Fried Brain Sandwiches

[picaman]

AP story on fried brain sandwiches

I might have wanted to try one of these, but the mad cow angle makes me a bit leery. I think that Burger Club may be the limits of my adventurousness in this area.

Jamie

[Tmnoland]

Yes, my grandparents ate it.

Yes, my parents ate it.

I'm going to be a rebellious daughter here

and take a stand... NO THANK YOU.

--therese

[halland]

There was a brief thread on this and other St. Louis food specialties back before Thanksgiving. I went and ate and survived. I've got photos and everything that I've been meaning to post for a while now. I can't say it was the best sandwich I ever ate, mostly just tasted like fried breading, but I'm glad I ate it.

I figure I've got a good 4-5 years before my brain gets addled.

Hal

[srhcb]

I understand that cows brains cooked with scrambled eggs used to be popular in Texas? I suppose the textures are remarkably similar.

SB (never tired it)

[halland]

In addition to the brain sandwich I just ate, I used to eat brains and eggs at Stockmans Bar in Missoula, MT when I went to school there. Good hangover food, but it might have been the red beers that helped the hangover.

Hal

[hwilson41]

I understand that cows brains cooked with scrambled eggs used to be popular in Texas?  I suppose the textures are remarkably similar.

When I was growing up in Texas, we called them calves' brains (no idea whether that was true or not), but yes, they were popular to some extent, and quite good IMHO. I've also eaten squirrel brains (on hunting trips), and they were also quite good with scrambled eggs. If you like the texture of one variety of brains, you'll probably like them all .

THW

[AzRaeL]

i used to think that headcheese was delicious till i found out that there was no cheese in it.

[herbacidal]

Actually headcheese sounds interesting.

So it's "sausage or jellied loaf made of chopped parts of the head meat and sometimes feet and tongue of a calf or pig "?

Sound good actually. Where is it served?

Gonna hafta add it to the list.

Mountain oysters, haggis, and now, headcheese.

[AzRaeL]

Actually headcheese sounds interesting.

So it's "sausage or jellied loaf made of chopped parts of the head meat and sometimes feet and tongue of a calf or pig "?

Sound good actually. Where is it served?

Gonna hafta add it to the list.

Mountain oysters, haggis, and now, headcheese.

usually found at German delis and butchers.

It's served on bread kinda like ham.

[Aussie_Gusto]

I grew up with people eating sheeps brains, and brains and bacon. I did not have the taste for it till my 20's though.

They are soaked and cleaned then floured and fried, great with bacon on a plate or in a sandwich. My Mum makes the best brains and bacon. But HAS to be sheeps brains.

I have had them as brains and walnuts in a rye sandwich.

I think this way of cooking is more European.

[pogophiles]

I've eaten pork brains and eggs many times, but only from hogs my grandparents raised and slaughtered...

[mrbigjas]

Actually headcheese sounds interesting.

So it's "sausage or jellied loaf made of chopped parts of the head meat and sometimes feet and tongue of a calf or pig "?

Sound good actually. Where is it served?

Gonna hafta add it to the list.

Mountain oysters, haggis, and now, headcheese.

Herb, you can get head cheese from any of the amish meat stands in the terminal. They call it souse.

[cjs]

i used to think that headcheese was delicious till i found out that there was no cheese in it.

[Tam]

Thanks for expanding my horizons. Never heard of fried brain sandwich before but will try if opportunity presents itself. I do like head cheese. I am of Ukrainian descent and it is popular amongst eastern Europeans. It runs the gamut from cubes of barely set aspic with bits of meat to very firm slices full of meat. Always garlicky goodness!

[picaman]

Herb, you can get head cheese from any of the amish meat stands in the terminal. They call it souse.

Now, souse I've had! My grandparents had a meat market in a small town in Florida when I was growing up, and they used to sell it. Two kinds--regular and spicy flavored. The spicy one was a brilliant red color.

I guess it's a small step from there to the fried brain sandwich. If I ever have the opportunity, I think I've been convinced to give it a try.

Jamie

[mrbigjas]

Also I'm pretty sure the regular kind of banh mi has souse/head cheese on it. At least the ones I get here have something on them that sure has both the flavor and texture of head cheese.

[herbacidal]

Also I'm pretty sure the regular kind of banh mi has souse/head cheese on it. At least the ones I get here have something on them that sure has both the flavor and texture of head cheese.

You mean the one with Vietnamese cold cuts?

I've had that, not in a while though.

Where do you get yours?

[bilrus]

Also I'm pretty sure the regular kind of banh mi has souse/head cheese on it. At least the ones I get here have something on them that sure has both the flavor and texture of head cheese.

Thanks for the heads up on that. Something to avoid in the future.

[mrbigjas]

You mean the one with Vietnamese cold cuts?

That's the one. I don't know the name of it--I say "banh mi" and they either give me that one or ask which one, and I say, I don't know, the regular one. Either way that's the one they give me.

I've had that, not in a while though.

Where do you get yours?

Usually Ba Le, although I have gotten them on that place on Christian or Carpenter, just west of 8th St.

I did a search on line for head cheese and banh mi, and didn't come up with much other than passing references.

Moderators, feel free to move this to the head cheese thread, since I've never had fried brain sandwiches--although I did learn how to prepare brains for cooking last night.

[robyn]

Thanks for expanding my horizons.  Never heard of fried brain sandwich before but will try if opportunity presents itself.  I do like head cheese.  I am of Ukrainian descent and it is popular amongst eastern Europeans.  It runs the gamut from cubes of barely set aspic with bits of meat to very firm slices full of meat.  Always garlicky goodness!

My husband and I used to eat offal (which includes brains) when we could get it cooked properly (both in the US and Europe). After mad cow surfaced in England - we stopped. You probably don't have a great chance of catching it - but since it's 100% fatal - and there are so many other foods - why take a chance?

Mad cow isn't the only issue. We have a friend who's a neurologist at the University of Kentucky medical school. His area of academic interest is AIDs dementia. He's done research about another form of (invariably fatal) dementia he discovered in Kentucky - and he traced it to eating squirrel brains (which is a popular dish there).

Anyway - you might think twice before ordering if you see brains on a menu. Robyn

[herbacidal]

I've been to both of those places, James.

Like I said, I haven't had one of those in a while, I've been getting chicken when I get them.

I'll try and get one next time just to check if it has souse.

It does have this other meat-type thing that I remember.

No clue what it actually is.

I think it was a white-grayish color, texture does remind me of liver, so it might be what we're talking about.

We called it something like jia luu in cantonese. No idea how to say it in Vietnamese, although I have seen packages for sale in grocery stores.

[QuinaQuen]

Also I'm pretty sure the regular kind of banh mi has souse/head cheese on it. At least the ones I get here have something on them that sure has both the flavor and texture of head cheese.

VietSpam has a thousand and one looks, but they all feel and taste about the same. None has yet tasted like head cheese or scrapple, but that's not to say they don't contain a bit of beastie. As many varieties as I've found between our two main Little Saigons and their assorted satellite Hues, you'd think I'd have found one that does taste a bit like head cheese. There was one Banh Mi shop in the Hong Kong Mall on the far Southwest side that used a fascinatingly-marbled, black pepper-dominated VietSpam, but it tasted nothing like head cheese or any other sesos product.