !!!!
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.
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
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
Awesome! Do let me know how it works out for you.
Very nice. How do I preserve the leftover flour for next time use. I have quite a bit left. Thx
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.
Freezer bag and put in freezer
Thanks for the tip.
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 …
This looks so tasty, Imma! Fried gizzards for the win!
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!
Yes, people do eat them. And it’s quite tasty too! Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts Deb.
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.