HEALTH FROM THE INSIDES

Organs are the most underused yet nutritious and flavourful part of any animal – if you can stomach it. Have a butcher’s and taste the reward

There’s more to offal than kidney pie. We serve up a platter of underrated superfoods

01 INNARD BEAUTIES

To identify as solely a leg or breast man is to sell yourself short. So, while those around you may prefer to play it safe, we proffer a prescription that takes more guts. With help from Jonathan Woolway, head chef of nose-to-tail London restaurant St John, we present the proof that the delicious cuts hidden within the beast come packed with more healthy fats and lifelengthening vitamins than any blandly poached fillet.

02 FINE BRINING

If you’re accustomed to the sterile plastic packaging of the supermarket aisle, you can be excused for thinking that off-menu offal orders would require a little extra work. But you’d be wrong. Leave your local butcher to trim the fat and linings from the organs – all Woolway recommends is that you keep a disposable razor (£ 2 boots.com) at hand to shave your pig’s head. (This, of course, is not a job for your Braun electric shaver.) All that’s then left to do is brine your meat before cooking it. To create the salt brine, fill a deep casserole dish (£ 115 hartsofstur.com) with enough water to cover the offal, mixing in 400g of caster sugar and 600g of salt. Boil, allow to cool and then leave to soak overnight. This process draws out any excess blood and impurities, while also imparting slightly more flavour and softening up the texture.

03 BEAST MODE

The final part of your culinary journey into the centre of it all is to infuse the nutritionally powerful pieces of offal with Michelin-approved taste. With St John boasting a coveted one-star rating, awarded for its “top- quality ingredients” and “dishes with distinct flavours”, Woolway’s recipes have you covered. These tasty meals prove that healthy, delicious protein is much more than skin deep.