Recipe Of The Week: Underrated Peppered Gizzard

Gizzard is a part of the chicken that is loved by a lot of people. You can eat gizzard in suya, as a side with other meals like this delicious ukwa, in small chops, or you can garnish it and eat it that way. If you are entertaining guests or having dinner with the family, serve it as a side dish to Fried Plantains, Rice and Beans or Jollof Rice.

peppered gizzards. PHOTO: Dooney’s Kitchen

Whichever way you’d like to have your gizzard, this is a recipe for those peppered gizzards Nigerians love so much.

Ingredients
1kg chicken gizzards
3 habanero peppers (or to your taste)
2 medium onions
1 big stock cube
1 teaspoon thyme
Salt (to taste)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Note: Be careful with the quantity of seasoning you add to gizzards. They can easily get overseasoned and taste salty because the meat does not absorb much of the ingredients.

raw gizzards

Before you make Your Peppered Gizzards

• Ensure that the inside skins of the gizzards are peeled off, then wash and place them in a pot.
• Cut the onions into big chunks.
• Pound or blitz the peppers (no water).
• Marinate the gizzards with the seasonings if you want. However, it is not advisable because it does not make any difference. Gizzards have a rubbery texture so the marinade does not really penetrate the meat.

Making the Peppered Gizzards

• • Add the stock cube, the thyme and big chunks of onions into the gizzards. If you marinated them, just add the onions.
  • Pour water to just under the level of the gizzards and start cooking at medium heat. This quantity of water will dry up by the time the gizzards are well done.
  • When the gizzards are well done, remove the big chunks of onions.

• Increase the heat to high and stir constantly till all the remaining liquid in the pot is absorbed. You don’t want to lose any flavour by pouring away the gizzard stock.
• Add salt to taste and stir very well.
• Lay the gizzards flat in a baking bowl.
• Grill in an oven at 170°C or 338°F till the top side is dry and brown. Turn them and grill the underside too till dry and brown. If you don’t have an oven, just deep-fry them.
• Heat the vegetable oil in another pot.
• Add the pepper and the grilled/deep-fried gizzards.
• Stir very well till the pepper is evenly distributed on the gizzards. The vegetable oil ensures that this happens and gives the grilled gizzards a nice glow.

That’s it! Enjoy.

Courtesy All Nigerian Recipes