Braaaaains

[iceman]

I have a strong urge to eat brains   I have always had a strong urge to eat the raw squid at the fisherman wharf, or raw shrimp and lobster.  I think my self is trying to tell me something!

I currently have a 66% meat diet, mostly smoked wild Alaskan salmon until I can sort out this raw carnivore thing. 

This guy I used to work with, eons ago around 1990, bought brains from the local grocery store that came in a plastic tub container.I assume it was pre-cooked.  He would put salt on it and eat it straight.  Kids would scream, women would faint.

Anyway, I have recently come to the conclusion that brains are probably one of the healthiest things you can eat.  Omega 3 DHA, cholesterol, nutrients.  I was tested and I had very low cholesterol levels, which is not good at all, probably worse than having too high cholesterol.  Brains might be cleaner than say, liver because (I assume) that animals have a blood brain barrier like humans do which keeps out some but not all of the contaminants.  Lions and tigers and bears (oh my!) kill and eat the organs first, but I think they don't eat the brains quickly just because it is easier to gut a zebra than break it's skull open.

I AM a conspiracy nut, so the word "prions" gives me extreme caution and suspicion at the same time.  In a world where the government tells you that all bad things are good and all good things are bad, I am trying to figure out a middleground like alternative sources of brains other than from cows or pigs, and maybe cooked but that supposedly doesn't kill prions.  Oh, and I can't even find brains at the grocery stores any more.  Were they all banned from a prion scare, the way tryptophan was banned right before Prozac was released to the market?  Maybe an oriental grocery market would have brains.  I ty to avoid eating anything from China because of contaminants.       

So, any info on sources of brains or options other than cow/pig brains would be appreciated.

Awesome website by the way.   

[PaleoKyle]

Brains are illegal in the US. The only way to get them is to:

A: Kill your own animal by hunting
B: Make friends with a farmer and receive the brain as a gift from an animal slaughtered at the farm
C: Travel abroad to a contry that does not ban the sale of brains
D: get them illegally 

I have been trying to get a brain for some time using method A and D 

[iceman]

Well now that must be why I can't find any brains.

What did Igor do in this situation?  Didn't the Scarecrow look for a brain?  Think think think...

Is it just cow/pig brains that are illegal?  I'm guessing buffalo brains and sheep brains are illegal too, and any other livestock.  Dolphin brains?  Already banned.  Whale brains?  Banned.  Hooker brains?  Banned.

Looks like this brain thing will be on hold for an undetermined amount of time.

[JustAnotherExplorer]

Brains are illegal in the US.

Do you have any source for this?  I'm not certain, but I don't think that this is the case.  If it is true then someone should be able to point us to the appropriate laws.

While I have never had the pleasure of eating them myself, I know that the San Francisco restaurant Incanto has served calves brains at least once and as recently as last year.

[xylothrill]

I immediately thought of head cheese when I saw this. Until recently, I thought, as we were told this, that head cheese was made out of brains. Apparently, it's the gelatin that gives it the appearance that there might actually be brains in it. 

If it was served in San Francisco, anti-brain laws could well be at the state, county, or more local levels in this country - much as raw dairy.

Craig

[TylerDurden]

All I know is that cow' brains are forbidden to be sold in the UK. Other brains are, technically, allowed, even though some stupid farmers insist to me(undoubtedly lying) that all brains are forbidden to be sold. The trouble is that there's no market/demand for brains so they just don't bother and the amount they'd get for selling brains would be a fraction of what it costs for the equivalent weight in muscle-meats, so it's not worth their while.

[Nicola]

Brains are no problem in Switzerland; I must of got about 1kg of mutton/lambs brains 2 weeks ago; they are pretty to look at and one of the only organs I really like, healthy, easy to eat, kind of very special. I still have quite a few left and if I don't eat them soon, they will have to go out (I don't like to over do things - if I feel I need brains, then that is the time)!

The Bear loves brains too!

Nicola

[igibike]

Here in Italy I can find calf brain as well.

I find it at the supermarket, as well as calf heart and liver, rabbit liver, chiken livers and heart (never tried chiken's organs raw).

Our tradition includes cow's stomach (it's called "trippa") but only cooked.

[Sully]

Brains are illegal in the US. The only way to get them is to:

A friend told me a local middle eastern market right here in, "milwaukee, Wi USA" had brains. I would have to check that out.

[Sully]

The other day I saw a squirrel by a Robin's (type of bird) carcass. I approached, and the squirrel ran away. The skull was open and empty. THE BRAIN WAS GONE! I wonder if the squirrel cracked the skull and ate the brain, just as he would do a nut.

[Kristelle]

Hard to find brain in my area but a middle-eastern supermarket sells lamb brain and I can find veal brain in another one.

[TylerDurden]

Here in Italy I can find calf brain as well.

I find it at the supermarket, as well as calf heart and liver, rabbit liver, chiken livers and heart (never tried chiken's organs raw).

Our tradition includes cow's stomach (it's called "trippa") but only cooked.

Don't bother with calves' brain. Continental Europe has the most appalling reputation as regards providing low-quality calf-meat(ie veal). They are kept in appalling conditions and fed crap, so avoid it like the plague. I'm in a similiar situation in the UK, I can get hold of organic pigs' brains but they're all grainfed, unfortunately, due to stupid regulations.

[igibike]

Agh...

Thank you Tyler 

[coconinoz]

"I can get hold of organic pigs' brains but they're all grainfed, unfortunately, due to stupid regulations"

pigs are omnivores, are they not?

