What Are Sweetbreads And What Do They Taste Like?

If you're unfamiliar with sweetbreads, here's the first thing you need to know: They're neither literally sweet, nor are they a type of bread. Rather, they're a mildly flavored organ meat considered to be a delicacy in France, Germany, and throughout the Middle East. While they're rarely found in supermarkets or commonly served in the United States, sweetbreads have long been an under-the-radar favorite among chefs and diners at high-end restaurants who appreciate their gentle flavor and buttery texture.

They're also a great cut to try even if you normally dislike other organ meats. Sweetbreads lack the strong flavors that turns many eaters away from liver and kidneys, and their tender texture will appeal to those who find the chewiness of tripe and gizzards off-putting. And, as chefs have long known, they're a great vehicle for rich, flavorful sauces. Finally, as eaters concerned about the ethics and sustainability of meat have come to realize, an appreciation of lesser-known meat cuts and organ meats helps ensure no part of an animal goes to waste. So if you're curious to try sweetbreads, here's everything you need to know.

Sweetbreads can seem a bit intimidating to the uninitiated because it's nearly impossible to tell what they are just by looking at them. Raw, they're pale, pink, lumpy lobes that look a bit like brains, but flatter. (This is why some people mistakenly believe them to be brains.) When cooked, the flesh turns white, like pork, but with a soft texture some have compared to that of scallops — albeit without any visible fibers.

These mysterious lumpy lobes, however, are not brains, but rather the thymus gland or pancreas of calves, lambs, or sometimes pigs. The thymus gland, which supports disease resistance, is only active in young animals and shrinks or disappears as animals approach adulthood — so commercially available sweetbreads from thymus glands typically come from calves or lambs. The pancreas is a larger organ that produces insulin and is found in both young and mature animals. Both have similar colors and textures and are treated the same way in the kitchen.

Sweetbreads require a bit more preparation before cooking than everyday cuts of meat such as pork chops, which may be a reason they've never really caught on among American home cooks. While this preparation isn't technically difficult, it's definitely time-consuming, so a menu that includes sweetbreads requires advance planning. This is why sweetbreads are typically weekend dinner party fare rather than part of weeknight meals.

When you open your package of fresh, raw sweetbreads, you must first soak them in water, milk, or buttermilk (just as you would with liver). This ensures both a cleaner flavor and cleaner, whiter appearance when the sweetbreads are cooked. Plan on soaking them for at least a few hours. Next, you must quickly blanch the soaked sweetbreads in boiling water, then shock them in an ice bath to stop the cooking. (The meat will not be fully cooked at this point, but will be firmer.) Once they're blanched and cooled, trim off any gristle, veins, or loose membranes — basically, anything you wouldn't want to eat. At this point, many classically trained cooks will chill the sweetbreads, then press them to a uniform thickness to ensure even cooking, but this isn't always necessary. Only after this careful preparation are your sweetbreads ready for cooking.

Some people shy away from sweetbreads because they assume they're a lot like liver. But nothing could be further from the truth. While both liver and sweetbreads are organ meats, their appearance, texture, and flavor are dramatically different from each other. Raw liver, as most home cooks know, is deep red, and turns deep gray when fully cooked. In contrast, sweetbreads are pale pink when raw and creamy white when cooked.

Their flavor profiles are also remarkably different from each other. Because the liver produces bile and purifies blood, it has a distinct flavor of blood, which some cooks describe as metallic – this assertive flavor is why some people love liver, while others can't stand it. Properly prepared sweetbreads, on the other hand, are free of blood and thus lack these metallic flavor notes. They differ in texture as well — cooked properly, calf liver is firm and a bit bouncy, yet tender, but can be tough, dense, and grainy if overcooked. Sweetbreads, on the other hand, are dense yet soft when properly cooked with a smooth mouthfeel. The final big difference between liver and sweetbreads is price. There's a reason liver is seen as an everyday budget food while sweetbreads are a rare luxury: A pound of frozen calf livers can be had for as little as $3.68. while a pound of frozen sweetbreads goes for around $21 plus shipping.

If you dislike the strong, gamy flavors of some organ meats, the flavor of sweetbreads may come as a pleasant surprise — the gentle flavor of sweetbreads is more akin to white meat than that of common organ meats. Indeed, some people do perceive a slight sweetness in sweetbreads, similar to that of cooked pork. More commonly, their flavor is compared to that of butter or scallops – creamy and perhaps very slightly briny.

The flavor complements the sweetbread's equally subtle texture. When cooked properly, sweetbreads are meltingly soft and tender enough to cut with a fork. This winning combination of flavors and textures makes sweetbreads a great choice for eaters starting to explore the world of nose to tail dining: If you love the idea of reducing food waste by cooking and eating all of the animal, but still find the prospect of eating organ meats or other offal intimidating, you'll likely find sweetbreads easy to enjoy.

Among the reasons chefs love sweetbreads is that they're a great backdrop for other flavors — their own mild, agreeable flavor lets them play well with a wide range ingredients, and their melting texture makes them both a great complement to soft and creamy dishes as well as a wonderful source of contrast in crunchy fried preparations.

The most straightforward way to enjoy sweetbreads is to pan-fry them: Simply dredge cleaned and prepped sweetbreads in flour and quickly sear them in bacon fat or oil until browned on both sides, then serve on a bed of greens – even if they're wilted. They'll be crisp on the outside and tender within — a winning combination. You can also dress up your pan-fried sweetbreads with a bold sauce or topping, such as a sauteed mushrooms and herbs in a rich Madeira gravy or a sharp, simple sauce of butter, lemons, and capers. In beef-loving Argentina, cooks grill sweetbreads over an open flame along with other meats. And for a fun appetizer, try breading and deep-frying them – the contrast between the spicy, crunchy crust and buttery interior is irresistible.

