Deep fried chicken hearts

(Jonathan Mecham) #1

I got a deep fryer this week. I bought a bunch of chicken hearts yesterday. I think they belong together to make my dinner tonight, but I’ve never done it before.

Any tips?

(Sophie) #2

Make sure your oil is hot.
Make sure your hearts are dried off before dropping them in the oil. You don’t want splatters!
And they shouldn’t take very long…usually when they start to float they are done.

I wish to hell I could find them here. I’ve looked everywhere. I’m so jealous! Enjoy!

(Jonathan Mecham) #3

Thanks! I didn’t wait for an answer because I was anxious to get frying.

I made fried cheese first. Couldn’t find queso de freír, so I used a Mexican cheese for grilling. It made a mess of the fryer, but it was good.

While I did that I brined the hearts in cold salt water. It got a lot of blood out. I fried the hearts then coated them with a parmesan Italian mixture I made with a healthy amount of cayene… tasty with the right amount of heat.

They were a bit chewy, but good.

I’ll try to post pics…

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@JustPeachy where do you live? I got the hearts in a Mexican supermarket.

(Sophie) #4

I’m in Chattanooga and I tried my favorite Mexican Market because I felt like they would be the most obvious!!! But no, I even had a wonderful lady volunteer to translate for me, and the butchers just laughed me off like I was Loco! It’s ok, I’m used to it. Still, I’m disheartened. And hearts are similar to gizzards in that they do have some tooth to them. I bet they were awesome. They look lovely!

(Jonathan Mecham) #5

Thanks! Man, that’s a bummer about not having a source there. Thanks for the feedback and being an awesome part of the keto community here!

(Rebecca) #6

What a great idea. I also made a cheesey mess with my deep fryer. I have been deep frying haloumi and black pudding, I bought some pork rind but haven’t fried that yet. Next time I go shopping I’m going to get some hearts and give this a go.

(Ken) #7

Gizzards are good deep fried as well. You want to simmer them in a seasoned broth first until they are tender. I like to bread them (dry, wet, dry) using egg, then after frying dip’em in Ranch or Blue Cheese dressing.

(Jonathan Mecham) #8

Blue cheese or ranch would have been great with these!
I thought about boiling or steaming first (I thought this after the fact upon realizing how chewy they were) but didn’t have any idea how long.

Do you blanch them or simmer them til they are soft and cooked through and just finish them in the fryer?

(Ken) #9

Hearts can be parboiled, but gizzards need to be simmered. About 20 minutes or so, until a fork goes in easily. I let them cool before they go into the fryer. My Walmart sells mixed packs of hearts and gizzards.

(Valerie Hughes) #10

What about sous vide first - that might help to make them more tender. I’m going to try it; just bought a deep fryer tonight.

(Jonathan Mecham) #11

Sounds like a great idea to me!

(Sophie) #12

Brilliant! What temps/times are you thinking about? I just a sous vide and I’m enthralled with the thing, truly. :blush: