# The awful racist attitudes of Americans against offal, fair or unfair? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 2, 2014, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-awful-racist-attitudes-of-americans-against-offal-fair-or-unfair/677724 "2014-01-02T18:41:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-awful-racist-attitudes-of-americans-against-offal-fair-or-unfair/677724/21 "2014-01-02T19:51:18Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, I’m not sure where “racist” is coming from, but I think what the OP is getting at is perhaps some class-based associations, as offal was and perhaps still is considered “poor folk food” for a lot of people and something you buy and cook up because it’s cheap, not necessarily because you prefer it to actual meat. Yep… race & socioeconomic status is pretty tightly coupled in the US, so if something’s “poor food”, there’s a better than even chance that it’s commonly eaten by black, mexican or hillbilly type people. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-awful-racist-attitudes-of-americans-against-offal-fair-or-unfair/677724/22 "2014-01-02T19:52:31Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > I’ve had sweetbreads at an Argentinian bbq restaurant and it was mighty good. Puerto Ricans make soup called tripe (pronounced treepeh) which is made with, well, tripe. It is delicous. I make organ gravy every Thanksgiving. > > That being said, mostly organ meat is yuccky. I absolutely can not stomach tripe. ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-awful-racist-attitudes-of-americans-against-offal-fair-or-unfair/677724/23 "2014-01-02T19:52:43Z")
Yep I have to agree 'Mercans are very racist about what they eat. Who doesn’t love steak and kidney pie? ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-awful-racist-attitudes-of-americans-against-offal-fair-or-unfair/677724/24 "2014-01-02T19:54:09Z")
I will go on record as being unabashedly racist when it comes to food. I refuse to eat humans. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-awful-racist-attitudes-of-americans-against-offal-fair-or-unfair/677724/25 "2014-01-02T19:55:35Z")
I only eat the offal from white animals. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-awful-racist-attitudes-of-americans-against-offal-fair-or-unfair/677724/26 "2014-01-02T19:57:09Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Yep… race & socioeconomic status is pretty tightly coupled in the US, so if something’s “poor food”, there’s a better than even chance that it’s commonly eaten by black, mexican or hillbilly type people. And plenty of white folk born to immigrant parents, as was the case in my upbringing. That’s why I think class distinction works a bit better than a racial distinction in this case. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-awful-racist-attitudes-of-americans-against-offal-fair-or-unfair/677724/27 "2014-01-02T20:04:05Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > I will go on record as being unabashedly racist when it comes to food. I refuse to eat humans. Even the white ones? ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-awful-racist-attitudes-of-americans-against-offal-fair-or-unfair/677724/28 "2014-01-02T20:09:49Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Yep… race & socioeconomic status is pretty tightly coupled in the US, so if something’s “poor food”, there’s a better than even chance that it’s commonly eaten by black, mexican or hillbilly type people. And what exactly is poor food changes from decade to decade. When I was a kid skirt steak and ribs were poor people meats. Now they’re kind of pricey. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-awful-racist-attitudes-of-americans-against-offal-fair-or-unfair/677724/29 "2014-01-02T20:13:48Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Even the white ones? Especially the white ones. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-awful-racist-attitudes-of-americans-against-offal-fair-or-unfair/677724/30 "2014-01-02T20:14:21Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > And what exactly is poor food changes from decade to decade. When I was a kid skirt steak and ribs were poor people meats. Now they’re kind of pricey. Yep. And have you seen the price of oxtails? I _love_ me some oxtails, but wherever I shop, they are usually $5-6/lb, around the price of flank and skirt, whereas chuck or shank run around $3/lb. Luckily, I really like chuck or shank for stews, but sometimes you just want that beefy, silkiness oxtail adds to the dish. Heck, short ribs have gotten dear, too. Within the last five years or so, I was able to buy short ribs at $2-$2.50/lb. Now they’re also around the $5/lb mark. Spare ribs, though, luckily are still pretty affordable, around $2-$2.50/lb. