the science and lore of the sweetbread

[ned]

I've been eating lots of sweetbreads lately--cooking some for myself, eating them in restaurants and also at friends' houses. I've tasted a pretty wide variety and have reached a point where I have some questions.

I like the crust you can get on a sweetbread when it is seared in a pan. Sometimes on the inside it can be chalky and sometimes it is juicy as all hell. I don't know what issues are at play that combine to cause these results. Is there collagen in a sweetbread? Ought it be served rare? The best I've had of the species is at an NYC restaurant called Prune. They deep fry. I wonder if deep-frying obviates the setting in boiling water. I wonder if setting is necessary?

When I cook a steak, I do it fast and hot. I want it crusted on the outside and rare and tender on the inside. When I cook a lamb shank, I sear first for browning reaction flavors and then cook it low and slow to melt the collagen. I do things this way in no small part because of Mr. McGee's scientific explanations in his book "On Food and Cooking." I'd like some similar explanations of sweetbread cookery that take into account the specific properties of the sweetbread.

Anybody got any?

[culinary bear]

Are we talking thymus or pancreas here? They differ structurally. Also, veal or lamb?

[JerzyMade]

Jacques Pepin recommends holding them wrapped in a towel and under a few pounds of weight for several hours. Check 'La Technique' if you have access.

[McDuff]

I don't think I've ever seen a recipe where they not are soaked in ice water, blanched in a half-assed court bouillon, shocked, picked, pressed, and then finished. I like mine dredged in flour, sauteed till crusty golden brown, and sauced with a sauce made with shallots, brandy, green olives, demi, and madeira and butter.

I had them once with a lobster sauce, but they were poached and I didn't care for them that way.

This is what I mean.......

[ned]

I'm talking about veal sweetbreads, specifically heart or throat breads.

[iriee]

you have to blanch them first in stock or court-bouillion just until firm,,,then press them overnight to get the air and excess blood out. then you can cut them in nice firm medallions and saute. there better sauted more on medium heat then a hot sear,,,that way you get a nice crunchy crust,,,mmmmmm

[jaypm51]

Ned, it seems to me that you are not inquiring about how to cook sweetbreads so much as you are interested in the properties that cause it to be chalky or not.

Firstly, the response to your query as to whether or not they contain collagen, is, emphatically, no. They do not. Organs typically don't.

The chalkiness has much to do with the cooking. I, as expert sweetbread cooker, have had my fair share of chalky disappointments. While all the aforementioned advice is well founded and, doubtless, well intentioned, it lacks, shall we say, a certain sense of empirical, hands-on, up-to my-elbows sort of experience.

Sweetbreads need to be pre-soaked or rinsed under cold running water for several hours to insure the removal of undesireable detritus. They needn't be blanched or pressed unless firmness is desireable in the finished dish. Depending on the cooking method employed unblanched sweetbreads will add richness and flavor to a sauce in the making. No matter what cooking method is employed you need to remove membrane, nerves, fat and cartilage. Cool the breads prior to cooking.

The key is fast cooking, eight to twelve minutes, over relatively high heat. Basting with brown butter the whole time helps but isn't essential to the successful outcome of the dish. If saute is your preferred method of preparation, a light coating of flour or wondra helps both with browning and crisping.

Hope you find this helpful although trial and error is still the best teacher.

If none of this proves helpful, take two "panorama specials" and call me in the morning.

[ned]

Really there are two questions:

1. What's a sweetbread made of?

2. Based on the answer to the first question, how should you cook it for the optimal result?

A minor quibble: While it may be true that a sweetbread contains no collagen, respectfully I must point out that it is not an organ. It is a gland.

Reading upwards from this post, what I've learned so far is that unless it's quite necessary, it might be a good idea to skip the blanching. The dreaded chalky flavor may be the result of over-cooking. It's a good idea to get in and get out fast with a sweetbread. Which spawns my next question:

Would it be fine to eat a rare sweetbread?

As of yet, nobody seems to know what a sweetbread is made of.

Edited June 17, 2004 by ned (log)

[ned]

BTW, I had two fläder GT's last night. That should explain why no phone call.

[jaypm51]

Quite right and, quite possibly, a quibble. After having scoured the literature the closest definition of sweetbreads I could find was, "glands of friable (?) cellular construct." There are two kinds; thymus or throat, and pancreas or stomach, sometimes referred to as heart. Calves are considered the best although pig and lamb are available. Butchers historically refeered to both types as sweetbreads because of similar appearence.

Since it is unclear as to precisely what the cellular construct of sweetbreads consist of, the best approach to cooking technique would be historical precedent followed by informed and intelligent trial and error.

Judging from the erudition of your prior posts, I assume your capable of both.

Edited June 18, 2004 by jaypm51 (log)

[ned]

On the question:

Would it be fine to eat a rare sweetbread?

I have performed this experiment and must proclaim loudly that the answer is NO. Medium-rare breads have the consistency of whole raw lobster tail. Not good. Cooking clearly breaks down the sinewy, chewy, stiffness. I recently made seven single portions eating one and then making the next for patient and open-minded friends. I wasn't terribly scientific but I expected some sort of learning curve. I made a lot of good sweetbreads but didn't crack the code. What I do know is that they must be cooked through. Do you want to be past the edge of under-cookedness? Much further along? I can't say.

[agbaber]

I would love to know how they get them to be so good at Veritas.

Someone go kidnap Scott Bryan!