An offal week (brain, tongue, spleen, kidneys and heart)

I was fortunate to spend nine days in Chicago two weeks ago eating really really well. My friends and I had a truly epic meal at GNR Aroy Thai that I need to write about soon. I also took numerous trips to Murphy's, a small hot dog shack I grew up near but never visited, and I'm happy to report that a hot dog with giardiniera is as good as it sounds. Then there was a 4am trip to Tabaq for goat biryani and chicken curry - both excellent, filled with gnarly, bony, spicy pieces of meat. For late night eats there is no beating the cabby joints.

The most interesting meals I ate that week, however, came after a trip to Butcher and Larder. My original plan was to order an entire sheep's head, fry the brain, and roast or stew the head. Instead, I took home a variety of offal, most of which turned out great despite that it was my first time cooking with some of it. I suppose when you think about it, lamb guts aren't that different than a can of tuna. You'd have to be an idiot to F it up.

The brain had to be ordered ahead of time, as Rob gets lamb/sheep only once a week or so, and the head isn't always included. I called on Monday and was told I could pick up on Wendesday.

As I mentioned, the original plan was to buy the entire head. But really, I didn't quite feel up to roasting or stewing a sheep's head for hours in the summer heat - that's winter work.

Thankfully the guys were as nice as they were knowledgeable with organs, and let me take the brain without paying for the entire head. I also ended up with the tongue, probably the next easiest part of the head to cook. Sensing my interest in all things internal, the guys asked if I was interested in further exotica. A spleen, heart and kidneys were quickly produced, all beautifully blood-red and sexy and shimmering with freshness. I decided to take them all. The heart was cleaned and filleted for me. Everything else came whole (except the brain - they had to cut the head in half to extract it).

Here's the brain:



The kidney's (or pissers, as I call 'em):



Tongue, heart, spleen:



I cut the heart into ribbons and marinated it in yogurt, baharat (Arabic spice mix), coriander, chopped jalapeno, salt and pepper. It sat in the marinade for about two days before being skewered and kabob'd.



The pissers got a similar treatment after being soaked in milk for a day, with the addition of Mexican pickled Jalapenos and pickle brine (to combat the piss, I rekon'd). The kidney's were a bit hard to clean and cube - each lobe contained a tough wad of ligament (fat?) in the center that had to be cut out. Also, my hands smelled like lamb piss when I was done cutting and cleaning.

Onto the the brains. Oh, the brains. The soft, cloudy, beautiful brains. Not even a thought of piss in these brains. Only grass, and water, and dreams and girl sheep. Oh the brains. I soaked them in milk for about eight hours.

I wasn't sure what to do with the spleen. I have read that in North Africa, spleen stuffed with rice and lamb and braised in broth, which sounded good, but far too painstaking. Rob had mentioned that the Italians braise them and make sandwiches. As I was going to boil the tongue anyway, I thought this would be a great way to kill two birds with one stone.

I simmered the tongue and spleen in water with olive oil, turmeric, garlic, coriander, allspice, cinnamon, cumin, cardamom and hot peppers. The tongue took about 4 hours before the skin was ready to peel. After about two hours, the spleen was easily pierced by fork. Here are some pictures:

Tongue (went in before spleen):



Tongue and spleen, about two hours later:



I cut the spleen up for sandwiches. It had a very interesting texture. A dense, spongy, coagulated-blood interior surrounded by a taught membrane, thin and snappy, like chitterlings. It was easy to cut after two hours of simmering.



I made a spleen sandwich on D'Amatos dark "sourdough" torpedo, picked up fresh from the bakery only hours earlier. Best bread on the planet. Here's a braised spleen sandwich with a little mayo, parsley, onions and pickled jalapenos:



The spleen, which I believe cleans the blood, tasted something like a cross between blood sausage and liver - lots of iron and a bit of funk. I'm not sure I'll crave it again, but I certainly wouldn't kick it out of bed if the occasion arose.

