I had to do some research for this one since I’ve never, ever made sweetbreads before…or even seen them for that matter until I went on an offal extravaganza.  So I had to do a little research for this one…thankfully prepping sweetbreads is a lot like cooking tongue or tripe in that they need to be soaked, boiled, and peeled before they’re even ready to be prepped into anything else.  Yeah, the whole process was a little tiring, and again, I had no idea what they’d even taste like so I was totally lost for what to do next…

So I put ‘em on a stick and wrapped them in bacon.  Bacon makes everything better, right?

Why yes.  Yes it does.

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs Beef Sweetbreads

6-8 Thick Slices Bacon

Salt and Pepper

Water for soaking and boiling

INSTRUCTIONS

Fill a bowl or pot with water and add some salt.  Soak the raw sweetbreads for 30 minutes.

Bring a separate pot (with fresh water and a bit of salt) to a rolling boil.  Add the sweetbreads and boil for 10 minutes.

Strain the sweetbreads and let cool.  Remove the outer skin /membrane.

Spear strips of the sweetbreads with wooden skewers.  Wrap each of them in bacon and arrange in a greased baking dish.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

HEART

First of all, if you’re still reading my blog after a week of me suggesting that yo dig into kidneys and stomachs and peel tongues like bananas, you should get a Gold Star.  Luckily, heart isn’t so much offal as it’s like a really rich cut of meat.  You might feel like you’re making a flesh sacrifice, but Aztec fantasies aside this is a really awesome bit of cuisine to work with.  Something that tastes as good as a ribeye at a sixth of the price is always fine by me.

Why Should I Eat It??

Whether you want a really fatty or really lean cut, beef heart is it.  There’s generally a good amount of fat on the outside that is easily removed if you want to–though I think you’re crazy if you do.

Because hearts are such dense muscles, their nutrient content is even higher than that of other skeletal muscles–beef heart, for example, has “all essential amino acids, zinc, selenium and phosphorus. It has more than double the elastin and collagen than other cuts of meat and a highly concentrated source of coenzyme Q10, also known as CoQ10″ (via Livestrong.com).  Yay!

Oh, and I’d be amiss if I didn’t remind you that this sh*t is CHEAP.

Flavor and Texture…What to Expect?

Hearts of all varieties are very similar to other muscular cuts of meat.  Beef heart (the most commonly available) tastes like…well, beef…just a little more pronounced.  For me at least, the shape is the only thing that makes it terribly distinguishable from any other chunk of beef.  When cooked, the texture resembles most cuts of beef as well and it can be cooked just like a good steak or roast–you can braise, grill, roast, or pan sear them and they’ll come out great.

Special Instructions…

Again, treat hearts like any other cut of meat.  Get fancy with them if you want, but I generally cut them into chunks or strips and discard any tubes or blood vessels you come across.  I’ve also just halved one and thrown it on the grill and ended up with what looked like two good steaks.  There’s often a good deal of fat on beef hearts that can be rendered and stored as well.

Today’s Recipe: Curried Beef Heart

For this recipe, I whipped up a nice curry marinade and sauce that adds a little kick but again, won’t overwhelm the natural flavor of the heart.

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs Beef Heart (or one large heart)

1 c Coconut Milk

1 t Salt

1 t Black Pepper

2 t Curry Powder

1/2 t Garam Masala

Coconut Oil for frying

INSTRUCTIONS

Whisk together the coconut milk and spices.  Slice the beef heart into thick strips and add to the coconut milk mixture.  Allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Heat the coconut oil over medium-high heat.  Add the strips of beef heart and cook for a minute or two on each side.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the coconut milk mixture.  Simmer for another 10 minutes.

TONGUE

I’m a fan of tongue–it’s just delicious and pretty easy to work with.  It takes on other flavors well but tastes great on its own, too.  Unfortunately, it’s tough for some people because it looks…like a giant tongue that you have to peel like a banana.  I started eating the stuff when, back in Austin, I realized I could buy two for six dollars at Sam’s.  Colorado Springs isn’t as free-flowing with unconventional cuts, I’m finding, but the Ft Carson Commissary had my back again.

