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Golden brown fried sweetbreads in a pan.
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5 from 1 vote

How to Cook Lamb Sweetbreads

A basic how-to for cooking lamb sweetbreads (a gland from the neck or around the heart) are a delicacy worth trying.
Prep Time12 hours
Active Time20 minutes
Total Time12 hours 20 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine: French
Keyword: Goat, Lamb, Sweetbread
Yield: 4 People
Cost: 10

Equipment

  • 1 Saute pan
  • 1 2 quart sauce pot
  • 1 Bowl or Tupperware container for soaking the sweetbreads.

Materials

  • 1 lb Lamb sweetbreads as needed
  • Fresh ground black pepper
  • 2 cups Milk or salt water enough to cover the sweetbreads
  • Lard or cooking oil as needed for frying
  • 2 cups Seasoned all purpose flour as needed for dredging
  • 3 each Beaten eggs as needed for breading the sweetbreads
  • Kosher salt

Instructions

  • Cover the sweetbreads with milk and soak overnight in the refrigerator. Season the flour with salt and pepper.
  • The next day, bring a pot of water seasoned with salt so it tastes like the sea to a simmer, then add the sweetbreads and cook for 10 minutes. Use roughly 2 teaspoons of salt per quart of water.
  • Remove the sweetbreads and cool, then trim off tissue with a paring knife to reveal the inner meat. From here, the sweetbreads can also be crumbled into pieces and added to a dish, such as pasta. See a pasta recipe with sweetbreads here.
  • To cook the sweetbreads, have a separate bowl of beaten egg and flour ready, warm some oil in a wide pan. Dip the sweetbreads in flour, then egg, then flour again, then carefully add to the hot oil and cook until golden on each side. Serve the sweetbreads hot, any leftovers should be eaten within 24 hours.

Notes

Brains can be cooked the same as sweetbreads.