I HATE "BONE BROTH!" a.k.a. Collagen/Gelatin for People Who Hate Broth (a.k.a. Awesome Cuts of Meat You're [Probably] Not Eating: Pork Feet and Hocks)!

Get a load of that gelatin! NICE!

Nutritionist confession: I HATE BONE BROTH!

There, I said it.

I hate broth, I hate stock, and I dislike soup. Kick me out of the nutrient-dense real food club, excommunicate me if you must, but I’m a coffee girl through and through. I gag at the thought of starting my day with a “steaming hot mug of broth,” the way other people happily brag about on social media. Yuck. I know others find broth to be a great way to start their day, but frankly, for me, it’s coffee or bust, and if I have to turn in my membership card, so be it.

I’ve made a few batches of chicken and beef stock in the past, but being that I have zero interest in drinking a mug of this stuff straight-up, and I’m not a big soup fan, what typically happens is, I freeze several quarts of it, and about 18 months later (sometimes longer!), I defrost them and dump ‘em down the drain. It’s not that I don’t understand the benefits of bone broth; it’s that I just plain don’t like it. I’ve used collagen protein powders in post-workout shakes in the past, and I eat a fair amount of meat on the bone, with some other connective tissue bits along for the ride. So it’s not like I’m deficient in the particular amino acids bones and joints are especially rich in (if there is such a thing as being deficient in these). I just prefer to get my collagen and gelatin from sources other than long-simmered bones and joints.

That being said, I haven’t used collagen powder in a long time, and I know I should probably be getting more of that good collagen and other connective “stuff.” (There are no specific ailments I’m looking to improve by way of this, but I ain't gettin’ any younger, and it would be nice to keep my bones, joints, skin, nails, and tendons in good working order. Plus, maybe, just maybe, increasing my intake of this will help reduce the crow’s feet and wrinkles that have taken up residence on my face the last couple years. Eek!)

So, with that in mind, I’ve been looking for some other ways to get this into my diet, and I’m thrilled to report my recent discovery of the wonders of pig’s feet! Yes! Pigs feet, pork hocks, trotters…they’re all good! I’m Jewish, but I don’t keep kosher, and thank goodness, because frankly, life without bacon and prosciutto is no life at all. (And if you're thinking turkey bacon is a good substitute, please just close the window you're reading my blog in, back away slowly, and never come back. You are dead to me.*)

Those of you who’ve been eating these cuts and making broth for ages may have been using feet and hocks all along, but all I know is, I’m very glad to have found a way to get lots of collagen/gelatin into my diet in a way that is actually really palatable, enjoyable, and delicious.

How does it work?

Awesome Cuts of Meat You're (Probably) Not Eating: Beef Heart!

Hey kids! It’s time for another installment in my ongoing adventures in culinary curiosity. Today’s unconventional cut of meat: beef heart! Eek! Yes, the heart! Is there anything—anything—more primal, more animalistic, than eating an animal’s heart? (Maybe killing the animal myself and tearing its still-warm heart right out of its chest, but cut me some slack. I live in suburbia and I’m pretty sure the neighbors would call the cops if they caught me slaughtering a cow in the backyard. Not to mention the cleanup job required afterward…)

So yeah, I did it. I bought two beef hearts when they were on sale at this farm in Northern Virginia. (Two dollars a pound! Insanity!) They’ve been in the freezer for a while, because I didn’t know what to do with ‘em. Occasionally I would remember they were in there and I’d do a little searching online for recipes. Most of them involved a grill, which, believe it or not, I do not currently own. So they stayed on ice until I found something else to do with them. I stumbled across a recipe that was for a slow cooker, and since slow cookers are pretty much the easiest way to cook just about anything, I figured I would start there. (And yes, grilling a beef heart would be more primal than putting it in a slow cooker. One step at a time.)

Warning: this post contains close-up images of a beef heart. If you think that will disturb you or make you queasy, feel free to skip this post. (On the other hand, if you’re a masochist, read on!)  

Slow-Cooked Collard Greens; a.k.a. Awesome Cuts of Meat You're (Probably) Not Eating: Ham Hocks!

For a white Jewish girl born and raised in New York City, I am absurdly fond of southern, African-American inspired soul food. Ribs, cornbread, fried chicken, sweet potatoes laced with brown sugar…pass me a plate. Better yet, pass me two plates, and also a wet-nap, if you have one handy. But just because my individual metabolism can’t quite handle the dose of carbohydrate that comes with those sweet potatoes, cornbread, mac n’ cheese, and the molasses, ketchup, sugar, and brown sugar lurking in the BBQ sauce on the ribs, doesn’t mean I can’t get a fix of some good, down home food that’s good for the body and the soul. And just because I am a white Jewish girl from New York City doesn’t mean I can’t cook some of it, myself. Exhibit A: slow-cooked collard greens, complete with ham hock! (Yes, that’s right, a ham hock. I said I was Jewish; I didn’t say I keep kosher. And thank goodness, because there are way too many delicious things to do with pork. A life without bacon is no life at all. <--- That would make a great bumper sticker.)

