Best balls

[sgt_zim]

At the risk of sounding ignorant (which I am of a great many things) what are sweetbreads?

As somebody else pointed out, it's usually the pancreas, but it could be the thymus gland as well (located in the throat). I don't believe I've ever had thymus.

Pancreas is usually fairly fatty, often a higher fat content than a prime ribeye. Considering all the fat, you'd think pancreas would be tender. The texture is chewy, not far off from being as chewy as chicken gizzards.

Unlike liver, which can be off-putting with its iron-rich flavor and its crumbly texture; or kidneys which can be off-putting if the guy cooking it hasn't done a thorough job of cleaning (you can get a taste of urine if not done properly) or removing connective tissue; there is nothing off-putting about pancreas sweetbreads unless you just don't like chewy texture.

Pancreas is usually so fatty it does a really good job of picking up the flavor of whatever you're cooking it in (butter or bacon grease work best, IMO) and the herbs/spices you seasoned it with. It's a good beef flavor, so salt and pepper is all I usually add.

If you're feeling a bit daring, find a butcher shop that sells sweetbreads. You won't likely pay more than $7 or $8 for a pound. If you don't like it, you can always throw it in the garbage and be out very little money. I get mine from a butcher shop over in Rosenberg, Texas, about 10 minutes from where I live.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

Maggots are high in protein. LOL

As.my daughter would have said when she still lived at home, "Ewww!"

 

[Doug Hamilton]

A good friend of mine here in GA took over his dad tradition of hosting a Wild Game Dinner among his friends. This year one of the most exotic/weird was Turkey balls. Yup, and I didn’t know Turkeys had balls. They were amazing.

View attachment 605721

I've eaten "turkey balls" but they were ground turkey meat formed into meat balls. At least that's what I was told. I hope it was true.

 

[SFRanger7GP]

If you order “mollejas” en South America it will normally be thymus gland. No one can prepare them better than an Argentinian. It is a delicacy that I cannot get enough of. A proper parrilla should have chorizo, morcilla, chinchulines and mollejas as starters.

I am not put off by any “unusual” cuisine. I think I made that clear on another thread. . However, I have never found testicles to be a particularly good dish, but more of a joke dish. Maybe I haven’t had them prepared properly.

My favorite offal that I eat regularly: heart, liver, intestines (fried or grilled), mondongo (stomach), pancreas, tongue, kidneys, morcilla (blood sausage) and mollejas (thymus gland). I think I could fill in for Andrew Zimmern.

Safe travels and stay hungry my friends!

 

[sgt_zim]

If you order “mollejas” en South America it will normally be thymus gland. No one can prepare them better than an Argentinian. It is a delicacy that I cannot get enough of. A proper parrilla should have chorizo, morcilla, chinchulines and mollejas as starters.

I am not put off by any “unusual” cuisine. I think I made that clear on another thread. . However, I have never found testicles to be a particularly good dish, but more of a joke dish. Maybe I haven’t had them prepared properly.

My favorite offal that I eat regularly: heart, liver, intestines (fried or grilled), mondongo (stomach), pancreas, tongue, kidneys, morcilla (blood sausage) and mollejas (thymus gland). I think I could fill in for Andrew Zimmern.

Safe travels and stay hungry my friends!

 

[Doug Hamilton]

As somebody else pointed out, it's usually the pancreas, but it could be the thymus gland as well (located in the throat). I don't believe I've ever had thymus.

Pancreas is usually fairly fatty, often a higher fat content than a prime ribeye. Considering all the fat, you'd think pancreas would be tender. The texture is chewy, not far off from being as chewy as chicken gizzards.

Unlike liver, which can be off-putting with its iron-rich flavor and its crumbly texture; or kidneys which can be off-putting if the guy cooking it hasn't done a thorough job of cleaning (you can get a taste of urine if not done properly) or removing connective tissue; there is nothing off-putting about pancreas sweetbreads unless you just don't like chewy texture.

Pancreas is usually so fatty it does a really good job of picking up the flavor of whatever you're cooking it in (butter or bacon grease work best, IMO) and the herbs/spices you seasoned it with. It's a good beef flavor, so salt and pepper is all I usually add.

If you're feeling a bit daring, find a butcher shop that sells sweetbreads. You won't likely pay more than $7 or $8 for a pound. If you don't like it, you can always throw it in the garbage and be out very little money. I get mine from a butcher shop over in Rosenberg, Texas, about 10 minutes from where I live.

When we lived in Napa, we used to eat in a small Basque restaurant that made the best sweetbreads, or at least the best I've eaten.

 

[Edster]

Had a conversation with my PH last month about this. In his opinion this is the only way to prepare balls. This one happens to be kudu