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What to eat in North America? Top 13 North American Offal Dishes

Last update: Sun Dec 15 2024
Top 13 North American Offal Dishes
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01
Tacos de lengua
Tacos de lengua infographic
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Tacos de lengua is a unique variety of a taco, filled with thin slices of cooked and grilled beef tongue and various other ingredients depending on personal preferences. Beef tongue is characterized by its tender texture, making it an ideal accompaniment for salsas, coriander, and tart lime juice.

MOST ICONIC Tacos de lengua

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02

Offal Soup

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
4.0
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This hearty Trini soup is made with cow heel as the key ingredient. Everyone on the island has their own variation of the soup, so different vegetables might be added to the pot, and some people like to add dumplings, while others opt out of them, according to personal preferences.


Typically, the soup contains ingredients such as onions, split peas, okra, and carrots. Before serving, cow heel soup is additionally seasoned with salt and pepper, then served hot in large bowls or plates.

03
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Tripas or machitos is a popular Mexican dish consisting of pig or cow intestines. It is mostly used as a filling for tacos, so tripas can be found throughout Mexico, usually at taco stands, and especially in open-air markets called tianguis.


Boiled and grilled, tripe is commonly topped with chopped onions, coriander, and spicy chili sauces. The preparation of tripas requires a great deal of knowledge because they shouldn't be overcooked nor undercooked, as it makes them hard to chew.

MOST ICONIC Tripas

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04

Offal Soup

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC and  4 more regions
3.7
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Sopa de mondongo is a term that is widely used all across Central and South America when referring to a hearty tripe and vegetable soup. The star of the dish is beef or pork tripe, the rather tough edible part of animal stomach which is cut into smaller pieces and cooked with other ingredients in a flavorful broth.


Different versions of the soup are found all across Latin America, where it has been adapted with locally available ingredients and spices. Typically, sopa de mondongo employs plain and sweet potatoes, cassava, corn, cabbage, plantains, onions, sliced avocado, and generous amounts of chopped cilantro, which is used as a garnish. 
05
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Menudo is a traditional Mexican offal soup, and the main ingredient in it is beef tripe. It is often seasoned with chili peppers, garlic, onion, lime, and oregano, creating a rich and hearty flavor profile. Although menudo is undoubtedly a Mexican dish, it is still unknown in which part of the country it was invented.


The northern area claims it came from their farmers who made the dish from leftover parts of their cows. Others claim that it was invented in central Mexico. Regardless of the geographical point of origin, the fact remains that there are two versions of this soup; menudo rojo and menudo blanco

MOST ICONIC Menudo

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06

Offal Dish

MEXICO and  one more country
3.3
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Higado encebollado is a traditional dish that's popular throughout South America, especially in Mexico and Peru. It consists of beef liver and onions as the key ingredients. The liver is cut into thin slices, then seasoned with salt and pepper before it's sautéed in oil with bell peppers, onions, and sometimes tomatoes.


Once cooked, the dish is served hot, usually with rice or mashed potatoes on the side.

07

Offal Dish

NORTH CAROLINA, United States of America
3.3
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Livermush is an American dish that's believed to originate from North Carolina. It consists of slices of livermush (a product made with pig liver, head, and cornmeal, spiced with sage and pepper) that are fried until golden brown. When served for breakfast, livermush is often accompanied by eggs and grits, but it can also be served for lunch or dinner.


And although some people might think that livermush is the same as scrapple, think again: scrapple has a bit less cornmeal and can have less, more, or no liver at all. Nowadays, the popularity of livermush is on the rise, so it can sometimes be added to omelets or it can be used as a pizza topping.

MOST ICONIC Livermush

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08

Offal Dish

COLORADO, United States of America
2.9
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Despite their misleading name, Rocky Mountain oysters are actually bulls' testicles that are peeled, pounded, coated in flour, salt, and pepper, then fried. This unusual appetizer can be found in the American West and western Canada, and it is believed that the dish was invented by some of the first ranchers who had inhabited the West.


Because they were in need of cheap sources of food, the ranchers began to cook animal testicles with branding coals. Nowadays, Rocky Mountain oysters are a true delicacy that is usually served with demi-glace sauce in Canada, while in America they are typically served with cocktail sauce on the side.

MOST ICONIC Rocky Mountain Oysters

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09

Blood Sausage

LOUISIANA, United States of America
n/a
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Boudin rouge or red boudin is a type of blood sausage that's traditionally prepared in Louisiana. In order to prepare it, pork is boiled, the meat is separated from the bones and it's then passed through a meat grinder along with onions.


The ground pork is then mixed with cooked rice, strained pork stock, dried seasonings, and pig's blood. The combination is stuffed into natural pork casings, and the blood sausage is then finished. It's usually boiled or steamed and served alongside mashed potatoes.

10

Stew

PUERTO RICO
n/a
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Gandinga is a thick Puerto Rican stew made with pig organs as the key ingredient. Besides pig’s heart, kidneys, and liver, the dish is prepared with ingredients such as Manzanilla olives, sofrito, and capers. It is recommended to serve gandinga with aguacate and boiled green bananas on the side.

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Offal Dish
ALASKA, United States of America  and  one more country
n/a
12
Meat Jelly Dish
ALASKA, United States of America  and  one more region
n/a
13
Offal Dish
PENNSYLVANIA, United States of America
n/a

TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.

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North American Offal Dishes