The next day, I prepared kabobs from the heart and kidney. Also pictured are some ground lamb kofta kabobs to keep things just a little vanilla:



I fried the brain because my cholesterol has been low lately and I've been feeling stupid (eating brain alleviates those deficiencies):



A nice plate of food:



Same thing, but with some jalapenos I picked up at the Green City Market the next day prepared in tin foil with olive oil and salt. I've never tasted peppers so good and don't know how I will ever enjoy a supermarket jalapeno again:



The brain was amazing. Egg wash, dipped in flour, and shallow-fried in outstanding Palestinian olive oil. The best part, not pictured, were two lobes at the back (cerebellum?) that fell of during the frying process. Crispy on the outside and creamy in the middle, two perfect bite-sized pieces. I could eat a tub of them with some hot sauce and beer. Why not? On this occasion though the brain was served with lemon and salt. The only condiments this king of offal really needs.

The heart was the next best thing. Heart-eaters know that this organ packs tons of meaty flavor and has a wonderful, snappy texture that responds best to quick grilling. The hardy vascular meat didn't take in as much of the marinade as I thought it would in two days, but the texture and flavor were spot on - grilled perfectly medium.

That leaves the pissers. I really wanted to like them. Rob's employee suggested that I grill them quickly in order to maintain their snappy texture. And they looked great, all smooth and shiny, and dark pink. But the honeymoon didn't last long. No amount of jalapeno juice, milk, turmeric, garlic or any other aromatic marinade could change the fundamental fact that their purpose is to clean piss. And the worst part is that they snap and pop when you bite into them, exploding uric acid in your mouth. What does all of this taste like? It's not so much a taste as it is a mild, caustic sensation in your mouth. Somewhere, though, deep down inside, your brain knows its piss.

I won't be eating kidneys again.

Everything else was great though. I forgot to mention that I ate the tongue in cold slices the day after I boiled it. Delicious.

Nice post, Habibi. And, I have to say, I admire your ambition, tackling all these variety meats in one fell swoop. I bought a tongue from Pete's Fresh Market on Pulaski this week, inspired by the tongue tacos I had recently at La Chapparita. Diana Kennedy's recipe for Estofado de Lengua turned out well, but it was a bit mild for my taste. I guess I am more of a fan of (probably braised and grilled) tongue in tacos. In any case, I've met my offal quota for the week with that one dish.

Still, kidneys are among my favorite meats. I recently had a very nice rendition in mustard sauce at Petrus in Paris. If you think of them as a variation on liver or gizzard, they are really not so challenging. Hats off to you for trying brains, though. That, I cannot get my mind around. . . and an eyeball taco will never pass my lips, even on a dare.

Habibi wrote:Somewhere, though, deep down inside, your brain knows its piss.

Great post with some real quotables...this one though is a real winner! I LOL'd even after the 4th time reading it, so you got some mileage too.

I've never had lamb offall (other than tongue), but it seems it would be funkier than other animals is that true? The texture of kidneys is just off putting for me in general too- poppy. My general order of preference is similar to yours with spleen being two or three lengths behind the rest of the pack.

You had me at "lamb guts aren't that different than a can of tuna. You'd have to be an idiot to F it up."

jvalentino wrote: I've never had lamb offall (other than tongue), but it seems it would be funkier than other animals is that true? T

I think it depends on whether its actually lamb or sheep. Most meat sold as lamb is older in age. IMO organ meats from a young lamb are way less "funkier" than those of other animals. My moms rule of thumb was to never eat organ meat from an animal who had anything besides milk and after breaking that rule a couple of times I have come to the conclusion that she is right!

BTW, I love this post!

Very nice Post! I have routinely over the years purchased and prepared offal of all types except for spleen.
I have found that veal offal is preferred because of the milder flavor and texture.
Lamb offal is quite nice but has a different taste. I suggest next time in Chicago, Fresh Farms on Touhy for lamb offal.
I suspect that your lamb kidneys were either improperly prepared by the slaughter house or that your taste buds are quite sensitive and knowing the function of the kidneys colored your perception. My wife just cannot get past the fact that they are kidneys and will not eat them.
USDA Regulations require beef and veal kidneys to be cut open and inspected for disease hence we cannot cook veal kidneys wrapped in the fat that normally surrounds the kidney in the French style. I have noticed that lamb kidneys are sold whole, so the USDA Regulations must be different.-Dick
BTW, I am going to make some baharat and try the heart recipe. Sounds good.