One of the great things about traveling is that we get to experience other cultures, languages, and food. Just the other day, I was thinking about how amazing it is that different countries can have completely different cuisines. A hugely popular dish in one place might not even exist on the opposite side of the globe.
There’s a lucky guy getting to taste his way around Brazil without even leaving his hometown. His girlfriend is Brazilian, and she’s been introducing him to dishes that she grew up eating. It was going great until she recently offered him chicken hearts. His disgust at the mere thought did not go down well and left her feeling highly offended. But he doesn’t understand why she’s upset and has asked netizens to please explain.
It is said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach...
Image credits: unsplash (not the actual photo)
But that wasn't the case for this guy when his girlfriend offered him chicken hearts - a popular dish from her home country
Image credits: freepik (not the actual photo)
Image credits: HilliamWurt
Coração de frango, or chicken hearts, are more popular than you might think
Image credits: freepik (not the actual photo)
Chicken hearts are a staple in Brazilian restaurants and households. It's more "weird" not to eat them than it is to devour the tiny poultry organs. One outlet reports that locals eat at least 4.2 billion chicken hearts every year. And that's just in three southern states of the country: Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, and Paraná.
If you travel to South America, you might come across a Brazilian steakhouse chain called Fogo de Chão. Word on the street is that clients at nine of the chain's restaurants consume three to four tons of chicken hearts every month.
They taste just like dark meat chicken—at least that's according to a website called Brazilian Kitchen Abroad. "They’re just a little chewier and have notable sweeter and metallic notes," reads the recipe blog post, adding that the delicacy is a great source of protein, Iron, and zinc.
They also don't take too much preparation or effort. As per Brazilian Kitchen Abroad, "perfectly chewy little hearts roasted on an open flame with nothing but rock salt" is all you need. Aline Shaw is the founder of the blog. She grew up in Rio de Janeiro and moved to Los Angeles and later Texas.
As a trained chef with a culinary degree from Le Cordon Bleu, a published food photographer, a recipe developer, and a passionate culinary coach, Shaw knows a bit more than most when it comes to cooking chicken hearts. She says after working in professional kitchens, running a catering business, and serving as a private chef, she founded Brazilian Kitchen Abroad "to help people all over the world introduce delicious Brazilian flavors to their everyday cooking."
The chef says chicken hearts aren't hard to come by in the U.S. She suggests looking in the butcher section of Whole Foods. And if your local grocery store doesn’t sell them, "try a Hispanic carniceria or any other neighborhood butcher shops."
Most places sell them cleaned. "If they have too much fat and arteries flopping at the top, you can go ahead and cut that off," she advises. Shaw says they're best grilled over flames. All you need to do is season them with sal grosso-style rock salt and assemble them on skewers.
"Grill the skewers over direct heat for about 5-10 mins, turning them halfway through to make sure they seal evenly on both sides," reads her blog post. "After sealing them, move them over away from the flames into indirect heat for them to finish cooking another 15-20 mins, depending on the size of your hearts."
The expert says chicken hearts are naturally chewy... But if they’re rubbery, you'll know you overcooked them.
Netizens had strong words for the guy and agreed that he had been disrespectful
A few netizens, including a Brazilian, came to the guy's defense
Some thought nobody was in the wrong, but maybe the man could have chosen his words more carefully
Some felt both the guy and his girlfriend should have known better
