Eating nose to tail. You've heard it before. It's balancing the ratios of muscle meat and bones, fat and connective tissues. Basically it's the Methionine to Glycine balance that matters. These are both important amino acids found in foods. Methionine is especially abundant in eggs, dairy, meat, poultry, and fish. Glycine is especially abundant in skin, bones and connective tissue. For example, many tend to eat boneless chicken breast without the skin, bones or cartilage. Making the meal heavy in Methionine. Animals are about half muscle and half connective tissue. A true nose-to-nail diet will include lots of both.
I've just started incorporating more of these into my diet lately. As usual, I like cooking a lot and as fast as possible because I'm just not a fan of cooking to begin with. Re-enter my favorite kitchen appliance the Instant Pot. So I cooked up a Grass-Fed Beef Liver, Kidney, Heart and a Bison Tongue.
Organs are incredibly full of nutrients, specifically the dreaded liver!
Image from The Carnivore Code, by Paul Saladino, M.D.
I put them all in the Instant Pot and added 2-3 cups of Grass-Fed bone broth (that I also had just finished cooking in the same pot not a few minutes earlier). I also added bison fat for flavor. Then sprinkled some Garlic Powder (The Garlic Shed Garlic Powder) and added some fresh Ginger. Put it on high for 30 minutes and all done! I might have gone less time for the smaller organs but wanted to be sure the heart cooked through. Looking back I could have cut the heart up into smaller pieces first so they all cooked evenly.
After it finished cooking, let the pressure release naturally. Then remove, drain the juices and keep the organs. Remember to peel the thin layer of skin off the tongue before eating it.
Once they have cooled I cut them up equally into enough for 4 weeks. I kept one week fresh and froze the other three. I then incorporate the organs into my daily meals with other muscle meat for a nice balance of Methionine to Glycine.
To your health!
Ginger Snow
Operations Director, Yankee Farmer's Market
Biohacker
Professional Tackle Football Player (retired)
gingersnow.com