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Sweetbreads, Larded

Sweetbreads larded with bacon, simmered in stock with herbs and lemon.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Sweetbreads, Larded

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Trim the sweetbreads.

  2. Soak the sweetbreads in saltwater for 2 hours.

  3. Put the sweetbreads in a saucepan with fresh water and bring the water to a boil.

  4. Remove the sweetbreads from the boiling water.

  5. Press the sweetbreads between two plates with heavy weights on top.

  6. Once the sweetbreads are cold, lard them with strips of fat bacon.

Stew and finish

  1. Place the larded sweetbreads in a stewpan with enough stock to cover the bottom, but not the sweetbreads.

  2. Add a little lemon juice and a bouquet of herbs to the stewpan.

  3. Stew gently for nearly 1 hour.

  4. Remove all fat from the gravy.

  5. Boil the gravy down to the desired quantity.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Sweetbreads
Main protein; pressing and gentle stewing give them a firm, tender texture.
Strips of fat bacon
Larding adds fat and moisture that keeps the sweetbreads from drying out during stewing.
Good stock
Liquid that gently cooks the sweetbreads and forms the base of the gravy.
Lemon juice
Adds acidity that brightens the flavour of the rich gravy.

The step that matters

Pressing the cold sweetbreads. Pressing under weights while cooling expels excess moisture and firms the texture, so the sweetbreads hold their shape and take larding neatly. Lard only once they are fully cold, or the fat will not set properly.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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