2604. PAN-FRIED SWEETBREADS with MADEIRA and BACON

300g lamb’s sweetbreads
the juice of one lemon
salt and freshly ground black pepper
150 grams bacon
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 beaten egg OR 50 ml double cream
flour for dredging
125 ml Madeira
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

First soak the sweetbreads for about an hour in enough cold water to cover them completely. Then drain, rinse and repeat, for at least another hour or until you’re ready to cook them. Drain the sweetbreads and dry them well, then in a saucepan cover them with more cold water. Add a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon juice, then bring the pan to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain the sweetbreads and plunge them into ice water. Leave them to cool. In a dry pan, fry off the lardons until they’re crispy and golden. While they’re cooking, peel the membranes off the cooled sweetbreads. Then dredge them in the egg or cream, and then some seasoned flour. When the bacon’s cooked, remove it from the pan and set aside. Then melt the oil and butter in the pan and gently fry the sweetbreads until they’re golden and crispy.  Set aside. Deglaze the pan with the Madeira, bubbling it up to cook out the alcohol and scraping up the cooking residues. Add the juice of half a lemon and the cayenne, followed by the other teaspoon of butter. Stir together until the butter has melted. Serve the sweetbreads with a watercress and lamb’s lettuce salad, with the sauce drizzled around them and the lardons scattered on top, and some crusty French bread to mop up the juices.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Kay Plunkett-Hogge, Kay Cooks, London, UK 

1276. SWEETBREAD, BACON and MUSHROOM BROCHETTES

serves eight


1 pound veal sweetbreads, rinsed thoroughly
lightly salted water for soaking
veal or poultry stock to cover
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1½ tablespoons unsalted butter
2 shallots, minced
1½ tablespoons flour
1½ cups brown veal stock
3 tablespoons capers, rinsed
1½ tablespoons malt vinegar
salt and black pepper to taste
8 slices lean smoked bacon, precooked until partially done but still pliable, cut into squares
16 medium crimini or button mushroom caps
8 wooden skewers, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes
½ cup unsalted butter, melted
2 garlic cloves, very finely minced
salt and pepper to taste
1½ tablespoons parsley, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
2 ounces dry unseasoned breadcrumbs

Soak the sweetbreads in lightly salted water for 2 hours. Drain, place in a saucepan, cover with veal stock, add the lemon juice, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the sweetbreads turn opaque and are firm.

Rinse the sweetbreads under cold running water until cool enough to handle. Remove any gristle and veins and as much membrane as possible.

Place the dressed sweetbreads under a weighted plate for several hours, refrigerated.

Cut the pressed sweetbreads into 1-inch squares and reserve.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat and sauté the shallots until soft. Add the flour and stir well to form a light roux.

Slowly whisk in the stock and bring to a boil while stirring. Reduce the heat to a simmer, then stir in the capers and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Reserve warm for service.

To assemble the skewers, alternate the sweetbread cubes, bacon squares and mushroom caps on 8 soaked wooden skewers and reserve.

Mix the butter, garlic, salt and pepper, parsley, and thyme together to form a basting mixture.

Brush the skewers with the basting mixture and broil or grill the skewers for 10 minutes, while basting and turning, using medium heat. Place on a platter and allow to rest 5 minutes.

Place the breadcrumbs in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add any remaining basting butter to the crumbs and sauté the crumbs to lightly brown.

For each serving, remove the wooden skewer and place the sweetbreads, mushrooms, and bacon on a small plate. Dust with browned breadcrumbs. Top with warm caper sauce.


courtesy of: The Appetizer Atlas: A World of Small Bites by Arthur L. Meyer and Jon M. Vann. Wiley, 2003

628. GRILLED BACON-WRAPPED SWEETBREAD

makes 2 generous servings


1 pound sweetbreads
1 teaspoon vinegar in cold water
1/2 teaspoon salt
Fresh-ground black pepper
Salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
8 to 10 slices bacon

Soak the sweetbreads for 1 hour in a bowl of cold water to cover by about an inch with 1 teaspoon of vinegar. Drain.

Place the sweetbreads in a saucepan of boiling water salted with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook for 5 minutes. Drain and allow to cool.

Remove the bits of fat from the sweetbreads along with any coarse membrane that keeps the lobes of the sweetbreads together.

Cut the sweetbreads into approximately 3-inch-long pieces. Season liberally with pepper and lightly with salt. Crush the thyme between your fingers and sprinkle all over the sweetbreads.

Wrap a piece of bacon around each sweetbread, trying to enclose as much as possible, if not the whole. Secure bacon to sweetbreads with toothpicks or small trussing skewers.

Place as far away as possible from the heat in a gas or electric broiler. Cook about 15 minutes, turning twice. (Of course, these are even better cooked over charcoal on a barbecue.)


courtesy of: Arthur Schwartz, the Food Maven