Now that I’ve been perusing French cookbooks for about ten years, I can say that I’ve seen all sorts of recipes. Some are simple, some are complicated. Some are expensive to prepare, some cost next to nothing. Some can be done at the last minute, others require many days. Some use common ingredients, others are a bit more exotic. Maybe exotic isn’t the best word to describe abats, or offal. But what term would be best for the parts of the animal that most people nowadays don’t want to eat: tongues, kidneys, livers, hearts, ears, tails, stomachs, and the like?

Early cookbooks, such as Apicius,1 a Roman cookbook from the 4th century, are resplendent with offal dishes. Brains, livers, and hearts are all featured. Old French cookbooks also include many offal dishes. The peak of offal popularity possibly coincides with the 1938 edition of Larousse gastronomique2 which includes many, many recipes for every type of offal. But sadly, by the time the millennium edition3 of the same book was released, the volume of offal recipes is diminished, or it is hard to count them because they are no longer all gathered together in one place; the recipes are now organized by major ingredient. The Larousse gastronomique remains the best, current reference for offal recipes that I have found available in French publications. Additionally, I found one specialty book on testicles,4 but I haven’t found a book specifically for kidneys or ears.

What constitutes offal in French cooking? The current Larousse gastronomique has a detailed list we can use as a guide:

White Offal
Name (French) Name (English) Animal(s)
fraise no English equivalent: the connecting membrane of veal intestines veal
gras-double tripe from the first stomach, sometimes called blanket or flat tripe beef
oreilles ears pork, veal
pansette base of the tripe from the first stomach, sometimes called blanket or flat tripe lamb, veal
pieds feet beef, lamb, pork, sheep, veal
tête head beef, pork, sheep, veal
tripes tripe, but can also mean intestines beef, sheep
Red Offal
Name (French) Name (English) Animal(s)
amourettes spinal marrow beef, sheep, veal
animelles ou rognons blanc testicles beef (bulls), lamb (rams),
sheep (rams)
cervelle brains beef, lamb, pork, veal
cœur heart beef, lamb, pork, veal
foie liver beef, lamb, pork, veal
joue checks beef, lamb, pork, sheep, veal
langue tongue beef, lamb, pork, sheep, veal
museau muzzle or snout beef, pork
queue tail beef, lamb, pork, veal
ris sweetbreads calves, lamb, veal
rognons kidneys beef, lamb, pork, sheep, veal

But when attempting to prepare the odd offal recipes that you may encounter, it may turn out that it is easier to get the recipe than the key ingredient. This was my experience when I set out to write this article and test offal recipes. The store that used to have pig’s ears on the shelf all the time now doesn’t. The only way I could get lamb testicles was to buy a 25-pound box at $10 per pound—so I didn’t. But there was a bright side too. A rancher from the other end of the state was now selling lamb offal at one of our local farmer’s markets. In the end I was able to prepare a dozen dishes to add to the offal recipes already on this web site.

My favorite offal on the list—one that I’ve enjoyed since I was a kid—is sweetbreads. I’d prepare this gland more often, but it is a bit expensive—the most expensive of any of the offal tested for this article. The recipe, ris de veau aux champignons et aux fèves, consists of thick slices of sweetbread, dusted with flour and pan-fried until golden and slightly crisp. These are served over a mixture of mushrooms and fava beans. The results are quite colorful and tasty.

Tongue is another offal that I’ve been eating since I was young. My mother would purchase a pickled tongue and then simmer it for a long time until tender. We would eat it sliced with mustard for dinner and then I’d have the leftovers cold, on sandwiches, for a couple of days to follow. I especially liked it when the sandwiches were made on rye bread and included thin dill pickle slices. Three different animals—beef, lamb, and pork—were used in the four tongue recipes tested for this article. Although there is a difference in size between the various animal tongues, their flavor tends to be fairly similar. In some of the older books where I found tongue recipes it was noted that the animal was somewhat interchangeable. I decided to brine the tongues for all the recipes, not because the recipes called for it, but because I prefer the color: reddish pink versus grayish brown. The completed dishes simply look more appealing to me.

Both langues de porc braisées and langue de veau bourgeoise are examples of tongue that has been simply cooked, sliced, and served with a sauce, possibly the most common way to serve tongue. Mille-feuille de langue de bœuf is an example of an attractive dish that can be created from leftover tongue. Finally, salade de langue d’agneau, is a salad prepared with cold, cooked (but not leftover) lamb tongue.

