It might seem unappetising or even gross to some, but experts say shoppers looking for a nutritious boost in their diet should consider offal.
Animal organs can be high in iron and other essential nutrients, and experts believe the benefits of the meat are being overlooked.
As cost-of-living pressures force one in five Australians to miss meals, they are urging consumers and industry not to undervalue its potential.
Eating animal organ meats, or offal, such as liver, tripe, or brain, is considered sustainable as it reduces the waste of animal by-products. (ABC Capricornia: Claudia Sullivan)
Iconic chef’s first foray into cooking
One Australian who fondly remembers offal-based meals, like sheep’s brain is celebrity chef, author, businesswoman and health advocate Maggie Beer.
Ms Beer said she found offal “irresistible”, and it was also the first dish she ever cooked.
“I was pan-frying chicken livers. I was seven, and my father said, ‘Stop picking at those, there’ll be none left for anyone else,’” Ms Beer said.
“[It] was such a special treat … and a total respecting of an animal by using every part,” she said.
Celebrated chef Maggie Beer has been working to change the culture of food in aged care and the quality of life of those living there. (Supplied: Maggie’s Orchard)
The acclaimed chef has been campaigning to improve the quality of food served in aged-care facilities.
She said that because of the special memories some seniors associated with animal by-products, the food would make a great addition to any retirement home menu.
For anyone interested in cooking an animal by-product, she recommended pan-fried sheep’s brain.
“[Start by] poaching the brains and then letting them chill. Then cook them in nut brown butter with capers and parsley, and a good squeeze of lemon,” she said.
“That, to me, is one of the great dishes of the world.“
Still in demand at home and overseas
Australia exported 234,000 tonnes of edible offal in 2024, according to Meat and Livestock Australia.
While this amount was outstripped by the 1.3 million tonnes of beef exported, it is still substantial and in league with the 359,000 tonnes of lamb and 255,000 tonnes of mutton exported.
Even in Rockhampton, Australia’s beef capital, there are still loyal consumers of sheep’s brain.
Butcher Bill Douglas worked long days to find mostly locally sourced products, including animal organ meat.
Bill Douglas is working around the clock to supply as much locally sourced produce as possible. (ABC Capricornia: Claudia Sullivan)
“We sell it mostly to elderly people. They come in just for it,” Mr Douglas said.
“[If] we don’t have it … we make sure we have it later on in the week for them, and they’ll come back for it.”
Offal was not his most popular item, but he said there was a persistent demand.
“It’s getting harder and harder to get [with] fewer places actually selling it,” he said.
More research needed to avoid ‘haemorrhaging nutrients’
Veterinary scientist Robyn Alders has researched food and nutrition security for more than 30 years, and said more data was needed to understand our eating habits and attitudes.
Robyn Alders AO has been working in the field of global food and nutritional security for decades, as seen in her work introducing vaccinations to chickens in Tanzania in 2012. (Supplied: Sally Ingleton)
She said the data submitted by the United Nations research focused on animal muscle rather than nutrient-dense organs.
“It’s something that they are actively trying to change right now,” Dr Alders said.
“Everyone’s aware now that our system is haemorrhaging nutrients if we’re not taking organ meats into account,” she said.
“Our diet has drifted. We’re consuming a lot of junk food, and we’re eating only the muscle. That gives us a certain range of nutrients.”
Robyn Elders says that for earlier generations, the consumption of organ meat through dishes like steak and kidney pie was very common. (ABC Capricornia: Claudia Sullivan)
Dr Alders said offal could be beneficial to the 25 per cent of pregnant women in Australia who were anaemic, often due to iron deficiency.
“Organ foods, such as liver, are very high in iron. [And that] iron … is what we call bioavailable. It’s in a form that the body can use immediately, which means you get good uptake.”
Dr Alders also said it was not clear why we were consuming less organ meat, but she had heard a few theories.
“One [could] be that as more of us are urbanised, we’re more removed from the systems that sustain us and feed us, and people simply don’t like the sight of organ meat,” she said.
“It can maybe remind us of our own mortality.“
