Chicken gizzards are a popular food throughout the world and are considered a delicacy in some areas. They are cut from the digestive tract of a chicken and are one of a loosely defined group of miscellaneous chicken parts known as the giblets, which also includes the heart and liver. The gizzard is a muscle found in the digestive tract of a chicken, similar to a stomach, and is used to grind up the foods the bird eats. Chickens swallow tiny bits of grit and gravel, which travels through the chickens digestive tract and eventually lodges in the gizzard. Then when actual food arrives, this powerful little muscle contracts, like a tiny fist squeezing a handful of gravel. The gravel grinds up the food, and the food continues on into the stomach.

Gizzards are very small, with a distinctive taste that resembles dark chicken meat, but with a chewier and tougher texture. They can be boiled, braised, pickled, slow-cooked, barbecued, fried, and more. The best way to cook gizzards is slowly, with moist heat, at a low temperature. If they hit high heat, as in a saute pan, the connective tissues will tighten up and squeeze the gizzards into chewy little balls of shoe leather. Instead, the goal is to cook them the way you would cook barbecue brisket, pork ribs, or oven-braised pot roast—low and slow. Gizzards are commonly used in stuffing, soups and chilis, fried rice, spaghetti or bolognese sauce, dirty rice, and gumbo.