The most fun offal dish to prepare was the soufflé de cervelle de porc à l’épinards. It was actually quite tasty, but it was fun to gross out my friends by telling them what I was fixing for dinner. I didn’t tell my recipe tester what the dish was before she tried it and said that she liked it. If the concept of pureeing pig’s brains by forcing them through a sieve turns you off, you probably should skip making this dish.

I was once at a two-star restaurant where one of their specialties was a whole, roasted veal kidney. The kidney had been cooked in the fat that naturally encased it. During the mad-cow scare days, the government in France outlawed the sale of veal kidneys encased in fat; I don’t know if this is still the case. During the prohibition, I knew a couple of chefs who would no longer buy kidneys because the fat was not attached. In the U.S., my problems are different. Kidneys of any kind can be difficult to find at times and sometimes they have not been purged properly, requiring me to get the urine odor out myself. Because local laws require that the interior of all kidneys be inspected, there’s always a slash in one side that may or may not affect the preparation. I did manage to get pork and lamb kidneys for the two recipes included with this article: rognons d’agneau à la Villandry and rognons de porc en casserole dijonnaise.

I remember my father, a traveling salesman, eating tripe once in a while when I traveled with him while he made business calls in the Central Valley of California. We were probably eating lunch at restaurants that catered to Portuguese farmers, but I don’t remember for sure. I never tried tripe until much, maybe 40 years, later. I liked it immediately. I was in Lyon, where butchers sell tripe precooked and ready to use. At one of my local Mexican markets, I can buy three different types of uncooked tripe: two from the first stomach and one from the second. Gras-double à la lyonnaise is a delightful and simple mixture of tripe and onion strips, both fried until brown and a little crispy, made with tripe from the paunch of the first stomach.

Liver is one bit of offal that most people remember from their childhood as tasting yucky and being as tough as shoe leather. My childhood memories are similar, but somehow as an adult, I’ve learned to love, and cook, liver that is at the most just pink inside and not chewy at all. In France I’ve been served thick slices of liver that was still cold on the interior. (Anyone for liver sushi?) Chances are that if you are buying liver already sliced, it will be difficult to undercook it because it will be sliced very thin. To prepare liver for French dishes, the liver should be about a centimeter (3/8-inch) thick. That is certainly the case for the two liver recipes herein: foie d’agneau grillé à la Bercy and foie grillé béarnaise. I used lamb liver for both because I was able to obtain thick slices, but veal, baby beef, or pork liver would work for both.

The last piece of offal I was able to obtain was pork hearts. The heart is just a muscle, albeit one that is used more than any other, and that’s what it tastes like. Also there’s essentially no fat in the muscle so it requires long, moist cooking to begin to tenderize it; although it will never become fork tender. And that’s exactly how cœur de porc braisée is prepared—long and slow.

You may be put off by offal dishes, but I’d definitely recommend giving a few a try. You may find that they are worth the effort, both to obtain the raw ingredients and to prepare them.

