The Various Parts of the Animal

[Qondrar_The_Redeemer]

Since as of recently I am able to get any part of the animal, I have already started including some more organ meats (and blood). Any suggestions on what organs/parts of the animal I should get? And what kind nutrient content it has, your personal experience with it (taste, did you get any positive benefits from it etc...). I think it would be particularly interesting to talk about some organ meats that are less known.

[TylerDurden]

I don't find raw  liver any good in quantity. I eat it only rarely. I used to eat raw liver in large amounts and my body developed diarrhea in order to get rid of it. I love raw marrow, especially ther soft, reddish, creamier kind, not so much the drier variety.I heavily recommend it. Raw blood from raw wild game is especially invigorating, though blood from other sources has always been disappointing. Raw kidneys/raw hearts are also a good idea. Don't eat raw brain from low-quality sources, tastes really bad/bland if you do. Raw tongue is also an excellent food. I also like the white fat on leg of lamb, but not the white fat on beef, for example. My 1 experiment with raw stag testicles was a disaster...

[PaganGoy]

A little stag testicle never hurt anybody, its perfectly good nutrition.

[dariorpl]

Any part of the animal that is edible and tastes good to you should be a good addition

[Qondrar_The_Redeemer]

I already eat liver, marrow, kidneys and heart (and drink blood). Brain has simply not been available until now, so I look forward to trying that eventually along with tongue and testicles. I agree with you regarding the taste of the marrow, I actually think raw marrow is the best food I've ever tried, even better than anything I used to eat on standard cooked diet. Regarding liver, how much did you eat? I eat 100-200 grams a day and think it's great, although if I suddenly stop tolerating it, I will obviously stop. Thanks for the information regarding brain, I have a source which has some very good meat, close to the taste of wild game. Not quite, but I can't get any organs from wild game so it's not like I have much of a choice. Regarding blood, I find it invigorating, where as before the other grain-fed and grass-fed sources were different. Although I've never been able to get it from wild game, so I've no idea what that would be like. What happened with the stag testicles?

I'm also interested about the various glands and other parts. I know, for example, that by far the highest source of Iodine is in the thyroid gland. I'm sure other organs are all unique in the potential benefits they may offer.

[TylerDurden]

The stag testicles were simply too tough. I did leave them out for a few days but that just made them too rank for me to eat.

When I had that experience with raw grassfed ox liver, I had been eating only that for every alternate week. As a result, I avoided the stuff for ages. I do still eat it, but only  c.300g every few months  at most. If  I overindulge, I get liquid brown diarrhea soon after eating it. Too concentrated for me, I guess. I also poorly absorb raw eggs if I overdo them.

[Fenrir]

I really love thymus they are very savory and creamy, i also like pancreas a lot though its much more tangy almost sour but not really and in a good way. I think those two are my favorites though i do enjoy liver occasionally.

[Qondrar_The_Redeemer]

I really love thymus they are very savory and creamy, i also like pancreas a lot though its much more tangy almost sour but not really and in a good way. I think those two are my favorites though i do enjoy liver occasionally.

Thanks, I think I'll have to try thymus and pancreas.

[Grey-Cup]

As far as lamb is concerned:

Sweetbreads: Thymus (throat) beats pancreas (heart) in my opinion.

Thyroid, I have never tried, nor do I think I could easily source. Please do report back on your experience.

Brain is great. I also enjoy eyes, but be careful eating them as they tend to pop and spray the pupil pigment everywhere which has ruined a shirt.

Beef: I dislike sweetbreads in beef, or at least had a bad example the first two times, and have only been doing lamb since.

[Qondrar_The_Redeemer]

As far as lamb is concerned:

Sweetbreads: Thymus (throat) beats pancreas (heart) in my opinion.

Thyroid, I have never tried, nor do I think I could easily source. Please do report back on your experience.

Brain is great. I also enjoy eyes, but be careful eating them as they tend to pop and spray the pupil pigment everywhere which has ruined a shirt.

Beef: I dislike sweetbreads in beef, or at least had a bad example the first two times, and have only been doing lamb since.

Regarding the beef, I think the depends on the quality of the animal. Personally I prefer beef/mutton over lamb/veal. Interesting about the eyes, I'll keep that in mind.

I'll write about my experience when I try them.

