Ingredients
Equipment
Method
How To Clean Sweetbreads
- Sweetbreads are mostly available in 1.5 lb./650g frozen packages. Let meat thaw a full day in the refrigerator before getting to the next step. Soak it in cold water for at least three hours, and up to 24 hours to eliminate any blood.
- During the soak, change the water a couple of times if necessary. Drain sweetbreads and place them in a saucepan and cover with cold water and milk (milk remains optional). Heat that up, add salt and boil for a minute and place meat in ice water to immediately chill.
- Peel away the membrane that surround the meat and remove the fatty, gristly, sinewy portions and veins. The challenge is to clean sweetbreads without tearing it apart. However, if it happens it's not a big deal.
How To Press Sweetbreads
- Sweetbreads should be pressed to give them a nice, firm texture; if you don't press them enough they will be spongy. Sandwich meat between a few sheets of paper towels and 2 trays. Top with weights (about 2.2 lb./1kg) and place in the refrigerator for 4 hours or longer. Make ≈2.1 ounces/70 grams portions (3 per servings).
Red Butter Compound
- *French purple mustard is made from grape must, mustard seeds, wine, vinegar, water, salt and spices. It can easily be found online. Sieve cassis or blueberry puree to remove excessive moisture. Mix together room temp butter with purple mustard and fruit puree. Season with salt and pepper to taste and flatten into a thin sheet between 2 parchment papers. Freeze and cut into irregular pieces.
How To Prep Salsifis
- Salsifis is a root vegetable. These giant pencils are members of the dandelion family, a Mediterranean plant with a delicate taste. It can be subbed by Jerusalem artichokes (topinambours) or parsnips. As a root vegetable, you'll need to scrub the salsifis under cold water before using (wear gloves when peeling it since flesh and skin are quite sticky). Chop off ends first and peel salsifis making sure to remove most of the thick white part that surround the heart. Cut peeled roots into 3-inch/8 cm batons and put them into a solution of water and lemon juice to stop it browning. Refrigerate until ready to cook.
Braised Salsifis
- Drain salsifis. In a frying pan or sautoire, melt butter and add salsifis. Season with salt and pepper and cook on medium heat for 5 mins. Add chicken stock, cover and let simmer for 20 mins until fork tender. Remove cooked salsifis and cut ends in bias if desired. Save trimming for later use (ends can actually be caramelized separately with a dash of oil and a pinch of sugar). Put salsifis back to the pan and add some chopped green onions, chives or a few spinach greens; set aside.
Sweetbreads Meunière
- Season sweetbreads with kosher salt or fleur de sel. Heat up a frying pan (not too hot), add oil and a third of the butter. Sear meat for 5 min on medium heat and flip. Add remaining pieces of cold butter as it cooks and baste the meat during cooking. Note that butter must remain brown (beurre noisette). Sweetbreads take 10-12 minutes to cook. Add a drizzle of lemon juice. Remove meat from pan and let rest on a cooling rack (the rendered juice will be added to the sauce). Season meat with black ground pepper if desired.
Glaze
- Immediately after the meat is cooked, remove excess fat left in the pan and add vinegar and the rendered juice from the sweetbreads. Scrap out bits left in the pan and reduce to glaze.
Plating
- Reheat salsifis. Arrange 3 or 5 pieces of the frozen red butter. Arrange salsifis artfully around the plate (avoid contact with the red butter).
- Add sweetbreads and glaze them with the sauce. With a kitchen blowtorch, quickly run over red butter and meat prior to serve. Enjoy!
