When I go to the Farmers Market, I walk past all the produce and head for the meat vendors. When I get to the meat vendors, I go straight to the cooler with the nasty bits. Nasty bits is a term used to describe offal or organ meat and other less popular cuts of meat. This is where nutritional density is the highest. They also are the cheapest cuts of meat. Win win.
Recently I opened the Olsen Farms cooler and found something I had never seen before. A package of beef sweetbread I had never heard of this animal part. Of course I had to buy it. Turns out my sweetbread was the throat and thyroid area. Before cooking it I decided to eat a small piece of it raw. This is something I do with liver and kidney. Eating a small piece raw gives me clues on how long it needs cooking and what flavors might compliment it. Note that whenever I eat raw meat, I make sure that it has been frozen for at least 2 weeks first. Then I thaw and taste it no more than a day away.
Sweetbread actually did taste sweeter than kidney or liver. Similar texture too.
My kind of bread. And gluten-free too! :)
Raw beef sweetbread.
My recipe is pretty straightforward. Mix chopped up garlic, ginger and sweetbread over a warm pan of melted butter. Cook for around 5-10 minutes. Hit it with some salt if you like.
Beef sweetbread with garlic, ginger and lots of butter.
I liked this dish and will having it again. Tastes a little better than liver or kidney and I enjoy those dishes.
Your offal posts are always intriguing.
I give you a lot of credit for venturing into the offal territory the way you do. I don’t know how to get past the initial revulsion I experience when thinking about or seeing animal offal. I know that there are valuable nutrients in organs, but I can’t seem to get over the odd appearances and aromas.
Over here in Finland, sweetbread is a delicacy offered by clued-in restaurants, such as Kosmos and Sea Horse (both in Helsinki). I find it tastes quite a bit like chicken…
Intriguing. In France, sweetbreads (ris de veau) is from veal – and it’s by far the most expensive meat at the butcher or in a restaurant.
Does this producer not sell veal but mature only beef/cow?
@Glenn – I’ve been a customer of this farm for years and this was the first and only sweetbread I’ve seen before. I’ll ask them next time I see them.
Beef sweetbread = veal sweetbread. The thymus (which is what sweetbread is) atrophies as the animal reaches maturity.
…overlooked the “Turns out my sweetbread was the throat and thyroid area” bit. Maybe this is how you can tell which is which at the butchers (i.e. beef sweetbread = throat and thyroid, veal sweetbread = thymus).