Awesome Cuts of Meat You're (Probably) Not Eating: Beef Tongue!

I know what you’re thinking.

Tongue?

TONGUE?!

Amy, first you told us to eat beef shanks—including the super-scary bone marrow that comes with them. As if that wasn’t enough, then you told us to cook chicken livers. LIVERS, for crying out loud! But this—this might be too much.

Are you actually, seriously, with a straight-face, telling us to eat TONGUE?!

Yes. Yes, I am.

WARNING: This post contains graphic, hardcore, XXX pictures of cow tongues. If you have a gentle stomach or are under 18 years of age, please stop reading now. 

Awesome Cuts of Meat You're (Probably) Not Eating: Chicken Liver!

Liver.

*Shudder.* The mere word is enough to strike terror and dread into the hearts of little kids and not-so-little kids alike. This is unfortunate, because liver is one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet. Our minds tend to automatically gravitate toward fruits and vegetables when we think about vitamins and minerals, but make no mistake: animal proteins are loaded with them, usually in higher quantities than we can get from plant foods. So when we hear that phrase—“nutrient-dense,”—it’s time to start thinking more about beef and less about, say, orange juice. And among animal foods, a category that delivers one of the biggest nutritional knockouts is organ meat. Yes, organs. You know, those other things animals have besides the muscle tissues that end up in our supermarkets as boneless, skinless chicken breasts, steaks, ground beef, and other such cuts designed to make us forget that the tasty morsels we like to eat come from creatures that were once living, breathing beings with organs, bones, skin, and feet. (Not to mention heads and eyes, but let’s stick with one scary thing at a time.)   

So, liver. Like most people in late 20^th and early 21^st Century America, I grew up horrified by liver. Not because of any stigma surrounding eating meat, in general, or organs, in particular. Mostly it was the smell. My mother, like any good Jewish cook, made a mean chopped liver. Or so I was told by countless family members and guests at our Passover Seder table. Personally, I couldn’t gag down even one forkful because it was so foul. Same goes for her (supposedly) delectable liver and onions. Two Eastern European Jewish-type delicacies, and I couldn’t stand either one. (I’ll stick with latkes and stuffed cabbage, thankyouverymuch.) It was the taste, but it was also the smell. If that stuff tasted gamey, it smelled even worse. But in my defense, I wasn’t one of those kids who tried something once, hated it, and refused to ever, ever give it another go. I’d tried liver several times over the years, and its appeal never got any better. (Or, more accurately, its repulsiveness never lessened.)

So, yeah, I grew up a liver denier, and I was perfectly okay with that. And then…

Awesome Cuts of Meat You're (Probably) NOT Eating: Beef Shanks!

Do you stick to the tried and true when it comes to animal proteins at the grocery store? Do you automatically reach for the boneless, skinless chicken breasts, the ground beef, the London broil, the boneless pork chops, or the turkey sausages? Do you steer clear of the more gnarly looking stuff? Are you afraid to pick up a package of something unfamiliar because you haven’t the faintest idea what to do with it? Well, that ends today!

When it comes to cuts of red meat, pork, and poultry, the modern American supermarket has become a warehouse for the ho-hum, the been-there-done-that, and the just plain ordinary. If you venture out to an ethnic market, however—especially an Asian supermarket, but also some Hispanic grocers—you’ll be treated to a veritable cornucopia of cuts you’ve likely never seen and maybe didn’t even know existed. We city folk can be excused for this. Not having grown up on farms, it’s easy for us to think meat magically appears in the world cleaned, cut, and shrink-wrapped for our shopping convenience. It’s also easy to forget that these yummy foods come from animals that aren’t just congolmerations of muscle meat, but were living, breathing beings who had organs, bones, skin, and feet. Aside from the moral imperative we should feel to engage in “nose-to-tail cooking” (that is, honoring these creatures who have been sacrificed for the sake of getting into our tummies by using every bit of them we can, and not just the pretty stuff), each of these lesser-appreciated bits comes with its own set of nutrients and deliciousness, provided we know how to cook them and make the most of them. And a recent trip to my neighborhood chain supermarket showed me that even some of these regular ol' stores carry the more interesting stuff, too. You just have to keep an eye out for it. (For why these forgotten cuts are so important for our health, you'll just have to read all the way to the end. If you're super-pressed for time, skip way down to the paragraph in red, but promise me you'll come back and read the rest some other time.)

Today’s post honors one of the less intimidating cuts, which is a great way for skittish newbies to dip their toes into the water and gently ease into this brave new culinary world.