Day 23 of 120: Organ Meats. Mmm.

I'm not a big fan of liver, I realized. It has that weird aftertaste that makes me want to vomit just thinking about it. And kidneys, too, have that livery flavor. I thought I was an adventurous enough eater that I could appreciate things like liver and kidneys, but no. I'd be fine if I never ate them again. Chef Phil wagered that you probably have to grow up eating the stuff to like it. He might be right. The only liver I ever had growing up was from the bag of gizzards my dad used to throw on the grill when he barbecued chicken. And those were just small enough and soaked with marinade that I never got the sting of that liver flavor.
Kidney

Tongues, feet, and sweetbreads, although not really organs, all fall into the organ category for cooking. I can appreciate tongue. I think it's one of those things that should be served alongside all other meats at restaurants. It's really soft and tender when cooked right, and I think just the fact that it's tongue, grosses people out. I first had cow tongue prepared by Omar's grandma a couple of years ago. His family watched expectantly as I tried it, thinking I'd gag and wonder why they'd eat such a thing. I actually really enjoyed it and now anytime I see it on a menu, I get it. Especially in tacos! Mm!
Lamb Tongue

Unfortunately we didn't get to play with any feet in class. I'm really curious about pig's feet and chicken feet and don't remember ever trying them. We did have sweetbreads, though. They're actually an animal's thymus gland, and how they came to be known as "sweetbreads" is sort of a mystery. We made sweetbreads from calves, which tend to be larger because they shrink as the cow grows.


Soft, gelatinous, but with no weird aftertaste. We strayed from the book when we cooked them, covered in panko bread crumbs and pan fried. Yum!
After all the organ cooking, we had time to practice tournage. And my partner had enough time to carve this cute little potato penguin: