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gross green gizzards

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I love LOVE LOVE chicken gizzards. I love the chewiness of them and their unmistakable flavor. however when I bought them the other day from the chinese grocery store, they had this weird greenish like hue to some of them (on certain parts).

I ignored it, bought them, cooked them, and unfortunately ate them despite their odd hue. When I ate the green part, it was really bitter. I am assuming (I have no knowledge whatsoever of chicken anatomy) that the part I ate was tainted with bile, cause of the bitterness?

Anyways, is the green part bad for me, and am I going to be sick because I ate it?

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  1. Probably die within the next 48 hours....


    If you're fine now, chances are, you're gonna be fine.

    1. How did they smell? There is a natural greenish cast to the connective part but if they tasted yucky I would just go back and ask the butcher (assuming the market has a bunch of guys) - they may be defensive but they can at least show you how they are supposed to look- as in really fresh ones. Assembly line gizzards ( as in assembly line chicken which is what that market most likely has ) should not have the bile issue - they are processed, washed, etc. Sounds more like they were less than fresh.

      1. I didn't smell them ): I really should've though.

        I should've added that they were brownish in their raw state, but turned green after cooking

        1 Reply
        1. re: bitsubeats

          I hope you will be fine. Just so you know, I share the same fondness for gizzards, and have had them turn green and taste bitter to me, as well as have them cooked to be a little slimy...but never actually gotten sick from eating them.

          Duck gizzards, now, they are even better. More flesh and more intense flavor...but come to think of it, it was the duck gizzards that tend to get slimy if slow cooked, and the chicken gizzards that occasionally turn green and bitter....

        2. ps, I love them to, I like to simmer them in a spicy marinara with lots of garlic.

          1. despite some of them having a green hue, do any of you have any great asian influenced preparations for them? chinese? korean? japanese? I like to cook them well done with lots of s & p , and then eat them with a bowl of korean rice

            1 Reply