HOME
1.
Joseph Dommers Vehling, Apicius: Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome. Chicago: Walter M. Hill, 1936; reprint, Dover Publications, Inc., New York, 1977.
2.
Prosper Montagné, Larousse gastronomique. Paris: Librairie Larousse, 1938. In French.
3.
Patrice Maubourguet (ed), Larousse gastronomique. Paris: Larousse-Bordas, 1996. In French.
4.
Blandine Vié, Testicules. Paris: Les Éditions de l’Épure, 2005. In French.
©2007, 2014 Peter Hertzmann. All rights reserved.
ris de veau aux champignons et aux fèves
500 g (1.1 lb)
veal sweetbreads
4 T
unsalted butter
100 g (312 oz)
common mushrooms, trimmed, 3‑mm (18‑in) slices
all‑purpose flour
1 small
shallot, minced
130 ml (12 c)
dry white vermouth
200 ml (78 c)
heavy cream
fine salt and freshly ground black pepper
150 g (514 oz)
shucked, peeled, lightly cooked fava beans
1. 
Place the sweetbreads in a saucepan along with salted water and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat and simmer the sweetbreads for about 5 minutes. Drain and refresh in an ice‑water bath. Drain the sweetbreads on absorbent paper and then trim any thick pieces of gristle. Slice the sweetbreads into about 4 thick slices. Set aside on absorbent paper until needed.
2. 
Preheat the oven 75°C (170°F). Preheat a platter or baking sheet.
3. 
Heat 1 T butter in a small frying pan over medium‑low heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until soft. Set the mushrooms aside in the warm oven.
4. 
Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Lightly dust the sweetbread slices with flour and fry them until golden on both sides. Transfer the cooked slices to the heated platter, and set aside in the oven.
5. 
In the fat remaining in the frying pan, sweat the shallots until they are translucent. Deglaze the frying pan with the vermouth. Increase the heat to high and reduce the vermouth by half. Add the cream and reduce slightly. Season the sauce with salt and pepper. Add the cooked mushrooms and fava beans, and heat through.
6. 
Divide the mushrooms and beans between heated serving plates. Arrange a couple of sweetbread slices on each portion.
Yield: 2 servings.
Ref: Georges Blanc, Ma Cuisine des Saisons, 1987, page 73.
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©2007, 2014 Peter Hertzmann. All rights reserved.
langues de porc braisées
2, about 300 to 400 g (10 to 14 oz) each,
pork tongues (see note below)
4 T
unsalted butter
50 ml (313 T)
cognac
about 114 l (113 qt)
veal stock
fine salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. 
Blanch the tongues in boiling, salted water for 5 minutes. Drain well. Using a long fork to hold each tongue, peel the tongue with a small knife.
2. 
Preheat oven to 160°C (320°F).
3. 
Melt 2 T butter in a saucepan over high heat. Add the tongues and cook them in the butter until the edges are brown. Add the cognac and ignite. Add sufficient veal stock to cover the tongues. Bring the stock to a boil, cover the pot, and place the saucepan in the oven. Cook the tongues for 2 to 212 hours until they are tender.
4. 
Remove the tongues from the saucepan, set aside, and keep warm. Place the saucepan with the stock over high heat, bring to a boil, and reduce until there’s only about 100 ml (12 c) of stock left in the saucepan. Off the heat, stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.
5. 
Slice the tongues into 5‑millimeter thick slices and arrange on individual, heated serving plates. Spoon the sauce over the tongue slices and serve immediately.
Note: The tongues may be used fresh or brined for a day or so in a simple brine.
Yield: 2 servings.
Ref: Henri Babinsky [Ali‑Bab], Gastronomie Pratique, 1928, page 499.
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©2007, 2014 Peter Hertzmann. All rights reserved.
langue de veau bourgeoise
2 T
grapeseed oil
1 (about 1 kg (2.2 lb) )
calf’s tongue, fresh or brined
2 medium
carrots, peeled, 5‑cm (2‑in) long chunks
2 medium
onions, peeled, quartered
250 ml (1 c)
red Port wine
250 ml (1 c)
tomato juice
500 ml (2 c)
veal stock
1
bouquet garni, made from 3 sprigs flat‑leaf parsley, 3 sprigs fresh thyme, 1 fresh bay leaf, 1 green onion
3 medium cloves
garlic
112 T
brown rice flour, mixed into a slurry in a little water
fine salt and freshly ground black pepper
piment d’espelette
1. 
Heat the oil in a large saucepan or stockpot over high heat. Add the tongue and brown on both sides. Remove the tongue and set aside. Add the carrots and onions to the oil and brown briefly. Return the tongue to the pot. Add the wine, juice, stock, bouquet garni, and garlic. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover pot, and simmer until the tongue is tender, about 2 hours. Turn the tongue occasionally, and check the heat so that the simmer is kept low.
