5 billion chicken hearts

Brazilians consume an enormous quantity of chicken hearts, so much that this offal is now a value-added product.

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FreeImages.com/Dieter Joel Jagnow
FreeImages.com/Dieter Joel Jagnow

It is well known that until relatively few years ago, chicken wings were worth almost nothing. According to the story – or the legend – Buffalo wings originated in Buffalo, New York, in the United States. Today, there are many recipes and ways to prepare them, and even restaurants specializing in chicken wings. In the U.S., July 29th was National Chicken Wing Day.

That leads me to mention how another poultry product of very high value came out of the blue. As it turns out, in the south in Brazil, there is another "by-product" of the chicken that Brazilians love and consume so much that they do not even export because they eat it all: The chicken heart.

According to the Brazilian newspaper Gazeta do Povo, the appetite of the domestic market for chicken hearts leaves nothing for the rest of the world. Last year they ate more than 5 billion hearts!

Apparently, it is the only part of chicken that they do not export, but moreover no one is interested in buying them. On the other hand, there’s actually interest for other giblets, such as gizzards cut into four pieces that are sold to Japan or the liver, of which 30 percent of production is exported and 40 percent is used in pet food. Just as an example, the heart can be worth almost three times more in the domestic market than the gizzard that’s exported to Japan.

Here are some interesting facts published in the newspaper: 85 to 100 birds are needed for one kilogram of the offal, enough to form three "swords" of the rodizio, common in Brazilian steakhouses (called churascarias). They can be prepared with white wine, salt and sauce, or marinated in beer.

It seems incredible, but a viscera like the heart shows, once again, how there is added value in the unimaginable. Maybe the solution is not breast meat. What do you think?

Note: At the bottom of this page, there is a comments area. Feel free to share your suggestions or ideas there.

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