Organ Meats: Nutrition, Recipes, and Where to Buy

Organ meats are the most nutrient dense foods on the planet and can have an important role in your health. Get to know these heritage foods and learn the best ways to use organ meats in your diet. Whether you enjoy a keto diet, carnivore diet, paleo, or just want to eat healthier, I have organ meat recipes and tips for you!

No one is going to start eating nose to tail if recipes are overly complicated or look too foreign to eat. My goal is to make simple and easy organ meat recipes that the whole family will enjoy. Learn the nutritional benefits of organ meats, follow my shopping and sourcing tips, and get used to cooking these foods in your own kitchen. Enjoy the journey of maximizing nutrition as you optimize diet and lifestyle!

What are organ meats?

Referred to by many names like offal, odd bits, pluck, and variety meats, Wikipedia states

Organ meats are the viscera (internal organs) and entrails of a butchered animal.

These general terms refer to the whole category of parts, the specific edible bits vary from culture to culture. Typically muscle meat and bone are excluded from offal.

With German roots, the word

Offal means “off-fall”, referring to that which has fallen off during butchering.

You’ve probably heard of foie gras, pate, and sweetbread which are internationally recognized as gourmet foods. Once you start looking you will soon realize the variety of use these parts have and the important role they hold as culturally significant ingredients.

Organ meats and offal may come from any number of animals. The most common choices are beef, lamb, sheep, goat, bison, chicken, duck, pork, and rabbit.

A List of the Best Organ Meats to Eat

Whichever organ you can find and cook in a way you enjoy is going to be the best to eat. In contemporary American culture, liver is the most popular and well known.

Most common types of organ meat are:

  • Heart
  • Kidney
  • Liver
  • Sweetbread
  • Tongue
  • Tripe

Others include, but are not limited to:

healthy organ meats offal
  • Blood
  • Brain (would you believe it is best raw?)
  • Chitterlings
  • Hide
  • Hooves
  • Horns
  • Intestines
  • Lung
  • Pancreas
  • Snout
  • Spleen
  • Testicle
  • Trotters

Some people also say suet aka fat, used to render beef tallow (or lamb, mutton, etc) can also be classified as an organ.

Organ meat comes from many animals: beef, lamb, mutton, goat, bison, elk, deer, chicken, duck, goose, pork, and fish.

I do recommend sourcing grass-fed, pasture-raised, and organic organ meats over conventionally raised. Although, not always possible, knowing the source of your food is very rewarding. Using the tips in How to Buy Liver can also help for other organ meats of choice. Always do the best you can.

Organ Meat Benefits: Are they Healthy?

There are many nutritional benefits of organ meats. The benefits of liver, for example, are just about off the charts.

Organ meats are culturally significant foods across the world and have a valued role in many fertility boosting diets. Weston A. Price notes in Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, that many traditional tribes use organ meats in their preconception and postpartum care. They also reserve certain organs for their young children and the elderly.

With the general degradation of an agrochemical attack on our modern food supply, organ meats may have a more important role than ever before when it comes to increasing nutrient density.

Liver pate is a great organ meat recipe for beginners. Most people have heard of pate before, if not tried at least once themselves. Liver pate is easy to make, has a smooth and creamy texture, and actually tastes pretty darn good. I highly recommend liver pate for keto and carnivore diets!

How to Cook Organ Meats that Actually Taste Good

If you are just getting started with organ meats, I have some tips for you. To make this new culinary journey as enjoyable as possible, sign up for my mini email series for my top 5 Easy Ways to Make Organ Meat

I have a few secrets on cooking organ meat recipes that you will want to know about!

  • The best organ meats for you
  • How to start eating organ meats
  • How to customize recipes so they aren’t gross
  • Tips for getting the family on board
  • What organ meat actually taste like
  • How much organ meat you should eat
  • Freezer friendly options for organ meat recipes

Keto Organ Meat Recipes

Making healthy recipes with hidden organ meat is an excellent meal prep strategy if your new to this realm or if you cook for a family and want to ease everyone into nose to tail cuisine gently and gracefully.

My favorite way to make delicious organ meat recipes that no one will scream over is to use ground organ meat mixed into ground beef.

US Wellness has one of my favorite pre-made blends with ground liver, heart, and kidney all mixed up with beef and ready to go. This is a great choice to order a few pounds of and keep in the freezer until you are ready to use it.

Take a break from my traditional easy keto recipes and try a keto recipe with organ meats!

