Organ Meats & Offal: What They Are, Why They're Worth It, and How to Cook Them
For most of history, the organs were the prize. The liver, the heart, the oxtail, the marrow — these were the cuts you fought over, not the ones you fed to the dog. Somewhere in the last few generations that flipped, and a lot of us grew up never learning what to do with them.
It's swinging back, and for good reason: organ meats are some of the most nutrient-dense food on the planet, they're a fraction of the price of premium steak, and using them is the most honest form of nose-to-tail eating. Here's the plain-English guide — what offal actually is, why it's worth eating, and how to cook the main ones.
What is offal?
"Offal" is simply the term for the organ meats and other parts of an animal beyond the standard muscle cuts — liver, heart, kidney, tongue, brains, tripe, oxtail, marrow bones, and so on. The word's a bit unglamorous, but the food isn't.
When the organs come from grass-fed, grass-finished animals raised cleanly, they're not a compromise cut — they're arguably the best of the animal, nutritionally.
Why eat organ meats?
A few honest reasons:
They're nutritional powerhouses. Liver in particular is one of the most nutrient-dense foods there is — extremely high in vitamin A, B12, folate, iron and copper. Heart is rich in CoQ10 and protein. Marrow and bones make the base for mineral-rich broth. Gram for gram, organs out-nourish almost any muscle cut.
They're good value. Because they're under-used, organ meats cost a fraction of premium steak — some of the best nutrition in the shop at the lowest price per kilo.
It's true nose-to-tail. If you care about an animal being used well and nothing wasted, eating the organs is the heart of it. It's the opposite of buying only eye fillet and binning the rest.
They taste good when cooked right. That's the catch — most people's bad memory of liver is overcooked, grey and rubbery. Cooked properly, these are excellent.
Whether organ meats are "essential" to a diet is an individual call, but they're real, traditional, nutrient-dense food — and they're cheap.
How to cook the main organ meats
Beef liver — The classic, and the one most people get wrong. The secret is don't overcook it. Slice it thin, pat it dry, and sear it hot and fast — 1–2 minutes a side, so the centre stays just pink. Overcook it and it turns grey and chalky; cook it right and it's tender. Soaking slices in milk for 30 minutes first mellows the strong flavour if you're easing in. Liver and onions is the classic for a reason. Shop our grass-fed beef liver.
Oxtail — The opposite approach: low and slow. Oxtail is full of collagen and needs hours of gentle braising to turn meltingly tender and rich. Brown it, then braise it in red wine or stock with onions, carrot and herbs for 3+ hours until the meat falls off the bone. It makes one of the best stews and soups you'll ever eat. Shop our grass-fed oxtail.
Heart — Surprisingly approachable. Beef heart is lean, muscular and tastes like a rich, mineral steak. Trim it, slice it, and either grill it hot and fast like a steak (don't overcook — keep it medium-rare) or dice and slow-cook it. Great value and high in protein and CoQ10.
Bones & marrow — Roast marrow bones at high heat for ~20 minutes and spread the soft marrow on toast, or simmer beef bones for 12–24 hours to make a deeply mineral bone broth — the base for soups, gravies and sipping.
Suet & fat — The hard fat around the kidneys (suet) renders into clean tallow for cooking and makes the best pastry and Yorkshire puddings. (More on that in our beef tallow guide.)
A simple way to start
If you've never cooked offal, start gentle:
- First step: liver and onions, or a beef-heart steak — both quick, both forgiving once you know not to overcook.
- Then: a slow-braised oxtail stew on a weekend — almost impossible to get wrong.
- Then: a batch of bone broth simmering away while you do other things.
A little goes a long way, the price is kind, and the nutrition is hard to beat.
Shop grass-fed organ meats in Perth
All our organ meats come from the same grass-fed, grass-finished WA animals as the rest of our range — no feedlots, no additives — delivered across Perth and regional WA.
Frequently asked questions
What are organ meats? Organ meats (also called offal) are the edible organs of an animal — liver, heart, kidney, tongue, brains, tripe — along with cuts like oxtail and marrow bones. They've been eaten for centuries and are among the most nutrient-dense foods available.
Are organ meats actually healthy? Yes — organ meats are exceptionally nutrient-dense. Liver is very high in vitamin A, B12, folate, iron and copper; heart is rich in CoQ10 and protein. As with any food, balance matters (liver is so high in vitamin A that you don't need it daily), but nutritionally they're hard to beat.
How do you cook beef liver so it's not tough? Slice it thin, pat it dry, and sear it hot and fast — about 1–2 minutes a side so the centre stays just pink. Overcooking is what makes liver grey and chalky. Soaking it in milk for 30 minutes first mellows the flavour.
How do you cook oxtail? Low and slow. Brown the pieces, then braise them in stock or red wine with vegetables and herbs for at least 3 hours until the meat falls off the bone. Oxtail is full of collagen and needs long, gentle cooking to become tender.
What is offal? Offal is the general term for organ meats and other non-muscle cuts of an animal — liver, heart, kidney, tongue, tripe, oxtail and more. The name is old-fashioned but the food is some of the most prized and nutritious on the animal.
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