Why Should I Eat It??

Tongue is a pretty fatty piece of meat (hence why I love it so much).  Livestrong.com suggests “balancing your meal” if you’re eating tongue and to include veggies and “a bread roll or grain” like “millet, quinoa, and bulgur.”  F*ck that noise.  You know how I roll.  Beef tongue is really rich in all your B-vitamins, iron, and zinc.  And it’s cheap.

Flavor and Texture…What to Expect?

Tongue has a fairly mild flavor and (when cooked properly) a soft texture almost reminiscent of bologna.  Heavily seasoned or not, I can’t see any reason it would scare anyone off.  There are usually some big pockets of fat, especially towards the back piece of the muscle.  The outer skin is rough and chewy but will almost always be removed and discarded after cooking–the Huskies love it!  Of all the organ meats, tongue is probably the most inoffensive with regards to flavor and is really versatile.

Special Instructions…

You have-have-HAVE to stew or boil tongues for a while to make them edible.  I either boil mine fore 2 or 3 hours in water on the stove or toss them in the slow cooker all day.  Once they’re cooked, rinse and cool them.  Using a knife, carefully peel away the skin and taste buds (it’ll come off pretty easily if the tongue is cooked fully) and you’re ready to work with the meat however you like.

Today’s Recipe: Szechuan-Style Beef Tongue

You got me–I miss my Chinese take-out.  I chose this sauce because it’s a nice combinations of flavors that are familiar and tasty to many people but that won’t entirely overwhelm the tongue.  If you’re serving this for anyone who might be squeamish, cutting the tongue into strips makes it a lot nicer to look at, too

INGREDIENTS

1 Beef Tongue

Juice of 1 Lemon

1/4 c Rice Vinegar

1/4 c Coconut Aminos

1/4 c Sesame Oil

1 T Fresh Ginger

1 Garlic Clove, minced

1 T Arrowroot Powder, dissolved in 1 T Water

Salt and Pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Boil the beef tongue for at least 2 hours.  Remove from water, rinse, and allow to cool enough to handle.  Peel off the skin, cut the meat into long strips, and set aside.

Over medium heat, heat the sesame oil and add the garlic and ginger.  When garlic has browned slightly, whisk in the lemon juice, vinegar, coconut aminos, salt, and pepper.  When the mixture comes to a simmer, add the arrowroot powder and stir until the sauce thickens slightly.  Add the tongue strips and stir to coat the meat with the sauce.

TRIPE

OK, this one’s a doozie.  No getting around it–this sh*t just sounds awful.  Tripe.  Tripe.  TRIPE.  Just ew.  Tripe is the lining of a cow’s stomach.  Or one of its stomachs.  Apparently you can get a couple different varieties but I’m working with the plain old bleached tripe I got from my commissary.  As much as I knock on a lot of the on-post services, the Ft Carson Commissary is amazing and has a better offal selection than… every other grocery store in town.  In case you were wondering, I get all my offal over there.  Tax free.  OK I’m done.

Why Should I Eat It??

Tripe probably isn’t the most nutritious of the organ meats but it’s still pretty damn good for you.  Besides a nice hefty doses of protein and saturated fat, you get a decent amount of calcium, selenium, and zinc as well.  And tripe is CHEAP.

Flavor and Texture…What to Expect?

OK this was the weirdest on both fronts.  I can see why some people love it and why some people hate it.  Personally I really liked it but in that weird way that some people put mustard on fries or bacon with chocolate or Duncan Hines frosting on Teddy Grahams.  In all fairness I might have been able to get over the whole “cow’s stomach” dealio because I happen to love haggis.  Thank goodness for British friends…

Tripe is literally a sheet of meat.  It’s got a ribbed (or “honeycomb” texture–actually really nice as it soaks up the flavors of whatever seasoning or sauce you use–and is sort of chewy.  I had a really hard time describing the flavor as it’s almost bland with a sort of earthy undertone.  Tripe by itself probably wouldn’t be much to get excited about so the flavoring you use with it is really important.  Oh, and you’ll definitely want to cut it into strips or smaller pieces to make it feel less like a meat blanket.  Or to stop reminding yourself you’re eating a stomach.

