ORGAN MEATS
Most of the substance we call "meat" are the muscles from the carcass of the steer, heifer, deer, sheep, goat, hog, or numerous poultry species. But other tissues are certainly edible, and often prized as some of the best-tasting meat available. Bones are of course rendered into the best soups, stocks, and stews, but virtually all parts of the animal are edible, from the snout to the tail, and everything in between. The common expression was: "We enjoy everything the pig gives us; the only bit that escapes is the squeal !"
Q: Is it unhealthy to eat offals especially liver due to toxins?
A: Toxins? What toxins were you imagining would be there? People who have an hereditary condition called haemochromatosis already have too much iron in circulation and are advised by their physicians to avoid foods that are particularly rich in iron, especially “heme”-iron of which there is an abundance in liver.
But for the rest of us, an occasional meal of sauteed veal liver, grilled pigs’ liver, fried lambs’ liver, jellied beef tongue, roast heart, grilled kidneys, etc. is part of the broad selection that constitutes an optimum diet. Stir-fried chicken livers, (Chow gai gong in Cantonese), prepared with garlic, ginger, soy sauce and green onion, is a special favourite of mine. When I am in Taiwan, grilled intestines on a skewer are well worth trying in the night market. (Don’t react in a horrified way…. Sausages and salamis are still encased in intestines).
As with any food, it is unwise to eat too much of any one thing. But it is well worth learning how to prepare truly excellent dishes and at the same time gaining the rich source of nutrition that you will find in tongue, heart, liver, kidneys, and thymus glands.
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Brains? At the current incomplete state of knowledge about spongiform encephalopathy ("prion") diseases, I would advise against eating any mammalian brains, although they remain part of a rich culinary tradition in many parts of the world.