2. 
When the tongue is cooked, remove it from the pot and set aside. Strain the braising liquid and reserve about 250 ml (1 c) to use for the sauce. Discard the solids.
3. 
Skin the tongue and slice it into 3‑millimeter thick slices. Set aside and keep warm.
4. 
Place the reserved braising liquid in a small saucepan, mix in the rice flour slurry, and bring to a boil. Season with salt and the two peppers.
5. 
Divide the tongue slices between individual, heated serving plates. Spoon the sauce over the slices.
Yield: 4 servings.
Ref: Joseph Donon, The Classic French Cuisine, 1961, page 174.
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©2007, 2014 Peter Hertzmann. All rights reserved.
mille-feuille de langue de bœuf
225 g (8 oz)
fresh spinach, well‑cleaned
10 sequential slices
cooked beef tongue
fine salt and freshly ground black pepper
freshly ground nutmeg
175 g (6 oz)
Gruyère cheese, fine grated
34 T
unsalted butter
34 T
all‑purpose flour
125 ml
whole milk
1 t
prepared wasabi
1. 
Preheat oven to 180°C (355°F).
2. 
Blanch the spinach in well‑salted water for 10 seconds. Drain and refresh in an ice‑water bath. Squeeze all the water from the spinach and chop fine. Divide the chopped spinach into 8 portions. Set aside.
3. 
Select the first 4 tongue slices, working from large to small, and lay them out in order on a work surface. Spread a portion of the spinach evenly over each slice. Press flat. Sprinkle the spinach with a little salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Sprinkle some of the cheese on each slice. Stack the slices in order. Place the fifth slice on top and sprinkle a little cheese over that. Transfer the stack to a baking sheet.
4. 
Repeat the previous step with the remaining ingredients.
5. 
Insert a couple of skewers into the stacks of tongue to keep them upright during the baking process. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake the stacks until warmed through and the cheese is melted, about 15 minutes.
6. 
In the meantime, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes. Do not allow the flour to brown. Gradually mix in the milk and bring to a low boil. When the sauce is thick and smooth, add the prepared wasabi. Simmer the sauce until the tongue is ready to serve.
7. 
Place a tongue stack on each serving plate. Spoon the sauce around the stacks. Serve immediately.
Yield: 2 servings.
Ref: very loosely adapted from William I. Kaufman, Cooking in a Castle, 1965, page 80.
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©2007, 2014 Peter Hertzmann. All rights reserved.
salade de langue d’agneau
4 portions
salad greens, torn into bite‑sized pieces
fine salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
14 medium
red onion, very thinly sliced
1 large
green onion, finely minced
4
lamb’s tongues, pickled 1 day, cooked, cooled, and sliced (prepare similar to langue à l’écarlate
vinaigrette:
12 T
Dijon‑style mustard
1 T
red wine vinegar
4 T
extra‑virgin olive oil
1. 
Prepare the vinaigrette: Whisk the mustard and vinegar together until blended. Whisk in the oil and continue whisking until the vinaigrette is emulsified.
2. 
Place the salad greens in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Strew the red and green onions over the greens. Pour about three‑fourths of the vinaigrette over the greens and mix gently.
3. 
Divide the greens between individual serving plates. Arrange one sliced tongue on each serving. Spoon the remaining vinaigrette over the tongue pieces.
Yield: 4 servings.
Ref: Similar to a dish eaten at Bistro Jeanty, Yountville, CA, 1999.
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©2007, 2014 Peter Hertzmann. All rights reserved.
soufflé de cervelle de porc à l’épinards
30 ml (2 T)
dry white wine
150 ml (58 c)
water
12
carrot, peeled, thickly sliced
14 medium
onion, peeled
1 sprig
fresh thyme
1
fresh bay leaf
12 T
coarse salt
175 g (6 oz)
pork brains, disgorged
10 g (2 t)
unsalted butter
5 g (1 t)
all‑purpose flour
100 ml (100 ml)
whole milk
2
eggs, separated
30 g (1 oz)
fresh spinach, chiffonade
fine salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. 
Prepare a court bouillon from the wine, water, carrot, onion, thyme, bay leaf, and coarse salt. Simmer for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.
2. 
Drain the brains and add to the court bouillon. Poach the brains for about 6 minutes. Drain the brains and refresh in an ice‑water bath. Puree the brains through a fine sieve. Set aside. Discard the court bouillon.
3. 
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the flour and mix. Slowly cook for about 10 minutes. Whisk in the milk and simmer for 15 minutes. Off the heat, mix in the pureed brains with a spatula. Mix in the egg yolks followed by the spinach. Season with salt and pepper.
