Pickled Duck Gizzards

There isn't a whole lot of info out there on how to pickle a gizzard so I kind of had to make this up as I went. I had made Pickled deer heart a while back and figured I could use a similar technique for the gizzards. The trick is that gizzards if not cooked correctly can turn into small little meat rocks as hard as a golf ball. I ended up simmering these gizzards for almost two hours to make them tender. I served them up with some of my pickled pike and a radish and kohlrabi quick pickled. Paired with some crusty bread and some whole grain mustard it made for a nice afternoon snack.

This pickling recipe is a two part process, first you have to cook the gizzards and then you can pickle it. This is for one pound of gizzards.

Ingredients

For the cooking liquid I used:

• 4 cups water
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 1 small bunch of thyme
• 5 juniper berries (crushed with the side of a knife)
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons of salt
• 1 tsp black peppercorns

Simmer the gizzards in the cooking liquid for about 2 hours or until they are tender.

For the pickling liquid:

• 1 1/2 cups of apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 10-12 allspice berries
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 4 juniper berries
• 2 cloves of garlic

Directions

Bring the cider vinegar and remaining four ingredients to a boil. While that is cooking place the gizzards into a 1 pint jar with 1/4 of a thinly sliced red onion, 1 sprig of rosemary and 2 sprigs of thyme. Pour the hot liquid in to the jar and seal. Boil in a water bath for 10 minutes. Let the mixture sit for a couple of days before diving in.

Depending on how many gizzards you have you may need to use multiple jars if so just double the pickling liquid.