Bucatini with Chicken Livers and Gizzards

Not wanting to shock those people just cannot abide organ meats, we tempered this post with a photo of the Tomato Bread we made to accompany the bucatini.

Now for the offal...

Even as a child, my favorite part of the chicken was the gizzard. In D.C. last week, I stopped by Eastern Market and found a beautiful fresh bucatini which one doesn't often find fresh. Bucatini is a pasta that can stand up to anything and passing my favorite poultry vendor, I knew just what would top that fresh bucatini. I bought some chicken lives and gizzards. As they came from a reputable vendor, the gizzards were clean and neat. The problem with cooking a dish with livers and gizzards is the vast difference in cooking times. Chicken livers cook in a minute or two but the gizzards need a good hour of simmering to get them tender, or as tender as a gizzard gets. Personally, the chewiness of gizzards doesn't bother me. If you are cooking this dish for a crowd, however, dropping the gizzards in a pressure cooker for 15 minutes would be the way to go.

Bucatini with Chicken Livers and Gizzards

1 pound bucatini
1/2 pound chicken gizzards, cooked till tender
1/2 pound chicken livers
1 tablespoon flour
1 small onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
several sage leaves, chopped, with additional leaves for garnish
1 1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup cream
salt and pepper


In a small saucepan, add the chicken gizzards and cover with water and simmer about an hour until somewhat tender as gizzards will never get that tender.

Roughly chop the cooked gizzards and dredge with the livers in the flour.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil as you begin the sauce. Fresh pasta will take about 2 minutes, dried pasta will take about 10 minutes. You will want your pasta to be ready as the sauce is finishing. The sauce will take about 10 minutes to finish, so start the dried pasta now.

In a large skillet, add the oil and saute the onion for a minute or two. Add the gizzards and liver, being careful as chicken livers are notorious for making the oil pop. cook for about 2 minutes and add the sage. Cook another minute. Add the chicken stock, stirring to reduce. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add the cream, stirring to incorporate and cook for about 1 minute.

Drain the bucatini, reserving a bit of the water, and add the pasta to the skillet with the sauce. If the sauce seems too thick, add a bit of the pasta water to loosen it. Garnish with the extra sage.

Even the squeamish might dig into this pasta. If not, more for me!