4. 
In the meantime, whisk the egg whites until firm.
5. 
Liberally brush four 200‑ml (7‑oz) ramekins with unsalted butter. Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).
6. 
Carefully fold the puree mixture into the egg whites. Spoon this mixture into the ramekins until they are about three‑quarters full. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and place the baking sheet in the center of the oven. Bake the souffles for about 15 minutes.
7. 
Remove the souffles from the ramekins and serve immediately after they are removed from the oven.
Yield: 4 servings.
Ref: Guy Martin, Toute la cuisine, 2003, page 522.
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©2007, 2014 Peter Hertzmann. All rights reserved.
rognons d’agneau à la Villandry
4
lamb kidneys, cleaned and skinned
100 g (312 oz)
finely ground pork
fine salt and freshly ground black pepper
quatre‑épices
4 slices
smoky bacon
4 t
soft unsalted butter
3 T
marc de Touraine (or other eau de vie)
3 T
heavy cream
1. 
Preheat oven to 230°C (445°F).
2. 
Remove the hard, white calyx from each kidney with scissors. Open a deep pocket in each kidney without breaking through to the outer surface.
3. 
Combine the ground pork with a decent pinch each of salt, pepper, and quatre‑épices. Stuff the pocket in each kidney with some of the pork mixture. Wrap each stuffed kidney with a slice of bacon and tie into place with a piece of string. Set the kidney packages in a single layer in a lightly greased roasting pan. Place a teaspoon of butter on the top of each kidney package.
4. 
Place the roasting pan in the oven and bake until the kidneys are mostly cooked, about 15 minutes.
5. 
When cooked, place the kidneys on a heated plate, set aside, and keep warm. Pour the grease out of the roasting pan and place the pan over high heat. Add the marc, ignite, and deglaze the pan. Add the cream, bring to a boil, lower heat slightly, and reduce until thickened slightly. Season with salt and pepper.
6. 
Divide the kidneys between heat serving plates and spoon the sauce over the top.
Yield: 2 servings.
Ref: Curnonsky [Maurice‑Edmond Sailland], Cuisine et vins de France, 1953, page 371.
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©2007, 2014 Peter Hertzmann. All rights reserved.
rognons de porc en casserole dijonnaise
2
pork kidneys, cleaned and skinned
3 T
unsalted butter
75 g (212 oz)
common mushrooms, trimmed, 3‑mm (18‑in) slices
fine salt and freshly ground black pepper
freshly ground nutmeg
60 ml (4 T)
heavy cream
1 t
Dijon‑style mustard
1 t each
minced fresh flat‑leaf parsley, green onion, and fresh thyme
1 t
balsamic vinegar
12 t
Worcestershire sauce
12 t
Tabasco sauce
1. 
Cut each kidney horizontally into two thick slices. Remove all the white interior of each slice with scissors. Drain the kidneys on absorbent paper.
2. 
Preheat oven to 180°C (355°F). Liberally grease a shallow baking dish with butter.
3. 
Heat 1 T butter in a small frying pan over medium‑low heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until soft. Set the mushrooms aside.
4. 
Heat 2 T butter in a frying pan over medium‑high heat. Season the kidney slices with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the kidneys to the frying pan and brown. Transfer the slices to the baking dish. Distribute the mushrooms over the kidney slices.
5. 
Discard any liquid in the frying pan and add the cream and mustard. Stir to dissolve the mustard. Add the herbs, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco sauce. Season with salt. When everything comes to a boil, spoon the solids from the sauce over the kidneys and pour the liquid over the tops.
6. 
Place the baking dish in the oven and cook for 15 minutes.
7. 
To serve, carefully place two kidney halves on each serving plate. Spoon some of the sauce over the top.
Yield: 2 servings.
Ref: William I. Kaufman, Cooking in a Castle, 1965, page 69.
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©2007, 2014 Peter Hertzmann. All rights reserved.
gras-double à la lyonnaise
3 T
rendered pork fat
500 g (118 lb)
tripe, from the paunch, cooked, cut into 3‑mm (18‑in) wide by 6‑cm (238‑in) long shreds, see note
500 g (118 lb)
onions, peeled, thinly sliced lengthwise
fine salt
1 T
white wine vinegar
2 T
minced fresh flat‑leaf parsley
1. 
Melt half the fat in each of 2 medium frying pans over high heat. Add the tripe to one pan and the onions to the other. Season the onions with some salt. Tossing and stirring often, fry both until browned. The tripe should become slightly crispy.
2. 
Add the tripe to the onions and mix. Add the vinegar and mix. Add the parsley and mix.
