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Got to have those fried chicken livers! "Dirty Rice" wouldn't be the same without livers and gizzards. Calf's liver with bacon and onions? Gotta have it!

Me personally, not big on offal. Like you, wellred, it's almost entirely a texture thing (as is true of nearly every food I don't favor).

The enormous exception here -- allow me to emphasize ENORMOUS -- is sweetbreads. They are profound, heavenly, etc. I am so grateful to the friend who waxed poetic about them, or I'd never have tried them, and wouldn't know how dearly I adore them.

I will also eat a bite or two of calf liver if it's cooked properly, and I enjoy a really well-made pate. I think fois gras is overrated, and overly rich, but I do eat a little when it's there. Finely chopped giblets in gravy or stuffing are acceptable, but not preferred. Everything else? No thank you.

Hubby gobbles all the gizzards, Mommee loves fried chicken livers, and my kids and their dad fight over poultry hearts. They can have mine.

Sweetbreads, liver onions and bacon, tongue, smoked pig head, rocky mountain oysters, smoked neck bones with greens are all heavenly treats.

Chicken liver is good. Sweet breads. I had deep fried sheep brain in Istanbul and that was good. Duck hearts are nice too.

Really, my only problem is with intestines. I've eaten dog and pig intestine, and neither were much to my taste.

I will try anything once.

If it has Tofu or Olives anywhere near the dish I will not even try. Besides being completely pointless tofu has an awful texture and I've gotten ill twice from dishes made with it. And olives make my taste buds explode in all the wrong ways (I have the same reaction to pickles but not as intense).

There are very, very few things that I won't eat. And that's only because I don't like the taste or texture, not on any other principle. And those things are licorice/anise (taste) and kidneys (texture).

Everything else is fair game. :)

I love organ meats like kidneys, liver and skin (as in pork skin). Love sweetbreads, etc. Love menudo (tripe). I make giblet every T-Giving; and saute the liver of the turkey for my dog and me to share (it's tradition). My cooking teacher couldn't understand why I ate all these crazy organ meats but wouldn't touch rabbit. (I had one for a pet.)

If you are even considering trying organ meats, ask someone you know who eats them for a recommendation on a restaurant; and perhaps to even go with you.

I didn't even think of tongue as offal, having eaten it all my life, deli-style as a kid and more recently with mushroom sauce. :-)

Wow...given that I inspired the topic, I guess I better post. I want to point out, if the person doesn't want to eat a particular piece of offal because they dislike kidney texture or whatever, I don't care. But one of our restaurants had a tasting and none of the waiters would try the terrine because it had liver. I ate it all. And it was freakin' delicious. They all think I'm crazy. I'm okay with that.

Anyways. The many reasons I love offal include but are not limited to: That there are textures you don't find other places, that they require more skill in cooking and thus tend to be cooked by people willing to take risks and who know what they are doing. On the opposite end old style recipes come from the necessity to use all parts of the animal and are earthy and passed down through generations, they taste of tradition!

i love poultry liver, hearts, and gizzards -- my favorite thing to eat in france is salad with confit of duck gizzards, or sauteed chicken livers.

i was at a friend's house one christmas and they were preparing chitterlings. the SMELL!!!! i used the excuse that i was jewish not to try them. {they very kindly didn't comment on me eating the ham...}