CookEat Recipe

Sweetbreads with Marsala

Small whole lamb sweetbreads lightly floured and browned in butter, then finished with a brief boil of Marsala.

Method

Steps

  1. Step 1

    Gather the ingredients: 300 g small lamb sweetbreads, professionally cleaned and trimmed for human consumption; 25 g plain flour for coating; 40 g butter; Salt and black pepper; 50 ml Marsala.

  2. Step 2

    Pat the professionally prepared small lamb sweetbreads dry and leave them whole. Coat well with flour, shaking off loose excess.

  3. Step 3

    Heat the butter in a wide frying pan over moderate heat. Add the floured sweetbreads, season with salt and pepper and brown gently on all sides. Cook until fully done to at least 72°C in the centre, about 10–15 minutes depending on size, lowering the heat as necessary to avoid burning the flour or butter.

  4. Step 4

    Add the Marsala, bring just to a brief boil and turn the cooked sweetbreads through the sauce. Serve promptly; the short wine finish comes after the sweetbreads are safely cooked.

  5. Step 5

    Madeira may replace Marsala in the same quantity. For larger veal sweetbreads, start with 300 g professionally prepared sweetbreads and simmer them in water for about 5–8 minutes until partly cooked. Drain, remove any remaining membrane, cut into pieces and immediately continue with the flour-and-butter frying until at least 72°C; do not chill or store them partly cooked. Then finish with the wine as above.

  6. Step 6

    For a separately prepared sauce, reserve 10 g of the measured butter, brown the floured sweetbreads in the remaining 30 g until fully cooked, and keep them hot. In a small pan mix an additional 1 teaspoon flour with the reserved 10 g butter, warm gently, then stir in the 50 ml Marsala and bring to a brief boil before pouring over the sweetbreads. If desired, add about 50 ml ready-to-use meat juices with the wine in either sauce method.

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