Sweetbreads

[Prawncrackers]

So, my butchers and i have had this thing for the past couple of weeks. It started when i innocently enough asked for some pigs trotters for a Xiao Long Bao recipe. He shook his head and said i'll have to come back later in the week as he'd have to order some in. In passing he asked if i wanted anything else, not thinking about it i said i'd always wanted to try pig cheeks.

I go back to them a couple of days later and what do you know in addition to my trotters there's four pig cheeks to pick up too! Ok, this time as i leave i ask for some Osso Bucco as i know i've never seen them in his shop.

The next week i'm back and good as gold he's managed to get two veal shins - he'll cut steaks out of one for me to take home straightaway and save one for me to pick up later - fantastic! Right, this time i'm really going to test him out - "got any, er, veal sweatbreads?". He laughs, he'll "see what he can do".

I pop in every so often to pick up my 'normal' stuff - rib-eye steak and pork belly draft, and i laugh about how he still can't any veal swetbreads for me. I joke and say that i'd settle for lamb ones...

Today, with a big grin on his face this is what he presents to me:

Help, does anybody have any good recipes for these? I've had throat sweatbreads before in a couple of restaurants and they were sublime. These look like gullett (how apt) ones and are much bigger than ones i've eaten before.

[GTO]

I'm afraid I can't be of much help, as just looking at them makes me cringe slightly. The thought of having "neck in my neck" is a step too far for me.

However, just so I can make this post slightly less pointless - From the looks of them and from the reading I have done on them, they seem to be very delicate and so I would imagine they wouldn't go far wrong, tossed in a little garlic butter..?

[Fibilou]

I love sweetbreads, they are quite simple to cook but need to be poached lightly in milk first. I'm not sure what would happen if you don't but I was assured by a butcher once that it must be done.

All I do is cut off the extraneous fat, poach gently in milk until just cooked then egg, crumb and fry briefly.

Delicious, but a very strange texture !

Edited April 19, 2007 by Fibilou (log)

[Prawncrackers]

I may need a few recipes - he managed to get so much, i bet my butcher is still giggling to himself now!! What to order next from him, eh??

I heard that they should be poached first too. Sounds good Fibilou, a herb crust would go well i think with the soft texture. I'll cook some tomorrow maybe to accompany some breast of lamb. The rest will have to go in the freezer.

[MattJohnson]

man, they'd make a great Halloween decoration for a party. A big jar with a couple of those in some water, sealed up.

Honestly, I've never had them. Its on my list of things to try. Although I'd like to try them cooked by someone who knows what they're doing first, just so I know how to expect them to taste when done right.

Do they end up being expensive? I just got some chicken livers for a pate last weekend and they were really cheap for something that tasted so good when done right.

[Prawncrackers]

man, they'd make a great Halloween decoration for a party.  A big jar with a couple of those in some water, sealed up. 

Honestly, I've never had them.  Its on my list of things to try.  Although I'd like to try them cooked by someone who knows what they're doing first, just so I know how to expect them to taste when done right.

Do they end up being expensive?  I just got some chicken livers for a pate last weekend and they were really cheap for something that tasted so good when done right.

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You should have seen them before i'd trimmed and rinsed them! They have a neutral smell but are quite messy looking with a peculiar texture raw.

I was surprised at how cheap they were, only £4.10, bargain! Especially as you only really see them on the menus of the more 'aspiring' restaurants.

[Peter Green]

I've had them a few times. At St. John I believe they do poach them in milk first. Then they were fried (deep - I believe).

When I'd had them before - on my first date with my wife, back in 1975 at the William Tell in Vancouver, they'd likewise been fried.

Soft, yielding, and a good combination of texture and flavour.

I'm hungry again....

[Megan Blocker]

I like them best crispy...made them during my first foodblog, and they weren't too hard to work with. The tricky part was getting the membrane off. Here's the post where I talk about making them: click!

Up to the dredging and sauteeing, I took the method from Julia Child.

[Adam Balic]

Normal preparation would be to soak them to remove the blood (20 minutes in iced water or milk), then to blanch them (10 minutes in gently simmering water or stock, then into ice cold water), then trim them of membranes and tubes etc, then they can be used in various recipes.

[Fibilou]

You are so lucky to get veal sweetbreads by the way ! They're illegal in the UK. I've got a recipe for a delectable dish I had at a 2* restaurant a few years back (John Burton Race) somewhere about the house, I will try and find it and PM it to you if interested.

[Timh]

After the poaching, press them between two pans with a weight for a few hours to get a uniform shape. Trim as needed and then bread them( flour, eggwash, bread crumbs) or not, and then saute.

[infernooo]

I'm afraid I can't be of much help, as just looking at them makes me cringe slightly. The thought of having "neck in my neck" is a step too far for me.

However, just so I can make this post slightly less pointless - From the looks of them and from the reading I have done on them, they seem to be very delicate and so I would imagine they wouldn't go far wrong, tossed in a little garlic butter..?

←

Why? Try chicken necks - they are sublime! Tastes just like any other dark meat part of the chicken.

Roast them with salt and pepper until browned and the bones are crispy, then brush with bbq sauce and further brown them until sticky and delicious. You eat them bones and all - perfect amount of fat, bone and lean...

[DRColby]

Yesterday's food section of the NY Times carried an extensive article on the revival of veal which is grass and/or milk fed. Throughout the whole article - if there is a veal revival - there is no mention of veal sweetbreads; to me about the only veal I like to eat.

Veal sweetbreads are now near-impossible to get in the US and when you can it rival the most expensive cuts of meats in price.

We need to be more like the French and establish the veal-milk-cheese cycle. As one Frenchman told me, "we have so much cheese because we eat so much veal; the cows are always milking." The French always have veal sweetbreads.

One of my favorite ways with sweetbreads this time of the year is to grill them quickly -after the two days of soaking, pealing , poaching, and pressing is done- and then combine them in a salad of morels, green beans with a simple lemon dressing and some fresh herbs.

Dave

[shaw10805]

I'd say poach them in stock or water with some aeromatics...after poached for 10 minutes or so, put them in a pan with some sort of weight on top of them to give them durability and texture. Dredge in flour and pan fry. Saute'd mushrooms and onions would be delightful.

[Prawncrackers]

You are so lucky to get veal sweetbreads by the way ! They're illegal in the UK. .

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Lucky they're lamb sweatbreads then!

As for chicken necks - forget about it! I'm Chinese, i'll eat ANYTHING! Duck necks are nicer BTW, much more meaty. The Chinese places would give stuff like that away by the bucket load when i was a kid - ahh, childhood memories.

Maybe, we should start an offal thread - get some French food lovers in. We could literally turn a sow's ear into a silken purse!!

[mrbigjas]

here's a sweetbreads topic from about a year and a half ago.

[djyee100]

I've never cooked sweetbreads, so I can't help you there. But I ate them once at a restaurant, sauteed crisp with lots of thinly sliced mushrooms. I think the pan was deglazed with Madeira and the sauce poured over all. The sweetbreads were mild in flavor, with the texture of chicken breast. Very tasty. I'd eat them again if I could. I encourage you to try cooking 'em.

[ned]

som threads on the subj

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=45122&hl=

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...&hl=sweetbreads

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...&hl=sweetbreads

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=51992&hl=