Sweetbreads from Deer
- Thread starter Heym SR20
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shakey jake
Well-Known Member
glands in armpits, throat, and i think chest cavity. not very big in the smaller deer
John Gryphon
Well-Known Member
In the throat alongside the wind pipe and they are bloody good too.
Thymus glands in neck are the usual fodder but ‘sweetbreads’ cover a variety of sins as suggested above. Testicles are sweetbreads to some.
The way they were cooked in the programme was how we had them years ago. Not had them for a long time but still remember how good they were.
The way they were cooked in the programme was how we had them years ago. Not had them for a long time but still remember how good they were.
I thought they were the pancreas ?
I think they can be that also - but I find that when folk in England speak of 'sweetbreads' they usually mean thymus glands.
Yes, I believe it's the thymus glands, but lambs testicle were often used as a cheaper substitute.
Thymus is the most usual suspect. I’m a celebrity tends to be a little more cavalier with the definition. Thymus definitely is the best. If you don’t fancy them on a plate they make a good thickening agent for sauces when seriously blitz’d. On that note, I’d also recommend making use of the marrow from the larger species - its got fabulous depth of flavour.
FN
FN
My sweetbread story:
When I shoot more rabbits than we can reasonably consume at home, I give them to colleagues. Sometimes these colleagues give me stuff back in return - some veg from the garden, a bottle of wine after a few rabbits etc.
One particular colleague is adventurous in the kitchen - his gifts have included home-made black pud and other similar sausage-like creatures - all delicious and very much appreciated.
On one occasion, he presented me with a bag of discrete lumps of unidentifed pale matter. But what was this with it? An A4 printout of instructions on the preparation of lamb sweetbreads!
What do they taste like? I asked, blanching (see later) slightly.
Wierd alien chicken, said he.
Anyhow, after blanching, peeling and pressing as instructed on the sheet I fried them off with some say, ginger, garlic and chilli - hey presto! delicious wierd alien chicken.
When I shoot more rabbits than we can reasonably consume at home, I give them to colleagues. Sometimes these colleagues give me stuff back in return - some veg from the garden, a bottle of wine after a few rabbits etc.
One particular colleague is adventurous in the kitchen - his gifts have included home-made black pud and other similar sausage-like creatures - all delicious and very much appreciated.
On one occasion, he presented me with a bag of discrete lumps of unidentifed pale matter. But what was this with it? An A4 printout of instructions on the preparation of lamb sweetbreads!
What do they taste like? I asked, blanching (see later) slightly.
Wierd alien chicken, said he.
Anyhow, after blanching, peeling and pressing as instructed on the sheet I fried them off with some say, ginger, garlic and chilli - hey presto! delicious wierd alien chicken.
Hayduke
Well-Known Member
I remember as a boy working in the local slaughterhouse in my school holidays, and seeing the slaughtermen tucking the sweetbreads from the neck in their apron pockets to be taken home, so clearly
they were a bit of a delicacy!
they were a bit of a delicacy!
shooter
Well-Known Member
bingo.
The classic description is thymus.
However as already mentioned many others use the term for pancreas and testicles.
The confusion is due to our own reluctance to admit what we are eating and separating the food from the real mental imagery.
the reality is that testicles thymus etc are tasty and need not depend on some exotic sounding names like sweetbreads/rocky mountain oysters etc.
Everything tastes like chicken, LOL..
seen plenty and sold loads but never got round to eat any, just not my thing.
I once took some brains home to try once, took the membrane off the top, poached in seasoned milk and finished them off under the grill on 2 rounds of buttered toast.
Plate on the table, knife and fork to the sides, back to the grill and pulled out the brains on toast, a nice sizzle going on. Passed the plate and towards the corner of the kitchen, foot on the pedal and opened the lid brains on toast slid lovely into the pedal bin, just could not get round to eat them.
seen plenty and sold loads but never got round to eat any, just not my thing.
I once took some brains home to try once, took the membrane off the top, poached in seasoned milk and finished them off under the grill on 2 rounds of buttered toast.
Plate on the table, knife and fork to the sides, back to the grill and pulled out the brains on toast, a nice sizzle going on. Passed the plate and towards the corner of the kitchen, foot on the pedal and opened the lid brains on toast slid lovely into the pedal bin, just could not get round to eat them.
John Gryphon
Well-Known Member
Another treat....brains crumbed and fried
As above, sweetbreads are thymus and pancreas, a faff to find in the field and only taste of whatever you cook them in.
Ris de veaux is a delicacy that I cherish when I can find it on the menu in France.
I was brought up on offal, not much money and four of us to bring up. Brain fritters, kidney, liver, salted and pressed tongue, you name it, we eat it and enjoyed it.
At Uni once shared with a yank who appreciated my cooking, but once said "I don't eat organs" Ahem, that's almost everything that I cooked. Black pudding, haggis, (a favourite) liver, kidney, tongue in a cheese and onion toastie plus apple sauce on top with egg soaked into the homemade bread. Stuffed heart.
My aunt used to make brawn from a split pigs head which was great.
Pots of dripping with the brown goo at the bottom spread on toast for breakfast. Can't get it any more.
Still bring back pots of rillettes for a guilty pleasure, even confit my own birds (pheasant not so great, guinea fowl better)
Then simple stuff like cassoulet, lob it all into a slow cooker then feast on it for several days.
Hunter's breakfast, liver, heart, kidney with an egg on top. Heaven.
I think that there is a great deal more in a deer carcasse that could be used, with a bit of imagination. from the testicles to the sweetbreads to the tongue, even the brain (though I am a bit off brains now thanks to scrapie, BSE, and CWD in deer)
?
BTW, what's the story about CWD over here, it seems to have gone a bit silent
I was brought up on offal, not much money and four of us to bring up. Brain fritters, kidney, liver, salted and pressed tongue, you name it, we eat it and enjoyed it.
At Uni once shared with a yank who appreciated my cooking, but once said "I don't eat organs" Ahem, that's almost everything that I cooked. Black pudding, haggis, (a favourite) liver, kidney, tongue in a cheese and onion toastie plus apple sauce on top with egg soaked into the homemade bread. Stuffed heart.
My aunt used to make brawn from a split pigs head which was great.
Pots of dripping with the brown goo at the bottom spread on toast for breakfast. Can't get it any more.
Still bring back pots of rillettes for a guilty pleasure, even confit my own birds (pheasant not so great, guinea fowl better)
Then simple stuff like cassoulet, lob it all into a slow cooker then feast on it for several days.
Hunter's breakfast, liver, heart, kidney with an egg on top. Heaven.
I think that there is a great deal more in a deer carcasse that could be used, with a bit of imagination. from the testicles to the sweetbreads to the tongue, even the brain (though I am a bit off brains now thanks to scrapie, BSE, and CWD in deer)
?
BTW, what's the story about CWD over here, it seems to have gone a bit silent
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So my experience with any of the various things called sweet breads is that they really don’t taste of anything much. Fatty proteinaceous goo. If you didn’t know what it was, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was cheap frozen scampi!
Tastes of whatever you cook it with - so, depending on the skill of the chef, can be absolutely delicious or completely forgettable.
Tastes of whatever you cook it with - so, depending on the skill of the chef, can be absolutely delicious or completely forgettable.
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