The rarely appreciated "dangly bits in-between..."

I have a weird one for you this week.

I have talked about organ meats in my newsletter before, but I don't believe I have ever honed in on Oysters, Fries, or what I recently saw referred to as "the dangly bits in between" in nose-to-tail eating.

If you haven't caught my drift yet, I'm referring to testicles.

​

A rarely-appreciated and hard-to-find product that are actually quite delicious if you know how to prepare them right.

Speaking of hard-to-find, this time of year is a pretty important time to be taking in vital, hard-to-find nutrients.

The seasons are shifting, our bodies are not able to make as much of some of the necessary nutrients from sunlight and fresh seasonally-ripe fruits and veggies as readily as we can in the summertime, and for some of us we can really feel that shift.

I know I sure can- like a sledge-hammer.

I have already had quite a few days this fall and winter where I find myself thinking, "woof, I need to up the ante on getting more organ meats into my diet."

One of the most noticeable and weirdest side effects of eating clean, cutting out additives and preservatives, and eating more nutrient-dense foods, is craving things you probably never thought you would have craved before- even if you have never eaten them.

My strangest, but predictably-reoccurring Fall and Spring craving list includes things like oysters, raw milk/yogurt, bone-marrow, early-spring dandelions, pickled and fermented veggies, arugula, seaweed, liver, anything fried in pork lard, and lamb "fries."

These aren't things you find readily available in most grocery stores in the rural west, but they all have nutrients in common that are actually pretty sparse in most grocery store wares. Nutrients like zinc, selenium, vitamins a, d, e, k, folate, and b-12, , iron, copper, magnesium, selenium, and iodine, which we critically need to maintain good health, but are not commonly occurring in most staple foods of our US culture.

Here's the real kicker- a lot of these nutrients aren't bioavailable unless you are taking them in together, in the right ratios... this means if you go out and buy a supplement of any of the individual nutrients above, your body may not even be able to use it- and you may just be wasting your money and time.

Problem is, in the US, we have lost the knack for enjoying these delicacies. Most offal goes to waste in our country, and it is truly a shame. If you consider how much money and how many resources go into creating supplements to make up the gaps in our diet created by our tendency to forego taking in the nutrients I listed above... it's nuts! (pun intended)

Honoring the creatures that feed us is something I have always valued. When you think about it, all parts created and grown by an animal were equally as hard to grow and maintain, and throwing any of them away, particularly the most nutrient-dense ones, just doesn't communicate gratitude nor respect for the resources and energy put into this creative process.

Whether it's just how we were raised, or our culture's awful lack of offal, eating organ meats can be really difficult and not fun for many of us who just aren't used to it. I have done my share of trying to swallow down dishes I have prepared that were just not that good, in an effort to prevent waste and increase my diverse nutrient intake.

Chasing that balance of actually enjoying organ meats is an endeavor I still have to work at.

I am a shameless inserter of organ meats into dishes like chili, sauces, ground sausages, and soups with heavy seasonings to hide their presence from my family. It is an act of love, although they may not realize it.

My husband rolls his eyes when I insist upon saving the heart, liver, kidneys, and visceral fats from any animal we harvest on the farm or in the field, and he has learned not to ask when he sees me unwrapping an oddly-shaped package of meat as I am preparing dinner. Even the most finicky eaters can be trained.

I have been working with local butchers over the past couple of months to come up with some creative ways to honor these undervalued parts in ways you might actually enjoy.

Check out these products we have created that contain different varieties of nutrient dense cuts:

​Organ Meat Snack Bites​

​Jalapeno Cheddar Lamb Sticks with Heart, Kidney, and Rocky Mountain Oysters​

​Grass Finished Lamb Tallow (for frying/sauteing/rendering)​

​Lamb Soup Bones​

​​

Dare to give any of these a try?

I'm excited for your feedback on flavor, texture, and how you feel after eating them.

Organ meats have truly increased my quality of life and I hope to share that with others.

There is something about the intention behind how we eat, that is embodied throughout in the dishes we prepare.

It is hard to describe, but there is an engrained energy in foods we prepare with love.

I would like to testify that it may be multiplied exponentially when food is also raised with love and respect.

From nose to tail and even the, hopefully now, more appreciated dangly bits in between...

If this email piqued your interest about cooking with organ meats, I thought you may also be interested in this very cool event coming up that a friend shared:

​Colorado State University Offal Party!​

Have a great week BJ!

-BJ and the Taste of the Wind Crew

​