Strange Dishes Common in Our House

I

imp

Senior Member
WARNING! Contains graphic text. May be repugnant to some readers.

This type of food fare came across the pond with my Grandparents and their children, who carried on the tradition. Among the more unusual, bizarre to traditional American palates, were Beef Tongue, Kidneys, "Sweetbreads" (pancreas), Beef Brains.

My Dad was in ecstacy, upon learning after a hard day in the Machine Shop, dinner was "tongue". My Mother knew full-well how to keep his rather short fuse extinguished: food worked. A beef tongue is a huge muscular piece of meat, containing no "marbling" like steak, but cuts and chews as easily as cold butter. The critter's "working surface" of the organ is a thick, inedible, leathery covering which must be removed before cooking.

How does one cook such a succulent piece of meat? I think she browned it in butter, like any steak, maybe allowed it to simmer awhile to cook "through", then cut it into bite-sized chunks to be included in a broth of soup, sometimes containing barley, but usually a thick mix of "Dill gravy", which imparted a distinct but not unfavorable flavor. How the old man's eyes shone! I found the meal to be a treat, too! Almost pure protein, smooth-eating, tasty, all ya gotta do is get past the negative thoughts about the stuff's source. imp
 

jujube said:
My grandfather always kept a big jar of pickled pig's feet in the refrigerator. When I'd have to get into the refrigerator for something, I'd close my eyes and feel around, rather than have to look at that jar. Pickled pig's feet are not attractive in the least.
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:lofl: I spit my tea out.
 

Grandpa also loved "Blind Robins". They were heavily-salted (and who know what the heck else was in there) and dried small whole fish (head and all)...herrings?.... that came sealed in a cellophane package. They looked awful and they stunk to high heaven.

He liked pickled eggs, too. Another reason to grope around in the refrigerator with my eyes closed. Now, I'll have to admit that I'm partial to a well-pickled egg once or twice a decade, but appetizing-looking they're not, especially when they're picked in a green brine instead of colored with beet juice.

Grandma used to slice, bread and fry up beef brains. Now that is something I have yet to develop a taste for. I have, however, eaten Rocky Mountain Oysters (bull testicles) and Lamb Fries (ditto for the lambs) but the experience wasn't repeated.

Oh, and I ate roasted grubs in Ecuador. They were delicious. The "lemon ants" were tasty, too.
 
jujube said:
Grandpa also loved "Blind Robins". They were heavily-salted (and who know what the heck else was in there) and dried small whole fish (head and all)...herrings?.... that came sealed in a cellophane package. They looked awful and they stunk to high heaven.

He liked pickled eggs, too. Another reason to grope around in the refrigerator with my eyes closed. Now, I'll have to admit that I'm partial to a well-pickled egg once or twice a decade, but appetizing-looking they're not, especially when they're picked in a green brine instead of colored with beet juice.

Grandma used to slice, bread and fry up beef brains. Now that is something I have yet to develop a taste for. I have, however, eaten Rocky Mountain Oysters (bull testicles) and Lamb Fries (ditto for the lambs) but the experience wasn't repeated.

Oh, and I ate roasted grubs in Ecuador. They were delicious. The "lemon ants" were tasty, too.
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wow, jujube..I'm not able to appreciate all those delicacies. I think some things are an acquired taste...I remember eating potted meat mixed with mayo as a sandwich as a child. I never ate it since..lol.
 
jujube said:
Grandma used to slice, bread and fry up beef brains. Now that is something I have yet to develop a taste for. I have, however, eaten Rocky Mountain Oysters (bull testicles) and Lamb Fries (ditto for the lambs) but the experience wasn't repeated.

Oh, and I ate roasted grubs in Ecuador. They were delicious. The "lemon ants" were tasty, too.
Click to expand...

Brains were to be one of my follow-ups. My Mother served them cooked with scrambled eggs, and a bit of onion for flavor. The brains and eggs were in about a 50-50 proportion. If not well-mixed, you could not tell the brains from the eggs, anyway. Minus the eggs for moral support, brains themselves had an appearance akin to a mushy, gray-colored mass having a rubbery mouth-feel. Not one of my favorites, I think I ate the stuff out of allegiance to my Mother, and due to the novelty of it. imp
 
jujube said:
Grandpa also loved "Blind Robins". They were heavily-salted (and who know what the heck else was in there) and dried small whole fish (head and all)...herrings?.... that came sealed in a cellophane package. They looked awful and they stunk to high heaven.

