Grilled sweetbreads

Yet another restaurant favourites of mine! I love the soft and creamy texture of sweetbreads, which is lamb or veal thymus glands. Eateries often serve this delicacy breaded and fried. So on a sunny Saturday morning, I set out to St.Lawrence Market to try out cooking this thing myself.

They came frozen in a bag and only the veal version is available. Glad to see it’s hormone and antibiotics free although I’m too fussy about organic/grassfed/free range etc. Most recipes calls for soaking it in water with a few water exchanges for a few hours to get rid of the blood, but i say not necessary (having no authority to do so)! Based on my experience cooking offal, the blanching process is sufficient enough.

After blanching, the most painstaking part begins – removing all the membranes/vessels covering the glands. It was a slow and painful process so I gave up half way… which was a mistake because the pieces where I had the membranes removed were soft and creamy while the membranes made it a super tough and chewy!!!

I paired it with rutabaga mash and pickled fennel for a sharp contrast.