Gizzards seem to be a love-it or hate-it protein. To me, they’re a lot like hearts—hard-working muscle, dense with flavor. But unlike hearts, they’re extra chewy. There are a few approaches to cooking gizzards; the method you choose will depend on your end goal and jaw strength. You can tenderize them, or you can embrace the chewiness and cook them straight up.

This fried gizzard recipe has an optional step for tenderizing, which honestly will make it more palatable for the majority of eaters. But if you’re one of those weirdos like me that likes extra chewy and crunchy food, you can skip that step, which inevitably will mean fewer gizzards that you have to share.

First,clean the gizzards. You want to remove the plate and the silver skin from the sides of each half. Give them a good rinse to get rid of any gravelly bits. With duck gizzards, you can just split them in half, but with goose or turkey gizzards, cut them down into ¼-inch thick, bite-size pieces. Here’s ahelpful video on cleaning gizzardsas well.

From here, you have the choice of frying them raw or braising first for more tender bites. If, like me, you order the fried gizzards every time you're in a gas station that serves fried chicken, you can skip the braise. Otherwise, you’ll probably like the braised version more.

Whether you braise or fry them raw, these double-breaded fried gizzards have all the characteristics of good fried chicken. The extra crispy breading maximizes the sauce-to-meat ratio. And regardless of your opinion on gizzards, everyone loves deep-fried crispiness.

Also works with

Special equipment

Shop

1. If braising the gizzards, follow this step; if not, skip straight to the next step. Place the sliced gizzards in a crock pot or dutch oven, cover them with water, and add some salt and aromatics if you want. I toss a few bay leaves and some garlic in there. Set the crock pot on high and cook for 2 to 4 hours, or until tender. If using a dutch oven, cover with a lid and place in an oven set at 350°F for 2 to 4 hours. Once tender enough to your liking, drain and allow to cool enough to handle.
2. Make the buffalo sauce by melting butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Once melted, remove from heat and whisk in hot sauce until combined.
3. Prepare the breading and egg wash by whisking the dry ingredients together in one bowl and the wet ingredients together in another bowl.
4. Season the gizzards with salt and pepper, then toss them in the breading. Shake off excess breading, and dip them into the egg wash, then back into the breading. This second layer of breading will give them that extra crispy fried chicken texture. Shake off the excess breading, and they are ready for the deep fryer.
5. Heat your frying oil to 350 to 375°F and fry the breaded gizzards for about 2 minutes, or until they are golden brown. If you choose to braise the gizzards before frying, they’re already cooked through, and this frying stage is just to cook the breading. Either way, you’re looking for a nice, even, golden brown color.
6. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel-lined pan. Serve with your favorite fried food sauces. I like mine with buffalo sauce, extra thick ranch, and celery sticks.