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-awful-racist-attitudes-of-americans-against-offal-fair-or-unfair/677724/31 "2014-01-02T20:16:45Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > Americans are definitely more squeamish about offal than most other cultures. Liver, kidneys, tripe, even fish with the head still on - and white Americans moreso. I wouldn’t classify it as flat out racist but you can at least see where it might come from. Fish with the head on? No problem. Long as you don’t serve the chicken that way… [/Jake Gittes] ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-awful-racist-attitudes-of-americans-against-offal-fair-or-unfair/677724/32 "2014-01-02T20:47:03Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yep. And have you seen the price of oxtails? I _love_ me some oxtails, but wherever I shop, they are usually $5-6/lb, around the price of flank and skirt, whereas chuck or shank run around $3/lb. Luckily, I really like chuck or shank for stews, but sometimes you just want that beefy, silkiness oxtail adds to the dish. Heck, short ribs have gotten dear, too. Within the last five years or so, I was able to buy short ribs at $2-$2.50/lb. Now they’re also around the $5/lb mark. > > Spare ribs, though, luckily are still pretty affordable, around $2-$2.50/lb. When I was first married I would get oxtails for less than $2 a pound. I’ve seen it at Stop & Shop (where it isn’t always available) for six dollars a pound! Like it was sirloin or something. WT brown stew F? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-awful-racist-attitudes-of-americans-against-offal-fair-or-unfair/677724/33 "2014-01-02T20:50:39Z")
> [@](#): > > • Dirt-cheap because they were so copious, lobsters were routinely fed to prisoners, apprentices, slaves and children during the colonial era and beyond. In Massachusetts, some servants allegedly sought to avoid lobster-heavy diets by including stipulations in their contracts that they would only be served the shellfish twice a week. [cite](http://www.history.com/news/a-taste-of-lobster-history) Racist? Or not? ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-awful-racist-attitudes-of-americans-against-offal-fair-or-unfair/677724/34 "2014-01-02T20:52:44Z")
It’s all about the marketing. Make offal exorbitantly expensive, and all the foodie wannabees will flock to it like, well, blowflies to a piece of meat! Look at prawns, crayfish and oysters for example. Once upon a time they were ‘pov’ food…proteins that the very poor could gather themselves with a cheap net and a knife…the middle and upper classes shunned such foods because of association. This Xmas just gone, two lobsters and a 2kg of prawns set us back just under $300. :eek: Actually, most offal here in Australia is _already_ quite pricey, so they’re ‘special treats’ for mad old people feeling nostalgic for the food ‘ah mum useta make’. They take far more preparation (de-membraning, removing large blood vessels etc) and aren’t exactly cuisine extraordinaire…why would anybody else bother? ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-awful-racist-attitudes-of-americans-against-offal-fair-or-unfair/677724/35 "2014-01-02T20:55:26Z")
I have a feeling we’ll never find out what the OP means by ‘racist’. Seems to be another hit and run thread starter. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-awful-racist-attitudes-of-americans-against-offal-fair-or-unfair/677724/36 "2014-01-02T20:55:30Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > You know who else wouldn’t eat haggis because he hated Mexicans? Hitler’s bookkeeper? ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-awful-racist-attitudes-of-americans-against-offal-fair-or-unfair/677724/37 "2014-01-02T21:00:17Z")
Americans are racist because they don’t eat organ meats? You expect me to swallow this tripe? ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-awful-racist-attitudes-of-americans-against-offal-fair-or-unfair/677724/38 "2014-01-02T21:01:01Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yep. And have you seen the price of oxtails? I _love_ me some oxtails, but wherever I shop, they are usually $5-6/lb, around the price of flank and skirt, whereas chuck or shank run around $3/lb. Yeah, I’ve found this, too. Trying offal ends up often being expensive and difficult. I started eating red meat for the first time in my adult life in 2013, and I was open to anything – but man, was it ever a pain in the ass to even find oxtail (I had to go to a hispanic grocery way across town; no stores in my area even carried it) and it wasn’t cheap at all. Looking at what I have easy access to, the only offal is generally stuff like chicken livers – which are fine, but don’t fit well with my style of cooking (very little fried food). I’ve been told “just go to a butcher” on the Internet, but as far as I can see, my metro area has only one open to the public, and it’s even a longer drive for me than that hispanic grocery was (and at least there, I can get some bitchin’ deals on tortillas and limes). And based on their website, they don’t carry oxtail or other offal anyway, at least not in their normal selections. If it were cheap and accessible, I bet a lot more people would be open to trying it. Heck, around here, tons of people do the “buy a half a cow and get a giant freezer” thing – if they actually came with the offal (they don’t seem to) then you bet people would be finding a way to eat it. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-awful-racist-attitudes-of-americans-against-offal-fair-or-unfair/677724/39 "2014-01-02T21:03:26Z")
Racist? But some of my best friends are full of organs! ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-awful-racist-attitudes-of-americans-against-offal-fair-or-unfair/677724/40 "2014-01-02T21:07:54Z")
From looking at the price list for the meat lab store here on campus, oxtails go for $3/lb. The only other offal they had was pork liver at $2/lb. I’d imagine the reason they didn’t have any others is that they are used for research. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-awful-racist-attitudes-of-americans-against-offal-fair-or-unfair/677724.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-awful-racist-attitudes-of-americans-against-offal-fair-or-unfair/677724.md?page=3)