Variety and Game Meats

Classification and Characteristics of Variety Meats

• Definition: Variety meats, or offal, consist of organs, glands, and other meats that are not part of the dressed carcass of an animal.

• Primary Categories:

  • Glandular Meats: These include liver, kidneys, sweetbreads, and brains.

  • Muscle Meats: These include heart, tongue, tripe, and oxtails.

• Key Differences Between Categories:

  • Texture and Cooking: Glandular meats do not consist of muscle tissue bundles. They are naturally tender and do not require long, slow cooking. If they become dry or tough, it is typically a result of overcooking. In contrast, muscle variety meats are tough and require long simmering or braising to become tender.

  • Perishability: Glandular meats are highly perishable. While some carcass meats benefit from aging, organ meats must be used very fresh. Liver, sweetbreads, and brains should be used within $1$ to $2$ days of purchase. If sweetbreads or brains must be held longer, they should be blanched to extend their shelf life by another day or two.

Liver: Varieties and Preparation

• Types of Liver:

  • Calf's Liver: Most prized due to its tender texture and delicate flavor. It is identified by its pale, pinkish color. Common cooking methods include pan-frying, sautéing, or broiling.

  • Beef Liver: Darker in color, stronger in flavor, and tougher than calf's liver. It is often pan-fried, broiled, or braised.

  • Pork Liver: Primarily used for processed items like pâtés and sausages.

• Preparation Steps:

  • Remove the outer skin and any tough membranes.

  • Slice on the bias approximately $\frac{1}{4}$ inch ($0.5\,cm$) thick. Slicing is easier when the liver is partially frozen.

• Cooking Guidelines:

  • Cook to order; do not prepare ahead of time.

  • Broiling: Brush with or dip in oil or melted butter before following basic meat broiling procedures.

  • Pan-frying/Sautéing: Dredge in seasoned flour and cook in fat over moderately high heat.

  • Doneness: Liver should remain slightly pink inside to stay moist. Overcooking results in a very dry product. Standard service often includes bacon, French-fried or smothered onions, or seasoned butter.

Kidneys: Selection and Cooking Pitfalls

• Market Varieties:

  • Veal Kidneys: Weigh $8$ to $12\,oz$ ($225$ to $350\,g$). Highly popular in upscale restaurants, usually sautéed or broiled.

  • Lamb Kidneys: Very small, weighing $1\frac{1}{2}$ to $3\,oz$ ($40$ to $85\,g$). Often used in mixed grills or broiled.

  • Beef Kidneys: Tougher with a stronger flavor; typically braised and used in dishes like steak and kidney pie.

• Preparation:

  • Pull away surrounding fat (suet) by hand and use a knife to remove fat from the core where ducts emerge.

  • Lamb Kidneys: Butterflied by splitting almost in half from the curved/convex side, spread open, and skewered for even broiling.

  • Veal Kidneys: For sautéing, split in half, remove white central ducts, and cut into large dice or thick slices.

• Cooking Pitfalls:

  • Toughness: Kidneys become rubbery if overcooked. They should remain pink in the middle.

  • Moisture Content: High moisture can cause kidneys to boil in their own juices rather than sauté. Use a very hot pan and do not overcrowd it.

  • Sautéing Strategy: Brown lightly and remove while rare. Deglaze the pan and prepare the sauce separately. Drain any released juices and add them back to the sauce if the flavor is not too strong. Recombine the kidneys and sauce just to warm them gently before immediate service.

Sweetbreads and Brains: Specialized Preparation

• Sweetbreads:

  • Definition: The thymus glands of calves and young beef animals; the gland disappears as the animal matures.

  • Culinary Profile: Mild flavor, delicate texture, and considered a delicacy. Usually braised or breaded and sautéed in butter.

  • Pre-cooking Procedure:

    1. Soak in cold water for several hours or overnight to remove blood (prevents darkening).

    2. Blanch in simmering salted water for $10$ minutes. Lemon juice or vinegar may be added to maintain whiteness and firmness.

    3. Refresh in cold water and peel off membranes/connective tissue.

    4. Press between two trays with a light weight and refrigerate for several hours (may be wrapped in cheesecloth).

  • Final Prep: Leave whole or dice for braising; split horizontally and use Standard Breading Procedure or flour for sautéing.

• Brains:

  • Characteristics: Delicate flavor and texture, extremely fragile and perishable. Calf's brains are most common.

  • Preparation Procedure:

    1. Soak in fresh water similarly to sweetbreads.

    2. Peel off the outer membrane (before or after poaching).

    3. Poach for $20$ minutes in court bouillon ($1\,oz$/$25\,mL$ lemon juice or vinegar, $1\,pt$/$500\,mL$ salted water, and a bouquet garni).

    4. Serve hot with black butter or cool for deep-frying with tomato sauce.

Miscellaneous Variety Meats: Heart, Tongue, Oxtails, and Tripe

• Heart: Very tough and lean. Requires braising or simmering. Coarse fibers and veins must be trimmed from the top and interior before cooking. It can also be ground for meatloaf or casseroles.

• Tongue: Popular cold and sliced for sandwiches. Available fresh, pickled, or smoked. Simmer until tender, then remove the skin and trim gristle at the base before slicing.

• Oxtails: High in gelatin and flavor, ideal for soups and stews. Disjoint using a French knife or butcher knife at the joints; avoid using a cleaver to prevent bone splintering.

• Tripe: Muscular stomach lining of cattle.

