How to eat sweetbreads

[Polyvore]

Hi bought some sweetbreads and they have a tough wrap around them, not sure how I should be eating them raw... Any ideas?

[Adora]

What sort of wrap? I've had beef thymus, pancreas, adrenals, spleen. I don't remember more than a membrane but, if you can't get through it, can you just peel it off and eat underlying soft tissues? They are powerful and you may have a strong reaction if you eat too much. I recommend small bites like medicine, not large portions for a meal. They are tasty for the first few mouth-fulls but, I felt a strong stop after. You could marinate or bolt them down to get more in but, feel what is best for your body at that moment. I wish I had small amounts regularly available, if your not opposed to freezing, that may be a good choice. enjoy

[RawZi]

    There's a gland smoothie recipe in one of AV's books.

    When I've eaten them, I just cut it with a sharp knife.  I've fermented them too. I tried it frozen once, but the purines got to me that way.

[ys]

What exactly did you buy?  Pancreas?  It does not have any wraps.  Maybe you got something else.  Spleen maybe??

[Polyvore]

I think i got a big bag of the thymus neck glands. They all taste the same, and roughly the same size, they break apart when I pull them, they are quite sweet, but also bland. I blanched them for 3 seconds in hot water and peeled the rubbery stuff off, then pulled them into lots of small pieces (fingernail size) They are still very raw on the inside, the outside skin was just singed. I froze what I didn't eat in small bags. I kept some fresh in the fridge to have each day with my calve's liver.

You are right Adora, even though they do not have a powerful taste, they have a stronger 'stop' than liver does! I only ate about two (broken up into smaller pieces).