# Sweetbreads



## cape chef (Jul 31, 2000)

I sold a lot of sweetbreads tonight, I made large open face ravioli with sauteed sweetbreads,buttered salsify and porcini mushrooms with a little buerre noisette and fried sage. It went over well,made me think
Does anyone still prepare sweetbreads? and if yes in what way?
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## cape chef (Jul 31, 2000)

chrose that sounds tasty!!What did you serve with it?
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## cape chef (Jul 31, 2000)

Just a fyi, Some of you might not be aware what sweet breads are. I no I did not no when I first started in the business.
They are the Thyroid gland of the calf.
They weigh about a 1/2 pound to a pound. There are blanched is salted water and cooled. They are then weighted down (pressed if you will)in the fridge for a couple days. This process helps remove any impurities and also compact the sweet bread. It is then peeled ( by hand ) to remove the outer membrane. Generally it is sliced Ala scalipini style ,dredged in seasoned flour and sauteed. Finished with a number of applications. The reason I asked the question was that sweet breads used to be very cheap, not considered a center of the plate item. But you where still able to find it served in certain restaurants. I paid $13.00 a pound this past week, that's a big change from the early days.Sweet breads do really have a mild flavor and wonderful texture. Goes well with lobster and wild shrooms. I just wanted to let some of you know if you where unsure about what a sweetbread is.

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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

Salsify!!yummmmmmmm
open face ravioli...not heard of that one.
Sounds wonderful.
I love Bayona (Susan Spicer's) sweet breads.
sauteed topped with buerre blanc. simple classic.
One of my farmers raises salsify...I just discovered it last year...coming out of the ground it has loads of long hair coming out of it....and it's not black but musty white.
Nothing like what I've seen in the store.

What about piggy parts? I have access to numorus piggy parts that others don't want at butchering time.


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

Cape Chef,

I think your finger slipped back there. Sweetbread is not thyroid gland but the thymus glands of calves or sometimes lambs. The thymus is located just beneath the upper portion of the sternum in almost all vertebrates. The thyroid is located in front of and on each side of the thyroid cartilage of the larynx.

Who knows maybe thyroid glands are delicious. You should try it sometime maybe you'll invent a new dish.


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## cape chef (Jul 31, 2000)

Sisi, You are absolutely right......
I will be more careful before I post.
Thanks for the correction







:
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## nick.shu (Jul 18, 2000)

ummm, iam so cautious about v.CJD that offal is infinitely off my list - given that BCE is interspecies transferable, (i.e BCE can be transfered to sheep to cause scrapie and perhaps to humans in the form of v.CJD), im not really that taken by this.

Other things are sheeps brains (nice) et al. No guarantee - no eat, soz guys.

Too many cover ups.


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## jimmygourmet (Jun 23, 2019)

cape chef said:


> Just a fyi, Some of you might not be aware what sweet breads are. I no I did not no when I first started in the business.
> They are the Thyroid gland of the calf.
> They weigh about a 1/2 pound to a pound. There are blanched is salted water and cooled. They are then weighted down (pressed if you will)in the fridge for a couple days. This process helps remove any impurities and also compact the sweet bread. It is then peeled ( by hand ) to remove the outer membrane. Generally it is sliced Ala scalipini style ,dredged in seasoned flour and sauteed. Finished with a number of applications. The reason I asked the question was that sweet breads used to be very cheap, not considered a center of the plate item. But you where still able to find it served in certain restaurants. I paid $13.00 a pound this past week, that's a big change from the early days.Sweet breads do really have a mild flavor and wonderful texture. Goes well with lobster and wild shrooms. I just wanted to let some of you know if you where unsure about what a sweetbread is.
> 
> cc


Thx, I always thought it was a part of the brain!!


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## chefross (May 5, 2010)

I love offal of all kinds. I've been eating it from an early age on. 
I too have noticed the rise in prices for offal that at one time were relatively cheap. 
I love beef cheeks but they are all but impossible to find. 
I have to go directly to a local farm to get a beef tongue, hog jowl, or kidneys. 
I used to bid on lamb and hogs at the 4-H fair, have them slaughtered and skinned. Then I'd butcher them myself. There is so much more to these animals that are never sold in stores, and that's a shame.


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## tuchop (Jun 26, 2019)

Over here in Argentina we eat a lot of sweetbreads (and other offal) barbecued. We have two different kinds of sweetbreads, as mentioned above the Thyroid gland ones and also (better tasting) the "heart glands". The first ones are leaner but their taste is not as good nor the texture as creamy as the ones near the heart.
I like to prepare them the traditional way: slowly cooked over quality wood embers with salt and lemon and served with a good roasted garlic & lime aioli on the side.


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## chefross (May 5, 2010)

On a side note, I purchased half a lamb from the local farm a few weeks back. I specifically asked for the thymus and adrenaline glands as well as the heart, kidneys, and liver. I was shocked when I open the bag of offal and saw that the slaughter guys hadn't included the sweetbreads. When I called, I was told they didn't know what that was.


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