Time Magazine reports, with a soupçon of punny glee, that sales of offal in Great Britain have surged as of late, likely in response to the international economic downturn. Quoth London's Liz Logan:

"Tough economic times have Britons eating their hearts out and swallowing their tongues. Not literally, of course. But offal - or "variety meats," as the food category is euphemistically called in the U.K. - is experiencing a surge in popularity, with sales up 67% over the past five years."

Thing is, even in advance of the pound sterling's plunge, the nose-to-tail herd, helmed by offal stalwarts like Fergus Henderson and River Cottage's Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, had been squealing 'bout the culinary benefits of tripe, kidneys, brains, tail, giblets and trotters. Come for the savings, stay for the savoring -- the message seems to have come home to roost.

I posted a while back about my love of grilled chicken hearts, and I'm no stranger to whisking up a batch of giblet gravy, or a neckbone ragout, but I'm hungry for your favorite takes on organ meats. Post 'em in the comments below.

[via: Time]

Thank you to Flickr user vvvanessa for uploading this drool-inducing image to the Slashfood pool.

Giblet gravy recipe after the jump.
Giblet Gravy (adapted from Charleston Receipts)

Giblets and neck from turkey, cooked
4 cups chicken, turkey or vegetable stock
2 cubes chicken bouillon
2 tsp poultry seasoning (a commercial blend like Bell's, or a mixture of sage, thyme, savory, marjoram and celery salt, proportions to taste)
3 tbsp cornstarch
1/3 cup cold water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 hard boiled egg, sliced

Chop the giblets and the neck meat. Using a sauce pot, bring the stock to a boil. Add the giblets, bouillon cubes and poultry seasoning to the mixture.

In a separate bowl, mix the cornstarch and water, and add to the boiling stock, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes. Add salt and pepper, to taste, and add the sliced boiled egg.