Special Instructions…

Two things…you MUST rinse the stuff off before cooking (since most commercially available tripe has been bleached and has a funky odor) and you MUST boil or braise it for a while.  Otherwise you will have tripe that is smelly, tough, and just plain NASTY.  Most recipes will call for the tripe to be boiled a couple of hours before you do anything else with it.  I’d bet it does really well in a slow cooker, too.  It’s worth it, though–after boiling in both water and tomato sauce I got a lucious and rich product…two thing I never thought you could say about tripe.

Today’s Recipe: Tripe in Tomato Sauce

This recipe is painfully simple and (I think) an awesome way to introduce tripe into your culinary repertoire.  Minimal ingredients, easy, and delicious to eat.  Because tripe was very new to me, I really wanted to showcase the tripe itself but it is very often included in more complicated recipes.  If you’re a little shy to just get after a plate of tripe, I recommend cooking smaller pieces into a stew or casserole alongside more common ingredients, like I did with liver this week.

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs Beef Tripe

28 oz Prepared (or homemade!) Tomato Sauce

INSTRUCTIONS

Rinse the tripe in cold water.  Cut into strips about 2-3 inches wide.

Place in a large stockpot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat slightly, and simmer for 2-3 hours.

Drain the tripe and place back in the stockpot.  Cover in tomato sauce.  Cover and simmer for another 1-2 hours (the longer, the better!).

LIVER

Liver is probably the most common organ meat–at least for me.  Sooo maybe using liver as an Offal Week ingredient is kind’ve a kop-out.  I mean, who hasn’t heard old people talking about Liver n’ Onions their whole life?  And yeah, we all thought it just sounded nasty.  I only started eating liver this year after I literally guilted myself into it after reading so many articles championing its nutritional value.  But I actually liked it.  A lot.  And for several months liver has been a mainstay in our house–lucky for you I decided to get a little more creative with the recipe because, honestly, sometimes it doesn’t matter how healthy something is if it just grosses people out.

Why Should I Eat It??

Nature’s Multivitamin.  ’Nuff said.  Plus it’s CHEAP.

Flavor and Texture…What to Expect?

Raw liver is tough to handle.  Its sliminess makes it both unappetizing to look at and hard to hold onto (that’s what she said).  It’s a pain in the ass to cut raw, too.  When cooked, it’s got a smooth, almost “creamy” texture–which is why it’s breaded in a lot of conventional recipes to get a nice textural contrast.  It’s a unique flavor that, for me, was surprisingly good–savory without being terribly “beefy,” and almost a hint of sweet.

Special Instructions…

Liver cooks pretty quickly.  I generally buy mine pre-sliced thin (because it’s all I can find), so if you’re putting it on the cooktop you only need a couple minutes per side on a moderate heat to make sure it’s cooked through.  Be careful not to burn it, either…at least in my experience, burnt liver tastes and feels like charcoal.

Today’s Recipe: Creamy Liver and Sausage Gravy

This is a bit of a different take on your run-of-the-mill sausage gravy or creamed chipped beef.  I wanted something that would be a versatile (and sneaky!) way to get some liver into one’s diet.  I made a ton of the stuff for myself and had it over zucchini pancakes one night, on sweet potato fries as a sort of poutin another, and over eggs for breakfast…all with delicious success!

INGREDIENTS

1 lb Ground Pork Sausage

2 Links Andouille Sausage, sliced

1 lb Liver

1 Can Full Fat Coconut Milk

2 T Arrowroot Powder, dissolved in 2 T Water

1 t Rosemary

1 t Oregano

Salt and Pepper to taste

Chicken Stock, as needed

INSTRUCTIONS

Chop the liver until it is the consistency of ground meat (a food processor works well here).

In a large saucepan over medium heat, brown the sausages and liver in some oil.  Pour the coconut milk over the meat, scraping down the sides of the pan.  Add the seasonings and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.

Whisk in the arrowroot powder and stir until the gravy is thickened.  If it gets too thick, thin it out a bit with some of the chicken stock.

Serve over eggs, starchy veggies, Paleo Biscuits, or any way you’d like!