Todays little video is on eating chicken feet. I have to admit that even with all the gross and weird things I've eaten (you only think you want to know, but you don't :), I still viewed the idea somewhat askance when suggested by my Chinese American ex-girlfriend who grew up eating them. As soon as I saw them processed though, I was all about it. They are peeled entirely, so there is no foot funk present whatsoever. I've processed and eaten them ever since whenever there is a chicken to butcher, which there were just three of the other day.
Chicken processing day. The only three barred rocks that survived from the chicks acquired this spring were all roosters. They were starting to crow in the morning. Actually, more like learning to crow, which is worse. The coop is really close to the building I sleep in, which has no door. Just about 30 feet away actually. And it's basically a big metal resonator box, so as to better amplify the sweet sound. Just look at those huge ol' feet though!
I don't really have specific recipes I do with Chicken feet. Often I just end up tossing them in the stock pot with the necks and breast bones and nibble on them later or drop them in a noodle bowl. The cooking experiment in this video turned out really excellent though. It's extremely quick to put together too, just toss them in a pan, sprinkle and splash some junk in there and let it cook. So, I'll be doing that again for sure, and plan on trying some other new stuff. There are enough search results for cooking Chicken feet on youtube to keep a body busy for a while.
Not only are Chicken feets good eats, but the modern diet is deficient in connective tissues containing collagen and gelatin, which are rich in the amino acid glycine. That makes the common muscle meat heavy western diet weighted toward the amino acid methionine. Excess or unbalanced methionine in the diet may have a host of potentially negative effects. Contrarily, you can hardly find anyone besides vegetarians saying anything bad about eating more connective tissue and gelatin. It's usually the more the merrier. It has also been proffered that some of the observed negative effects of meat eating are due to excessive methionine consumption because of the lowered consumption of collagen rich animal parts like shanks, neck, skin, cooked bones and of course, Chicken feet, which are pretty much pure sinew and bone. Who knows what the whole story is, but it seems likely that many people are probably short changing themselves unintentionally in the western influenced diet sphere by not eating the whole animal.
If you want to read more about the methionine/glycine thing, you could start here, but be aware that excessive consumption of information about diet and health can turn you into an unhealthily neurotic dumb ass! Been there.
Warning. If you find disembodied talking chicken feet and chicken feet making obscene gestures offensive, DO NOT WATCH THIS VIDEO! :) Well, I warned you. I mean I can't save you from yourself. This is 4 minutes and 24 seconds of your life that you will never get back.