  • Classic Beef Liver Recipe – Liver pate is an elegant way to boost your nutrient density with a super delicious delivery.
  • Slow-Cooked Organ Meat Stew – Slow cooked organ meat stew is a delicious recipe and very budget friendly too. It is easy to make and great for beginners as well as advanced nose to tail eaters.
  • Dairy Free Ox Liver Pate – Dairy free liver pate with ox liver recipe is an amazing side dish sure to wow dinner guests as well as your own taste buds!
  • Keto Chicken Liver Pate – This easy keto chicken liver pate recipe with no alcohol is ultra-smooth and creamy. Every bite is packed with flavor and great nutrition! Make this as an appetizer when you really want to wow your guests!
  • Easy Keto Burgers with Hidden Beef Heart – Savory, juicy paleo beef patties for a quick lunch or dinner.
  • Keto Meatza with Gluten-Free Coconut Flour Crust (Hidden Beef Heart) – Make it cheesy or keep it dairy-free, this dish is a win for the whole family.
  • Bunless Beef Heart Burgers – Ground beef heart takes a simple low-carb bunless burger recipe to the next level! Flavor it up with a quick prep sour yogurt and tangy dill sauce.
  • Cabbage Noodles with Ground Beef (and Hidden Liver) – Enjoy this Asian inspired skillet meal with pan-fried cabbage noodles and ground beef. Add “hidden liver” for extra nutrient density and no one will know it’s there!
  • Braised Beef Heart Recipe (Slow Cook) – Serve savory braised beef heart over slow-cooked cabbage and parsnip for the ultimate organ meat experience. Using a Dutch oven and simmering the meat in a mustard broth sauce is the best way to slow cook beef heart.

Organ Meat on a Carnivore Diet

If you are inclined toward a more simple approach, already have a knack for organ meats, or prefer a fiber-free diet, these carnivore diet-approved organ meat recipes are for you!

Get started with our downloadable Carnivore Diet Food List in a printable pdf format. Save this on your device or print it out at home so you can reference it over and over again.

If you enjoy these recipes with organ meat, I know you will love my other carnivore diet recipes too!

  • Organ Meat Pie (Carnivore Quiche) – Organ meats are some of the most affordable meats and happen to also be some of the most nutritious parts too. This nourishing combination of ground beef, liver and heart baked into a meat pie is simple and satiating.
  • The Easiest Beef Kidney Recipe Ever – You’ll be mind blown by how good this easy beef kidney recipe for keto and carnivore diets is! If you want to eat more nose to tail, this 3-step stove-top dish is a great way to normalize the presence of nutrient-dense organ meats in your home.
  • Easy Beef Heart Carnivore Meatballs – Ultra-simple carnivore style meatballs are made with 3 ingredients in 4 easy steps and packed with zinc, selenium, B vitamins, and CoQ10.
  • Hidden Liver Meat Muffins – This is the perfect way to cook liver without flour. With only 5 ingredients, all of which are dairy-free and gluten-free, you can’t go wrong! This recipe is suitable for keto, carnivore, paleo, and AIP styles diets.  Add it to your meal prep today!
  • Grass-Fed Beef Liver Chips – Thin crunchy zero-carb chips made from grass-fed beef liver are perfect for satisfying your need for something crunchy but come with a super nutritional boost!
  • Homemade Pemmican with Organ Meats – Homemade pemmican is the ultimate protein bar! Made in the traditional style of multiple North American Indian tribes, pemmican is extremely nutrient-dense, lightweight, and shelf-stable.

Liver is by far the most popular organ meat, there are many different ways to eat liver on a carnivore diet.

Plus, I include carnivore friendly options for all my liver pate recipes!

Organ Meat Cookbooks

Now that you know I’m such a fan of organ meats. Do you think I could write a cookbook and leave out these important foods?

If you said “no”, you’re right!

I included a huge section of easy to make, homemade organ meat recipes in both The Ketogenic Edge Cookbook and The Carnivore Cookbook.

Hopefully, you enjoy all the family-friendly options as much as I do.

Organ Meat Supplements

If you are on the fence about making organ meats in your own home, try grass-fed beef organ meat supplements first. Ancestral Supplements has a great line of different blends to choose from.

These are great if you travel often and want to take your nutrition on the go. They will fortify whatever meals you have while out and about.

Children can also benefit from supplementation. If they are not old enough to swallow the capsule yet, it is easy to open up and sprinkle the contents over their food. Our children happen to love desiccated liver supplements and eat them like candy. They play with the gelatin capsules and get them to stick to their lips and fingers after soaking up a little moisture from their mouth. It’s always a big show but I don’t even mind because we’re dealing with a minimally refined, whole food supplement.

Where to Find Organ Meats Near Me?

In comparison to the nutritional value of organ meats, their dollar value is quite low. This is another reason why you can benefit from eating more of them. Your body and wallet will thank you!

The overall demand for organ meats remains low so they are still pretty affordable options.

The easiest place to find organ meats is from your local butcher. Ask the person you already buy meat from and see if they can source organs for you too.

Now, the best place to buy organ meats is from the food producers themselves. Search EatWild to find ranchers in your area and connect with them directly. 

There are also many trusted places online that sell high-quality organ meats.

  • White Oak Pastures – Large selection of grass-fed and pastured beef, goat, lamb, pork, turkey, chicken, duck, goose, guinea, and rabbit
  • Alder Spring – Grass-fed organ meats and bones from beef; kidney, tendons, oxtail, heart, liver, and tongue. They also offer pork heart and chicken livers. Save $10 off with coupon code primal$10
  • US Wellness Meats – A complete list of organ meats from grass-fed beef, lamb, and bison as well as pasture-raised chicken and turkey. Also, liverwurst, braunschweiger, head cheese, and dried organ sausages.