3. 
Divide the tripe and onion mixture between individual, heated serving plates.
Note: If the tripe is not available pre‑cooked, simmer the tripe as a single piece in heavily salted (10 g per l [13 oz per qt]) water for 5 hours. Refresh in cold water. Drain well and roll up. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed. The tripe will weigh about 30 percent less after cooking.
Yield: 4 servings.
Ref: Marie Ebrard, Le Livre de cuisine de Mme. E. Saint‑Ange: recettes et méthodes de la bonne cuisine française. 1927, page 490.
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©2007, 2014 Peter Hertzmann. All rights reserved.
foie d’agneau grillé à la Bercy
about 75 g (about 12 c)
all‑purpose flour
fine salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
350 g (34 lb)
lamb liver, 1‑cm (38‑in) thick slices
2 T
unsalted butter
sauce Bercy:
1 small
shallot, peeled and minced
60 ml (4 T)
dry white wine
55 g (4 T)
chilled butter, diced
2 t
lemon juice
fine salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 T
flat‑leaf parsley, minced
1. 
Mix the flour with the salt and pepper, and place on a plate. Dredge the lamb slices through the flour and shake off any excess. Set the slices aside on a clean plate.
2. 
Preheat the oven to 75°C (170°F).
3. 
Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium‑high heat. Cook the lamb slices quickly in the butter. Do not crowd the slices in the frying pan. As the first side browns, turn the slices over to brown the second side. The liver should still be pink on the interior.
4. 
As the slices are cooked, set them on preheated, individual serving plates. Set the plates aside in the warm oven.
5. 
To prepare the sauce, place the shallot and wine in a small saucepan over high heat. Reduce the wine by about half. Off the heat, whisk in the butter. Whisk very rapidly until the sauce foams. Add the lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, and stir in the parsley.
6. 
Spoon the sauce over the liver and serve.
Yield: 2 servings.
Ref: Marie Ebrard, Le Livre de cuisine de Mme. E. Saint‑Ange: recettes et méthodes de la bonne cuisine française, 1927, pages 144 and 539.
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©2007, 2014 Peter Hertzmann. All rights reserved.
foie grillé béarnaise
about 75 g (12 c)
all‑purpose flour
fine salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
350 g (34 lb)
lamb liver, 1‑cm (38‑in) thick slices
2 T
unsalted butter
2 servings
sauce béarnaise
1. 
Mix the flour with the salt and pepper, and place on a plate. Dredge the lamb slices through the flour and shake off any excess. Set the slices aside on a clean plate.
2. 
In the meantime, melt the butter in a frying pan over medium‑high heat. Cook the lamb slices quickly in the butter. Do not crowd the slices in the frying pan. As the first side browns, turn the slices over to brown the second side. The liver should still be pink on the interior.
3. 
As the slices are cooked, set them on preheated, individual serving plates. When all the liver is cooked, spoon the sauce over the liver and serve.
Yield: 2 servings.
Ref: William I. Kaufman, Cooking in a Castle, 1965, page 87.
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©2007, 2014 Peter Hertzmann. All rights reserved.
cœur de porc braisée
2, about 350 g (34 lb) each,
pork hearts
fine salt and freshly ground pepper
1 piece
caul fat
14 medium
onion, peeled, 1‑cm (38‑in) dice
1 small
carrot, peeled, 1‑cm (38‑in) thick rounds
1
bouquet garni, made from 2 sprigs thyme, 1 fresh bay leaf, 1 green onion, 3 sprigs flat‑leaf parsley
250 ml (1 c)
dry white wine
1. 
Preheat oven to 160°C (320°F).
2. 
Cut each heart horizontally into two thick slices. Cut away and discard all the connecting vessel, and surface fat. Trim any valves or adhesions left in the interiors, and rinse out any blood clots. Sprinkle both sides of the slices with salt and pepper. Reassemble the hearts and wrap each with a single layer of caul fat. Tie the fat in place with kitchen string.
3. 
Place the hearts, onion, carrot, bouquet garni, and wine in a heavy saucepan. Place the saucepan over high heat and bring the wine to a boil. Cover the saucepan and place it in the oven. Cook the hearts until tender when pierced with a fork, about 5 hours. Check the saucepan occasionally and add more wine if the pot becomes too dry.
4. 
Remove the hearts from the saucepan, remove and discard the strings, and arrange the hearts on individual heated serving plates. Spoon the cooking juices over the hearts and serve.
Yield: 2 servings.
Ref: La Mazille, La Bonne Cuisine du Périgord, 1929, page 172.
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©2007, 2014 Peter Hertzmann. All rights reserved.