[TylerDurden]

"I can get hold of organic pigs' brains but they're all grainfed, unfortunately, due to stupid regulations"

pigs are omnivores, are they not?

That's the whole point, pigs do NOT  eat a 100% grainfed diet in the wild, they eat roots, leaves, small mammals, tubers etc. etc., as well as a little grain.

[iceman]

Ok so I emailed a bunch of grass fed buffalo ranches and only one of them replied to my inquiry as to whether or not they sell the buffalo brains.  Only one replied, asking if I wanted the brains for consumption or tanning.  I replied saying that I wanted them for consumption but he never answered.   

Back to the drawing board. 

ps - does anyone know what buffalo brains look like?  If they are used for tanning they must be dark brown or something huh?

[wodgina]

You should of said tanning! omg big newbie mistake! it sounds like he would of given it to you!

It's best to not be honest, I always tell farmers, butchers it's for my dogs never for me and they are happy to give me unusual things really really cheap and for some reason they often chuck in some free stuff like old meat/fat which is totally fine or chuck  in a marrow bone!

I'm a crap liar and know nothing about dogs so if they ask about my imaginary dog I just tell them it's a big one and its my brothers not mine.

[iceman]

DoH!!!!  (slaps forehead)   

Ok I'm learnin...  good thing you guys are schoolin me lol....

I should have some decent sources for meat here in Texas so I'm sure I didn't blow my only source.  I'll keep tryin...

[wodgina]

come to think of it, find out a little bit about tanning and ring them up with pretending you want to tan.

Sounds like a possible, even reliable way to get hold of brains. No one needs to know 

I get brains from the supermarket, creamy... bland...a little scary!

[TylerDurden]

You should of said tanning! omg big newbie mistake! it sounds like he would of given it to you!

It's best to not be honest, I always tell farmers, butchers it's for my dogs never for me and they are happy to give me unusual things really really cheap and for some reason they often chuck in some free stuff like old meat/fat which is totally fine or chuck  in a marrow bone!

I'm a crap liar and know nothing about dogs so if they ask about my imaginary dog I just tell them it's a big one and its my brothers not mine.

I agree, I've lost a few sources because I asked for unusual organs like brains or adrenals(and, on very rare occasions, letting slip that I eat the meat raw - doh!)  - farmers are pretty limited people and probably feel they're doing me a favour by not providing me with such foods, out of concern for my health or whatever nonsense. Much better to pretend you've got a dog on a raw, prey-model diet.

[RawZi]

come to think of it, find out a little bit about tanning and ring them up with pretending you want to tan.

Sounds like a possible, even reliable way to get hold of brains. No one needs to know 

http://www.primitiveways.com/buffalo_hide.html

Braintanning is not a strictly Native American art, but was practiced in many parts of the world throughout human history. For example, the Iceman from Italy wore braintanned skins. ("Der Mann aus dem Eis "by Angelika Flechinger and Hubert Steiner, also "Leather" by Lotha Rahme on European tanning tradition)
Unlike modern day commercial tanning, braintanning is an environmentally safe way of tanning that does not use or produce any toxins or chemicals.

    Seriously, sounds like a wonderful idea if you want tanned goods.

[DeadRamones]

Found this info The USDA only bans cow brains being used in the human food supply when they come from cows over the age of 30 months

 I see it all the time in mylocal supermarkets. Only problem is that it's not Organic or Grass-fed. I would like to try it because it's supposed to be very high nutritious.

[RawZi]

From Natural News

The nutritional profile of cow brains
Good question. I don't think people should eat animals at all, but if you're going to eat them, the brain is actually one of the most nutritionally-dense organs found in any animal. From a nutritional standpoint, the brain is the best source of healthy oils in all land animals. In fact, human children who grew up eating the brains of animals have healthier brains and nervous systems than those who didn't.

Animal brains are also a very good source of cholesterol, and even though cholesterol has been named as a dietary culprit over the last few decades, that information is now largely understood to be incorrect. Cholesterol itself is not the culprit. Cholesterol doesn't cause heart disease. In fact, you need to consume some amount of cholesterol to be able to manufacture essential hormones.

Today, there's a lot of talk about healthy fish oils and cod liver oil. What is cod liver oil but the oil that's squeezed out of the liver organ of a codfish? In the same way, cow brain oil, if there were such a product, would be the oil squeezed out of the brain organ of the cow. They are essentially the same concept, and they both produce very healthy oils from a nutritional point of view. Everybody knows, for example, that DHA is an important oil for the brain health of infants and children. Those who eat more DHA have been clinically proven to be smarter in adulthood. And guess what's found in cow brains? DHA.

In fact, some of the best animal sources of DHA are the retina, the brain and another bodily fluid that's too gross to mention here as a food source. It's interesting that people who eat beef skip all the parts of the animal that would enhance their own brain function, isn't it? A lack of dietary DHA promotes heart disease, Alzheimer's, dementia and poor cognitive function. Poor cognitive function (i.e. a poorly performing brain) causes people to make poor decisions about diet, such as eating more beef. And so the cycle continues.

[Ninacma]

Bump

But what about the dangers of Creutzfeld-Jacobs? Are there any? What were the reasons for the alleged ban of brains in the US? Where there is smoke, there is fire, methinks...

[TylerDurden]

Bump

But what about the dangers of Creutzfeld-Jacobs? Are there any? What were the reasons for the alleged ban of brains in the US? Where there is smoke, there is fire, methinks...

  No danger if the meat is grassfed. CJD etc. was caused by consumption of rendered animal fat being fed to cows.