The gut of the average consumer is neglected. But in vain. In Italy, France, Spain, where gourmet cuisine is close to the masses, offal is very, very honored. The so-called sweet or spicy meat is in special demand. This is the thymus, or goiter, calf or lamb, glands and other jelly-like formations in the body of young animals. In English, they are called sweetbreads , which literally means "sweet bread." This name was not taken from the ceiling at all: in its finished form, goiter gland surprises with the smell of a freshly baked pastry loaf and dessert taste. In pre-revolutionary Russia, this part of the calf carcass was called milk and was used in cooking quite often. In France, ris de veau is soaked in cognac and delicacies are prepared from the delicacy. In Italy, goiter gland is added to pasta, risotto, seasoned with garlic and herbs. And in Latin America (Uruguay, Chile and Argentina) they prefer to grill it. In this article we will reveal the secrets of the proper preparation of the delicacy and give some recipes for dishes with this part of the carcass.
What is calf goiter?
A photo of it in its raw form does not cause a surge of saliva. Let's face it: iron resembles a piece of fat. But behind this small, weighing three hundred grams, part of calf carcasses in France, restaurants marked by Michelin stars are hunting . Pike meat is not cheap - at least sixty euros per kilogram. But even the high price does not ensure the availability of the product. What is the goiter gland of a calf? This is an organ of the immune system located on both sides of the trachea. Iron regulates the development of a young animal, protects it from disease. As the calf grows, it decreases in size. And when the animal turns into a cow or a bull, it completely atrophies. Therefore, the goiter glands of very young calves are most valued.
Scarce product
Getting piquant meat in a store is almost impossible. And on the market it appears extremely rarely. Even during the period of mass slaughter of calves, it is easier for the farmer to sell the whole carcass than to engage in jewelry work to extract the tender goiter. Yes, and among our people the tenderloin, brisket, shoulder blade, tongue and liver are more valued. Many do not even know what the calf’s goiter is, where this organ is located and what it tastes like. But this product is valued in the same way as foie gras, black truffle and the like. In addition, spicy meat requires a special approach not only from the butcher, but also from the cook. You can’t throw iron like a steak into a frying pan, you need to tinker with it for a long time. Not every housewife knows how to handle tender "milk". And the culinary value of a product directly depends on preliminary manipulations with it. And if everything is done correctly, then soon it will be possible to enjoy the amazing taste of tender paste-like piquant meat.
The harm and benefits of the calf's goiter
This product contains substances important to health. Potassium, which regulates water and salt metabolism, has a beneficial effect on the smooth operation of the heart. Also, veal "milk" is useful for capillaries, blood vessels, muscles. Due to the effect on the bone mass, the goiter glands of the calf are indicated for people who have suffered fractures. Vitamins C and D strengthen immunity. It is good to eat calf's goiter to optimize hormonal balance. But it is worth knowing the measure! The essence of the delicacy is that it can not be made a daily dish. People used veal "milk" from the Middle Ages. Then they noticed the insidiousness of "sweet bread". With the frequent use of pike meat comes ailment of kings - gout. In order not to lose freedom of movement, too often you cannot indulge yourself with a delicacy.
Product pretreatment
Pike meat has an aristocratic nature, and therefore the approach to it should be delicate. Alas, the goiter glands of the calf come to us in a frozen form (mainly from Argentina or Australia). But subject to storage conditions - at a temperature of –18 ° - “milk” can wait at least six months. When cooking, the taste of "sweet bread" is not lost. But first, the goiter gland is put in cold water for eight hours. During this period, the fluid is changed three times. When the calf's goiter gland loses all the blood, it is transferred to milk. After an hour, the outer film is cleaned, veins, fat residues, connecting films are removed. Then the "milk" must be bleached. To do this, they are boiled in water with salt and lemon juice. Exactly five minutes after boiling the gland, a contrast shower is arranged. So that the meat does not lose its shape and remains elastic, it is dipped in ice water. After that, the gland is prepared according to various recipes.
