Wednesday, 3/3/10 – Organ Meats

I didn’t puke!! I didn’t even emit the slight cough-gag that I’ve gotten used to covering up as a sort of throat-clear. You see, I have this problem where I obsess about how gross something is, even when it’s not gross at all, and then end up being totally repulsed by it, causing me to gag uncontrollably.

Too much information. Anyway, we ventured into the delicacy of organ meats, preparing sweetbreads (thymus glands), veal kidneys, calf’s liver and lamb tongue. Organ meats, because of their distinct organey taste, are usually served with very strong flavors such as mustard and vinegar. You can cover up the taste, but you can’t cover up the texture.

First, we caramelized onions and created a vinegar and veal stock sauce. While the sauce was reducing, we doused the liver in flour and pan-fried it in butter. We served the crispy liver draped with the onion sauce and sprinkled with parsley. Why is it that liver and onions are the butt of every joke; the epitome of the grossest meal ever; a punishment for a naughty child who doesn’t wipe his plate clean. Because it’s gross, that’s why. It tasted like sucking on a penny that coats your mouth with a layer of crap that doesn’t go away.

Moving on to the sweetbreads, we rubbed them in mustard, coated them with Panko bread crumbs and pan-fried them as well - apparently the only way to get an American to eat animal organs is to fry them! We served the sweetbreads on a bed of arugula tossed with a warm shallot/garlic/tomato vinaigrette.

After our dinner break (on the one night I don’t cook my own meal we are served curried lamb, the bowel irritator of all irritators…….I went to bed hungry last night) we sautéed the kidneys and served them swimming in a mustard sauce. Finally, when we thought we couldn’t handle another minute of these “delicacies,” Chef pulled out a vat of blanched veal tongues. The odd thing about veal tongues is that they LOOK LIKE TONGUES! They were all grey and smooth, and when I reached into the bucket I think one licked me. Interestingly enough they have to be peeled first, which is a task much harder than it sounds. Peeling a slimy tongue of its rubbery skin is hilarious.

I don’t mean to be so negative about the whole experience, it was just a little too odd for comfort. I always attempt to branch out and try new things – at least now I know that I don’t like sweetbreads and kidney and liver. The tongue I could do, but not the other recently functioning offal. Steve is definitely more adventurous than I am, but I won’t be sautéing any kidneys in the Lindsey kitchen any time soon. But hey, it was fun.