Chicken giblets and lamb stock

[honkman]

I made Ragu de' Nobili and a lamb curry from Kashmir over the weekend and was looking for chicken giblets and lamb stock in San Diego. I looked at WholeFoods, Bristol Farms, asian and indian supermarkets but couldn't find them anywhere. I was able to substitute them but will need them in the future. Does anybody know where to find them in SD ?

[DiningDiva]

Honkman, can't help you on the lamb stock, except maybe you might want to make your own. For chicken giblets, about 100 or so yards south of the intersection of El Cajon Blvd. and Euclid is an Asian butcher. They've got every part of the bird you could possibly want. Even though the butcher shop is Asian, the very large sign on top of the building is in good old Spanish and says something like "POLLO, PATOS VIVOS Y FRESCOS".

Yes, this is a live butcher and you need to be very specific about what you order. They take you quite literally. I said I wanted a whole chicken and that's exactly what I got, feet, head, beak and all :-). English is spoken, but not particularly well.

[Joseph]

Thank you, Diva. I've driven right by this place dozens of times. I didn't realize they offered fresh chickens. Sure beats driving to China Town in LA.

[DiningDiva]

Joseph, there is a very large picture window in the retail part of the shop that lets you see directly back into the butchering area. My grandparents owned and operated a poultry ranch for 30+ years. The aroma of the slaughter and butchering process is distinctive if not pervasive. And it does permeate this place.

That said, the bird I got from them was not particularly good. At the time I chalked it up to my not being specific enough about what I wanted. They gave me a large bird that I ended up roasting. It didn't dawn on me until later on that what I got was what my grandmother always called an "old hen". Old hens take better to stewing and other moist cooking methods, not roasting or frying. Needless to say, my roasted old hen, though very fresh, was more than a little tough.

If you go, make it clear what you want or what you intend to do with the bird, or you'll end up like I did with a specimen that isn't exactly suited to the final dish.

[kare_raisu]

Try the persian market on convoy for the lamb stock and I have seen chicken giblets at almost every abc supermarket in the area.