Argentinean salad Molyehan
Correctly bleached goiter gland of a calf in a section resembles a honeycomb or a crumb of a village bread. Purified from veins, it is easily divided into segments. We take one hundred grams of this delicacy and fry in olive oil, slightly salted and pepper. We don’t overdo it with spices: they can hammer in the delicate taste of “sweet bread”. Bring the pieces to a golden color, add a clove of crushed garlic and immediately remove from heat. In parallel, fry a couple of potatoes. Now prepare the sauce. Fry a little green onion and parsley in butter. Add a quarter cup of fat cream. We shift the sauce into a blender, grind, drive one egg yolk, mix. We cover the dish with lettuce leaves, lay the halves of cherry tomatoes on the sides. In the middle we place the salad and carefully pour the sauce.
Italian Spicy Meat
The calf’s goiter (400 g) is soaked and bleached. Then it is divided into twelve parts and stuffed with thin slices of black truffle. Fry on all sides over low heat in a mixture of crumbs of white bread and one tablespoon of butter. Then they add and season with a pinch of white pepper. A pound of peeled artichokes is cut into thin slices. Fry them until cooked in the same bread-and-butter mixture as the calf’s spicy meat. Salted and seasoned with nutmeg. Combine both components. Separately, prepare a little brown sauce, boiling beef broth. Cool it and water the dish. Served to the table, decorated with celery leaves.
Parilyada
This dish from calf's goiter glands is very popular in Argentina and other Latin American countries. It is interesting in that the peak meat in this case requires a minimum of preliminary processing. It is simply soaked in water so that all the blood is gone. And then cooked on the grill. You can fry parilyada and in an ordinary frying pan with oil. To do this, the soaked sweet meat must be divided into segments, fry in olive oil with lemon juice and a pinch of salt. When it acquires a golden hue, we throw one crushed bay leaf. The final touch: pour a glass of whiskey into the pan, quickly mix, close the lid and remove from heat. Serve this fiery dish hot with freshly baked cakes or on puff pastry. Young argentinian pink and white wines harmonize with the parilyada. You can recommend Montfleury Bodegas Weinert to this dish.
Black currant spicy meat
Grind two handfuls of the picked berries in a blender to a puree condition. We will need the calf’s goat gland soaked in cognac. A burgundy dish is small pieces of piquant meat in shallot sauce. This last ingredient (two heads) is finely chopped and stewed in a quarter cup of white wine, until the liquid is completely mashed. Pour one hundred and fifty milliliters of veal broth. Boil it in half, add 25 g of butter, salt and pepper. We put the sauce in a warm place. In a frying pan, calcine the olive oil, quickly fry the slices of the goiter gland, and then simmer for another three minutes over low heat. We strain in a colander. Add blackcurrant puree to the meat. Serve with mashed potatoes and pour the whole dish with hot shallot sauce.
Bacon
We bleach the calf soaked properly in the goiter. We divide it into pieces. We slice each slice with bacon, tongue or (which is preferable) truffles. Pieces of pike meat are put in a stewpan. Cooking a brez. To do this, cut into thin slices the roots of parsley, celery, carrots, onions and the white part of the leek. Fill with veal broth, salt, add spices to taste. Boil until the amount of liquid is reduced by half. Then we pour pieces of pike meat with this cut so that they are completely covered with it. Cook over low heat for about half an hour under the lid. Preheat the oven to moderate heat. Remove the lid and place the stewpan in the oven. When the surface of the birch is tinted, turn off the fire and get the calf’s goiter. Garnish to such a dish should be as neutral as possible: boiled rice or mashed potatoes. You can serve the main course on a shuttlecock or crustade.
“Sweet bread” in Languedoc style
In the south of France, the goiter gland of the calf is especially valued. Recipes differ from each other only in side dishes, sauces and the form of serving, while the manner of cooking piquant meat remains unchanged. The inseparable ingredient of “sweet bread” is truffle. Consider an example of a perigee recipe.
Half a chicken fillet chopped finely with a knife. Soak 250 grams of bread crumb in a broth, mix a packet of butter. Grind and add to the chicken meat. Salt, season with nutmeg, pepper, drive in two eggs. Half of the minced meat we cook for a couple, and from the second half we form meatballs. Boil 300 grams of chicken scallops in a brez. Boil a handful of truffles in a glass of broth and madeira. Salt and add the crushed clove of garlic. Spread the boiled minced meat. In the middle we place meatballs, scallops, truffles. Pour perigue sauce. We spread the calf’s goiter on top. Fill the whole dish with the rest of the sauce.