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Sauteed Veal Sweetbreads
Recipe courtesy of Natalia Machado with my personal modifications of course.
First and foremost, what in the world are sweetbreads you ask? They are culinary delights whose identity might best be kept secret from your family and guests. They may not want to know that the creamy, buttery texture and delicate flavor they’re enjoying are glands from the neck of the cow. Yup, take the yuk look off of your face and embrace the delicacy that captivates foodies and French alike. This certainly isn’t a neutral food – you either hate sweetbreads or you love them. I happen to love them, enough to consider the extra work of preparing the sweetbreads well worth it. To prepare sweetbreads for cooking, you must start two days before you plan to serve them so they can be soaked, cleaned, parboiled, weighed down to firm up the texture, and then sauteed. In the end, you get a delicate yet richly textured delight.
Ready?

TOTAL TIME:
Ideally 24 hrs to soak/clean but can manage in less than 3 hrs
Prep: 20 min
Inactive Prep: 24 hrs
Cook: 1 hr

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pounds veal sweetbreads
Cold water, as needed
4 cups salted water (4 cups water, 3 tablespoons kosher salt)
6 medium new potatoes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1/4 cup
4 ounces bacon, cubed = sadly I didn’t have any so I didn’t use bacon…shocking I know!
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon paprika = used Seasonall instead
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup chopped scallions = didn’t use
Fresh herbs, for garnish, optional

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl or pot, soak the sweetbreads in cold water for 2 hours in order to clean them. I soaked them overnight because the last time I made sweetbreads, they were a bit too tough and chewy. This made a big difference.

In a large pot add the salted water and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Once the potatoes are cooked remove from the water and coarsely mash together to make about 2 cups. Set aside.

Once the sweetbreads are clean, place them in a medium pot with the salted water and poach for 20 to 25 minutes over medium-high heat. Remove the sweetbreads from the pot and press them between 2 pans with weight on top. Place the sweetbreads in the refrigerator and chill completely. After the sweetbreads are chilled cut them into 1/2-inch slices. Season the sweetbreads with salt, and pepper, to taste and set aside.

In a medium saute pan add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and warm over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot add the bacon and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and the paprika and cook together for another 30 seconds. Add the apple cider vinegar to the pan and stir together. Add the mashed potatoes and saute for 1 minute. Season the potatoes with salt, and pepper, to taste. Turn off the heat, add the scallions and stir to combine. Keep warm until ready to serve.

In a medium saute pan heat the remaining olive oil over medium heat. Add the chilled sweetbreads and pan-fry until the sweetbreads are crispy on both sides, about 4 minutes on each side.