  • Honeycomb Tripe: From the second stomach; most widely available.

  • Gras-double: A smooth French variety of tripe.

  • Preparation: Remove fat lumps and blanch in salted water for $5$ to $10$ minutes to freshen. Even though often purchased partially cooked, it requires several hours of simmering to reach a tender, gelatinous texture. Undercooked tripe is chewy and rubbery.

Intestines, Caul, and Feet

• Intestines:

  • Primarily used as sausage casings.

  • Chitterlings: Pork intestines prepared like tripe (blanched/simmered then braised/fried). They shrink significantly; $10\,lb$ ($4.5\,kg$) of raw material yields only $3\,lb$ ($1.3\,kg$) or less of finished product.

• Caul:

  • A lacy, fatty membrane covering a pig's stomach.

  • Used to line terrines or wrap forcemeats (crépinettes) to hold shape and retain moisture. It is preferred over fatback as it melts away almost entirely during cooking.

• Feet:

  • Extremely rich in gelatin. Used to add body to stocks, soups, and stews (e.g., Tripes à la Mode de Caen).

  • Younger animals' feet have more gelatin than older ones. Two pig's feet can generally substitute for one calf's foot.

Game and Specialty Meats: Definitions and Regulations

• Definitions:

  • Game: Refers to poultry and meat animals normally found in the wild.

  • Commercial Game: Most "wild" game in restaurants is actually farm-raised (e.g., venison farms).

• Inspection: The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) mandates inspection for wholesomeness of farm-raised game. Legally hunted wild game cannot be sold.

• French Culinary Terminology for Game:

  • Chevreuil: Roe deer (prized European variety).

  • Cerf: Red deer (often farm-raised).

  • Daim: Fallow deer (often farm-raised).

  • Marcassin: Young boar (under $6$ months).

  • Sanglier: Boar.

  • Lapin/Lapereau: Rabbit/Young rabbit.

  • Lièvre/Levraut: Hare/Young hare.

  • Venaison: Meat of any game animal.

Venison: Flavor, Fat, and Fabrication

• Characteristics: Farm-raised venison is milder and lacks the "gamy" flavor of wild venison. It is very low in fat, making it healthy but prone to drying out.

• Marination: Commercial venison is naturally tender and does not require long marination for tenderizing, though quick marinades ($30$ minutes to $4$ hours) are used for flavor.

• Cooking by Cut:

  • Loin and Leg: Best for dry-heat methods (sauté, pan-fry, broil, roast). Should be served medium-done to avoid dryness.

  • Shoulder, Neck, and Breast: Higher in connective tissue and gelatin; best for braising, stewing, or grinding.

• Market Weights:

  • Whole boneless leg: $5$ to $10\,lb$ ($2$ to $4.5\,kg$).

  • Bone-in saddle: $5$ to $20\,lb$ ($2.3$ to $9\,kg$).

Boar, Rabbit, and Other Game

• Boar: A type of wild pig. Leaner and richer than domestic pork. Must be cooked well-done, which poses a risk of dryness. Loins are suited for roasting/sautéing, while legs/hams are better for braising. Often marinated in red wine to accentuate game flavor.

• Rabbit: Versatile meat similar to chicken but leaner and more flavorful. Best when small ($3\,lb$/$1.5\,kg$ or less). Older rabbits ($4$ to $5\,lb$) are tougher. Structure is comprised of hind legs, forelegs, and the saddle (back).

• Hare: Dark reddish-brown, gamy flesh. Best at $7$ to $8$ months and $6\,lb$ ($2.7\,kg$). Very lean; must remain rare or pink when roasted.

• Other Large Game:

  • Elk, Caribou, Moose, Antelope: Handled similarly to venison. Larger animals like moose may require longer cooking times.

  • Buffalo (American Bison): Handled like beef but is richer, lower in fat, and lower in cholesterol.

Classic Preparation: Roast Saddle of Hare

• This procedure is also the classic treatment for roast venison:

  1. Marinate the saddle in red wine marinade.

  2. Brown on the stovetop and roast at $425^{\circ}F$ ($220^{\circ}C$) for approximately $15$ minutes until rare or medium-done.

  3. Remove loin muscles from the bone and slice lengthwise; leave tenderloins whole or slice.

  4. Serve with poîvrade sauce.

Questions & Discussion

• Question: What is the difference between glandular variety meats and muscular variety meats? List the most important types of each.

  • Answer: Glandular meats are internal organs or glands that lack muscle fiber bundles, making them naturally tender and highly perishable. They include liver, kidneys, sweetbreads, and brains. Muscular variety meats consist of muscle tissue similar to the carcass but are very tough. They include heart, tongue, tripe, and oxtails.

• Question: Muscular variety meats are nearly always cooked by what cooking methods? Why?

  • Answer: They are cooked by long, slow simmering or braising because they are naturally tough and require extended cooking to break down connective tissue into a tender texture.

• Question: What are the most appropriate cooking methods for liver?

  • Answer: Pan-frying, sautéing, or broiling to keep the product moist and slightly pink inside.

• Question: How are sweetbreads prepared for cooking?

  • Answer: They must be soaked to remove blood, blanched in simmering water with acid (lemon/vinegar), refreshed in cold water to peel membranes, and pressed under a weight while refrigerated.

• Question: How are oxtails disjointed?

  • Answer: They should be cut at the joints with a French knife or butcher knife. A cleaver should not be used because it can splinter the bones.