Preparing sweetbreads

Name: Preparing sweetbreads
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients: 400g lamb or veal sweetbreads; 1 small carrot, peeled and cut into; 3-4 pieces; 1 onion, peeled and quartered; 1 stick celery, cut into 3-4 pieces; 2 tbsp white wine vinegar

STEVE MANFREDI

October 19, 2011

Time:< 30 mins

Meat

The offal truth, Steve Manfredi clears the confusion over sweetbreads. Once poached and cleaned they can be dusted with flour or crumbed and then fried to a golden crispness. These nuggets have a creamy centre, which takes on any added flavour. Fried sweetbreads served on top of buttered, freshly shelled peas or broad beans may get comments such as: "This is the best chicken I've ever had."

Ingredients

400g lamb or veal sweetbreads
1 small carrot, peeled and cut into
3-4 pieces
1 onion, peeled and quartered
1 stick celery, cut into 3-4 pieces
2 tbsp white wine vinegar

Method

Place sweetbreads, carrot, onion and celery in a pot.
Add vinegar and enough water to cover everything by 3-4 centimetres.
Bring to the boil then reduce heat to simmer. Continue simmering for 5 minutes if sweetbreads are small (lamb) or 10 minutes if they're large (veal).
Drain and cool until they can be handled.
Trim of any fat, gristle or sinew and peel away membrane. This step can be a bit fiddly but is well worth it. A small, sharp knife may be useful.
Once cleaned, sweetbreads are ready to be used in recipes.

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