Level II started out on a high note, with game meats and offal. It was exciting to have the opportunity to cook with some of the lesser-used meats. Not everyone in class was enthusiastic, which just meant the all the more for me!
While our lesson spanned the gamut, our recipes were limited to sweetbreads, liver, and tongue. Of the three, I particularly enjoyed the sweetbreads (even though they were deep-fat fried). Sweetbreads come in two varieties. The first is the thymus gland, also called the throat sweetbread or “gorge” in French. The second variety is the pancreas, also referred to as the stomach sweetbread or “noix” in French. They’re fairly interchangeable and incredibly versatile. Although we fried ours, they have a mild flavor and soft silky texture that can be sautéed, braised, poached, grilled, fried, and even roasted. You can feature them as entrees, but they’re also great in hot or cold appetizers, stews, salads, pates, terrines, and sausages.
They were a bit of a pain to clean -- we had to peel off the membranes and then soak them for 24 hours to degorge the blood before we could use them. After degorging, we had to press them using #10 cans for another several hours.
For our recipe, we brushed the sweetbreads with dijon and then coated them paner à l’anglaise and served them on top of a goat cheese polenta and sautéed spinach. Finally, the sweetbreads were dressed with a standard Grenobloise sauce (noisette butter with capers and lemon).
We weren’t able to get a whole lobe of veal liver, so were stuck using badly sliced beef liver. As a result, our liver dish was utterly uninspiring. Pretty much your grandmother’s standard liver & onions.
The lamb tongue was slightly more interesting. The tongue had to be blanched and degorged, then boiled until tender enough to peel. We seasoned the boiling liquid with mirepoix and bouquet garni with a bit of vinegar, then peeled the skin from the tongue and sliced on a bias for service. The tongue was served with a light herb & potato salad, then topped with a Ravigote Vinaigrette made with dijon, egg and herbs.
The overall experience was inspirational. Since I was the only person who was super enthusiastic, the other kids gave me their livers and kidneys from the rabbit and chicken dishes that we’d prepared on previous days. I’m planning on using them for Easter when we go down to LA to visit Jay
I wonder if Chris Cosentino will let me extern at his new SF restaurant, Cockscomb??
While our lesson spanned the gamut, our recipes were limited to sweetbreads, liver, and tongue. Of the three, I particularly enjoyed the sweetbreads (even though they were deep-fat fried). Sweetbreads come in two varieties. The first is the thymus gland, also called the throat sweetbread or “gorge” in French. The second variety is the pancreas, also referred to as the stomach sweetbread or “noix” in French. They’re fairly interchangeable and incredibly versatile. Although we fried ours, they have a mild flavor and soft silky texture that can be sautéed, braised, poached, grilled, fried, and even roasted. You can feature them as entrees, but they’re also great in hot or cold appetizers, stews, salads, pates, terrines, and sausages.
They were a bit of a pain to clean -- we had to peel off the membranes and then soak them for 24 hours to degorge the blood before we could use them. After degorging, we had to press them using #10 cans for another several hours.
For our recipe, we brushed the sweetbreads with dijon and then coated them paner à l’anglaise and served them on top of a goat cheese polenta and sautéed spinach. Finally, the sweetbreads were dressed with a standard Grenobloise sauce (noisette butter with capers and lemon).
We weren’t able to get a whole lobe of veal liver, so were stuck using badly sliced beef liver. As a result, our liver dish was utterly uninspiring. Pretty much your grandmother’s standard liver & onions.
The lamb tongue was slightly more interesting. The tongue had to be blanched and degorged, then boiled until tender enough to peel. We seasoned the boiling liquid with mirepoix and bouquet garni with a bit of vinegar, then peeled the skin from the tongue and sliced on a bias for service. The tongue was served with a light herb & potato salad, then topped with a Ravigote Vinaigrette made with dijon, egg and herbs.
The overall experience was inspirational. Since I was the only person who was super enthusiastic, the other kids gave me their livers and kidneys from the rabbit and chicken dishes that we’d prepared on previous days. I’m planning on using them for Easter when we go down to LA to visit Jay
I wonder if Chris Cosentino will let me extern at his new SF restaurant, Cockscomb??