[Qondrar_The_Redeemer]

Has anyone ever noticed an uncomfortable taste while eating kidneys? It's very difficult to describe, as it tastes good (like some sort of sweet I used to eat), yet at the same time it just doesn't feel right. Perhaps a bit of an aftertaste. I've noticed this with all kidneys from different animals. It's not bad, but it isn't something I would like to eat. It's almost as if it is neither enjoyable nor bad. Because of this reason I haven't been eating that many kidneys lately, as bone marrow and liver are better in my opinion, which I eat regularly. I eat other organs as well, but kidney is the only one so far which just feels weird. Again, what's weird is that it actually tastes good, but it has this exotic taste/smell that I just can't get used to. It's almost as if I was trying to eat something that tastes good like cake (just for comparison, obviously I don't eat that), but yet at the same time it always feels too different to be actually enjoyable. Perhaps I simply have been eating too much liver and therefore don't like the taste of the milder kidneys?
I tend to eat liver and kidneys together, and I always look forward to the liver a lot more than I do to the kidneys.

[TylerDurden]

Personally, I really, really enjoy the taste of raw kidneys  once they were aged. Once aged, they tasted like urea, when fresh, they tasted marvellous....

[Qondrar_The_Redeemer]

Personally, I really, really enjoy the taste of raw kidneys  once they were aged. Once aged, they tasted like urea, when fresh, they tasted marvellous....

Like I said, it's not that they taste bad, but they have this exotic taste which is just inferior to liver in my opinion. Which makes it more difficult to eat, since I'm eating it alongside the better tasting liver. How long did it take for you to get used to kidneys? And how many do you eat over a longer period of time?

I found the taste of aged kidneys to be good, but for some reason even more off-putting. Just not as good as aged liver. In both cases I prefer fresh, however.

[TylerDurden]

I  have always found the taste of raw kidneys, however aged, to taste far better than the equivalent in raw aged, liver, however aged.

[Qondrar_The_Redeemer]

I  have always found the taste of raw kidneys, however aged, to taste far better than the equivalent in raw aged, liver, however aged.

Do you find liver to be stronger tasting than kidney? I find kidneys to be pretty mild compared to liver, and since I find liver to be very sweet along with its unique liver taste, I think I've probably been spoiled by too much liver, because of which I don't find kidneys as appealing anymore.

[TylerDurden]

I find the taste of raw kidneys to be stronger than raw liver. Trouble is that raw, aged kidneys taste, unsurprisingly, much like urine.

[jsolsol]

Marrow is delicious, especially if you indulge and mix it with some garlic and butter. I will never turn away form a good bone-in ribeye, however...

[Qondrar_The_Redeemer]

Marrow is delicious, especially if you indulge and mix it with some garlic and butter. I will never turn away form a good bone-in ribeye, however...

While I only one particular food for an entire meal (so no garlic and butter along with bone marrow), yes, bone marrow is delicious. As I've already stated, I consume more bone marrow than I do any other organ or muscle.

[Canis]

One thing I have found with bone marrow is if you leave it out at room temp for a couple of days it gets sweet.  I thought this was a random occurrence, turned out it wasn't as I bought from another source and the same thing happened(both sources were grassfed).  Pulled it out of the freezer(yes I have a difficult time getting fresh) and let it thaw to room temp.  Had some and thought it tasted rich and creamy like a mild butter.  The following day it had a sweet taste to it and really enjoyed it.  The following day it was really sweet, it reminded me of smurfberry crunch cereal, my favorite cereal to eat as a kid.  Oh the healthy food I ate as a kid 

[Qondrar_The_Redeemer]

One thing I have found with bone marrow is if you leave it out at room temp for a couple of days it gets sweet.  I thought this was a random occurrence, turned out it wasn't as I bought from another source and the same thing happened(both sources were grassfed).  Pulled it out of the freezer(yes I have a difficult time getting fresh) and let it thaw to room temp.  Had some and thought it tasted rich and creamy like a mild butter.  The following day it had a sweet taste to it and really enjoyed it.  The following day it was really sweet, it reminded me of smurfberry crunch cereal, my favorite cereal to eat as a kid.  Oh the healthy food I ate as a kid 

Hmm, yes, perhaps. Although I find in general that the bloody marrow usually tastes sweet, pretty much exactly the same as a certain cake I used to eat. Personally I've found if the marrow is already dry/chalky, it's only going to get worse outside, while the creamy/bloody marrow tends to do quite well at room temperature, perhaps even improving in taste/texture as you've already pointed out.

[Grey-Cup]

Did you ever secure thyroid gland? If so, please share your experiences.