Who has Offal on the Menu?

[Ling]

I kind of mentioned this in the El Patio thread, but I've never eaten tripe that hasn't been steamed and covered in black bean sauce or some spicy sauce (both dim sum dishes). Where can I find tripe on the menu in Vancouver? And are sweetbread dishes available anywhere other than a top-dollar restaurant? I've never had sweetbreads either! I tried looking for it once at Urban Fare, but I couldn't find it. I had to make rabbit instead. Does anyone know where I can buy sweetbread? And do you have a good recipe for it?

Oops...there I go rambling again....

[Coop]

I believe there is a sweetbread dish on the menu at Wild Rice (myson Coop jr has had then there). As for buying them I've gotten them from Armando's on Granville Island, Jackson's and at Windsor meat in West Van. Try phoning around first.

Sweetbreads involve a little effort to prepare. This is how I learnt to prepare them as a student at VCC:

Soak them in water overnight. Poach them for about an hour in lightly salted cold water (with some onion, carrot and celery) brought to a simmer slowly. After poaching them let them cool in the poaching liquid, ideally overnight. BTW this always seems worthwile with any braised dish because the meat takes on the liquid as it cools. Remove them from the poaching liquid and peel off the membrane from around the sweetbreads. Lay a piece of plastic wrap on a plate, lay out the sweetbreads and cover with another piece of plastic wrap. Now put a couple of plates on top, this light pressing will make the sweetbreads both firm and tender. Press them for about 6 hours.

There seems to be 2 schools of thought on sauteing, to flour or not. I like them very lightly floured. Saute , while sauteeing lightly salt the sweetbreads, remove from pan, add shallots, deglaze with white wine, reduce add 35% cream, salt and pepper. When the sauce seems right add sweetbreads back to warm. You can vary this by adding a little dijon mustard or chanterelles but believe me Sweetbreads are best enjoyed with a simple preperation.

This is Mrs Coop's favorite dish she used to order it all the time at the Cafe de Paris.

[Ling]

Wild Rice has sweetbreads on the menu? I used to go there often, but haven't been back since this summer. I never noticed the sweetbread dish though...is it new?

Wow...thanks for the tips on preparation. So what do they taste like anyway? They look like white brains to me. Kind of gelatinous?

[Redhead]

Coop and Ling -- sweetbreads are one of Mr. Redhead's favourite things to order when dining out. But it's been years since he had them, the last occasion being at Chesa (now Coop's pal's Marine Drive), home of the soup Nazi woman. I suggest we convene an eGullet potluck in the New Year -- I'll provide the venue and the sweetbreads. Coop can cook 'em! Redhead.

[Coop]

It sounds great to me.

[Ling]

Redhead: How generous!! I can't wait.

Btw: I found sweetbreads on the menu at Pastis. (Bistro Pastis? Pastis Bistro? I don't know what they changed their name to). It's an appetizer portion though, for $13.50.

[Coop]

Had two sweetbread dishes in Seattle on the weekend. The first was at Brasa where they wrapped them in bacon then grilled them and served them on a bed of lentils. It was absolutley brutal, overcooked and nothing like the delicate treatment they deserve. Then at Union where they were breaded and sauteed then served with a bacon vinegrette and some nice frissee. Much nicer.

On this subject I love sweetbreads, kidneys, liver, and tongue. Love tripe in soup. Still not sure about it though. Don't like week (blood), brains, tendon, heart or pork bung. I would try them in a restaurant I loved and trusted like West or Parkside though.

["T"]

Pork bung????

Bulls testicles I've had but bung, nooooooooooooo.....

Courage is your strong point. I salute you.

[Ling]

What is bung?

I love tendon! I love it when it's cooked down to a nice, soft mushiness. I don't know if that's the "right" way to enjoy them, but it tastes damn good to me. I had a tendon obsession about 2 years ago. I ordered tendon and noodle for dinner every night for about a week. I only have it maybe once a month now, when my parents make tendon and beef brisket.

I also love tongue and liver. I never understood why people think liver is gross. It's always been one of my favorite meats, even when I was a kid. I love gizzard too, especially salted gizzard.

My bf loves pork intestines and pork blood.

Edited November 26, 2003 by Ling (log)

[Derek Diggler]

What is bung?

Ass is my best guess.

[Coop]

Bung lives in the same niegbourhood as ass but does'nt have as nice a view.

[Derek Diggler]

Bung lives in the same niegbourhood as ass but does'nt have as nice a view.

That is almost a sig worthy quote.

I tend to stay away from things like ass, as they are likely to contain things that are associatted with asses, and can't be healthy. I also donut eat things like livers or kidnies, as they are the filters of the body, which can't be good for you either.

["T"]

Bung lives in the same niegbourhood as ass but does'nt have as nice a view.

That is almost a sig worthy quote.

I tend to stay away from things like ass, as they are likely to contain things that are associatted with asses, and can't be healthy. I also donut eat things like livers or kidnies, as they are the filters of the body, which can't be good for you either.

Although I tend to agree about the filter thing I have no idea if eating theese cuts can be disadvantagous to ones health.

Anyone???

[Ben Hong]

I think Mr. Diggler is "bunged" up in his thinking.

A short story about the more tasty parts of the animal, esp. pig.

In the last half of the nineteenth century, many Chinese coolies (de facto slaves) who worked on building the continental railways communicated back to China about how the evil and cruel white people abused the Chinese workers. The message was implicit in trying to dissuade young men from coming to Canada and suffering the same fate as some who have gone before have met.

However, the lure of adventure and riches was great and a lot of young men came anyway. One young man wrote back home, puzzled as to why the white bosses got such a bad rap. Indeed, he said, they gave the Chinese labourers all the best parts of the pig...the entrails, liver, heart, head, tails, feet, hocks, ribs, etc.....

[Kenk]

I love chicken feet!

Can you get chicken feet in Vancouver?

The last time I was there I didn't see any in the Dim Sum places, or the Chinese/Vietnamese supermarkets. I guess they are sooooo fresh in Vancouver that they just get up and walk away.

I plan to be in Vancouver soon, where can I find chicken feet.

Edited December 2, 2003 by Kenk (log)

[Jerry_A]

I plan to be in Vancouver soon, where can I find chicken feet.

I've always been told I have chicken legs, although I guess that's not what you are looking for.

[Coop]

T and T markets always have a big pile of them on ice. The Vietnameese places I frequent don't really have many chicken dishes. As for dim sum joints my knowledge is sadly lacking. Although I am always on the look out for them the few times I've dim summed.

[Ling]

Every dim sum restaurant I've been in had chicken feet. I love it, especially when it's spicy. You could always ask a waiter to bring you a dish of it from the kitchen if you don't see it being wheeled by in one of the dim sum carts.

I've also seen both cooked and raw chicken feet at many of the Chinese bbq places.