Because sweetbreads haven't yet caught on with mainstream American home cooks, you're unlikely to find them on a routine pass through your supermarket's meat section. However, some supermarkets can order them for you, so ask your grocery store butcher to see if this is an option. If not, seek out a local butcher or specialty meat market. Kosher butcher shops also offer sweetbreads, and as a bonus, these will come from animals that have been humanely slaughtered according to kosher dietary codes. But if you still can't find sweetbreads locally, no worries — plenty of online purveyors offer frozen sweetbreads.

If you can find them fresh, take the time to choose the best ones. Ideally, fresh sweetbreads should be plump and smooth with a pleasant, pale color and little to no odor. Their surfaces should be moist, but not slimy. More deeply colored sweetbreads come from older animals, and thus may be stronger tasting. And once you procure your sweetbreads, plan to cook them soon — the delicate meat is quite perishable.

For fans of sweetbreads, their taste alone makes them well worth eating. But besides being a delicacy, they're a nutritional powerhouse. Like other organ meats, they contain a higher concentration of nutrients than more familiar muscle meats. As you'd expect from any meat cut, they're a good source of protein as well as minerals such as phosphorus, which strengthens the bones, and selenium, which boosts the immune system.

An unusual nutritional advantage of sweetbreads is that unlike most types of meat, they're a good source of vitamin C, with a 100-gram portion of sweetbreads delivering 57% of the recommended daily allowance. This makes them a beneficial choice if you adhere to a carnivore diet or otherwise don't get a lot of vegetables or fruit in your diet. But with all these nutritional benefits, of course there's a catch: Sweetbreads are also high in cholesterol and purines. So if you're watching your cholesterol or have a history of gout (which purines can aggravate), enjoy sweetbreads in moderation.

Many eaters find the term sweetbreads confusing for a couple of reasons. Not only does the term refer to neither sweets nor breads, it refers to two separate organs — the thymus and pancreas — that are both treated the same way by cooks. To add to the confusion, sweetbreads from the part of the thymus attached to the ribs are sometimes called heart sweetbreads — they do not contain any heart tissue, but are located close to the heart and have a compact, heart-like shape. This makes them the top choice among chefs looking for sweetbreads that will slice evenly and look good on a plate. Sweetbreads from the thymus glands located along the animal's neck are sometimes called throat sweetbreads.

French chefs have traditionally preferred sweetbreads from the thymus, which they consider softer and better tasting than pancreas sweetbreads. Lamb sweetbreads, if you can find them, are also sought after for their distinctive flavor. Sweetbreads from mature cattle are less common and a bit chewier with a more pronounced flavor than those from younger animals — but some chefs consider these features a benefit in certain recipes. And while pork sweetbreads are sometimes available, they are tougher and more greasy — and thus considered less desirable — than other varieties.

The delicate flavor and texture of sweetbreads should be enjoyed when the meat is as fresh as possible. If you buy fresh sweetbreads, you should plan to cook and eat them within a day or two at most. Keep them refrigerated (preferably at a temperature under 40 degrees Fahrenheit) until you're ready to start cooking. Should you have any leftover cooked sweetbreads, they'll keep for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

You can also freeze fresh sweetbreads, which will preserve their quality for 1 to 3 months. To keep them safe in the freezer, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, then store the wrapped sweetbreads in sealed ziplock bags. (To save an extra step later, you can also freeze them after you've cleaned and blanched them.) And when you're ready to cook frozen sweetbreads, allow enough time to thaw them in the refrigerator, rather than on your kitchen counter — this will help prevent the growth of bacteria. Finally, check stored sweetbreads for freshness before you start cooking. If they've turned from pink to gray or the surface feels slimy or sticky, they're no longer safe to eat and should be discarded.

As you've surely already gleaned, the most misleading thing about sweetbreads is their name. While from some angles a lobe of sweetbreads can resemble a badly executed breakfast pastry, their name is not thought to be related to bread as we know it today. However, appreciative fans of sweetbreads have long called their flavor subtly sweet, at least relative to the more metallic and minerally notes of red meat. The term sweetbreads first appeared in writing in the 16^th century, and historians believe the word "bread" references its Old English definition referring to animal meat of any type or simply a morsel of food.

It is unclear how long this term was in use before it first appeared in writing, but for whatever reason, it had staying power. This could well be a testament to the enduring appeal of sweetbreads' gentle flavor. And misleading as the name may be, it certainly sounds a lot more appealing on a menu than, say, sauteed pancreas or thymus.

Sweetbreads have always had their loyal fans, but like other foods, their popularity has waxed and waned over several centuries. As their name derives from Old English Their name, derived from the Old English phrase "sweet meat," is thought to have referred to the how valued sweetbreads were among long-ago English cooks. They underwent another resurgence in the 1970s, when they were so popular that English cookbook author Jane Grigson dedicated an entire chapter of her respected cookbook "Good Things" to sweetbread recipes.

After the 1970s, sweetbreads returned to culinary cult favorite status. Recently, however, they've made a quiet resurgence, appearing in new and old guises on trendy restaurant menus. The new popularity of sweetbreads represents the convergence of several food trends: First, fans of high-protein and paleo diets have discovered their nutritional benefits. Second, diners interested in nose-to-tail dining for ethical reasons find the gentle flavor of sweetbreads easier to swallow than that of more powerfully flavored offal such as kidneys or tripe. They're also relatively affordable as far as meat cuts go, and we know that their versatility makes them endearing to chefs looking to stand out with creative dishes. Considering all those factors, it's no wonder this sweet, stalwart organ meat is back in style.