He liked pickled eggs, too. Another reason to grope around in the refrigerator with my eyes closed. Now, I'll have to admit that I'm partial to a well-pickled egg once or twice a decade, but appetizing-looking they're not, especially when they're picked in a green brine instead of colored with beet juice.

Grandma used to slice, bread and fry up beef brains. Now that is something I have yet to develop a taste for. I have, however, eaten Rocky Mountain Oysters (bull testicles) and Lamb Fries (ditto for the lambs) but the experience wasn't repeated.

Oh, and I ate roasted grubs in Ecuador. They were delicious. The "lemon ants" were tasty, too.
Click to expand...

I just wanted to say, I wasn't laughing at your grandpa, but it was your description of you fumbling your way through the fridge with your eyes closed to avoid seeing the ghastly sounding delicacies and I use the word, delicacies, very loosely, it is an acquired taste for sure, not one I was able to muster as my mom and dad being from the south also from time to time ate such stomach churning foods including chitlings. I believe my dad even sold pickled pigs feet and or ears in his store.
 
imp said:
WARNING! Contains graphic text. May be repugnant to some readers.

This type of food fare came across the pond with my Grandparents and their children, who carried on the tradition. Among the more unusual, bizarre to traditional American palates, were Beef Tongue, Kidneys, "Sweetbreads" (pancreas), Beef Brains.

My Dad was in ecstacy, upon learning after a hard day in the Machine Shop, dinner was "tongue". My Mother knew full-well how to keep his rather short fuse extinguished: food worked. A beef tongue is a huge muscular piece of meat, containing no "marbling" like steak, but cuts and chews as easily as cold butter. The critter's "working surface" of the organ is a thick, inedible, leathery covering which must be removed before cooking.

How does one cook such a succulent piece of meat? I think she browned it in butter, like any steak, maybe allowed it to simmer awhile to cook "through", then cut it into bite-sized chunks to be included in a broth of soup, sometimes containing barley, but usually a thick mix of "Dill gravy", which imparted a distinct but not unfavorable flavor. How the old man's eyes shone! I found the meal to be a treat, too! Almost pure protein, smooth-eating, tasty, all ya gotta do is get past the negative thoughts about the stuff's source. imp
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Imp! I love tongue!

Beiing Greek,I would tell coworkers that nothing goes to waste from a lamb at Easter.
They thought I was joking,lol
 
Squirrel, anyone? Or?

The old man asked often for..... kidney. Asked, but never got. Finally, once, my Mother bought some, beef they were, and commenced cooking them mid-afternoon. Pretty quickly, the stench became unbearable, for me, anyway. By the time he got home from work, my Dad appeared much happier than usual; he had smelled the permeation of piss odor emitted through the open kitchen window as he drove in the driveway!

He ate the kidneys happily, the two of us, Mother and child, passed. I don't think I ate at all for a couple of days after that. Cook some up, if yer on a diet! imp
 
Lol
I was the only one in my family,other than an uncle,who loves Patsa,llol
He used to pick me up every Sunday to go eat with him.

Not everyone can eat some traditional foods.
 
vickyNightowl said:
Lol

Yes,with the tongue ,you need to peel off the tastebuds,other parts are edible right away,like the brain and eyeballs. :)
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Ugh. And I thought cracking open an egg was traumatic ...

I used to hang out in NYC's Chinatown quite a bit - for over 15 years, in fact - and could never get used to the things that hung in the windows of their butcher shops.
 
SifuPhil said:
Ugh. And I thought cracking open an egg was traumatic ...

I used to hang out in NYC's Chinatown quite a bit - for over 15 years, in fact - and could never get used to the things that hung in the windows of their butcher shops.
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Oh yes, it sure can be or it used to be for me, that long white thing aka, chalaza, trailing from the yolk used to make me nauseous.
 
imp said:
WARNING! Contains graphic text. May be repugnant to some readers.

This type of food fare came across the pond with my Grandparents and their children, who carried on the tradition. Among the more unusual, bizarre to traditional American palates, were Beef Tongue, Kidneys, "Sweetbreads" (pancreas), Beef Brains.

My Dad was in ecstacy, upon learning after a hard day in the Machine Shop, dinner was "tongue". My Mother knew full-well how to keep his rather short fuse extinguished: food worked. A beef tongue is a huge muscular piece of meat, containing no "marbling" like steak, but cuts and chews as easily as cold butter. The critter's "working surface" of the organ is a thick, inedible, leathery covering which must be removed before cooking.

How does one cook such a succulent piece of meat? I think she browned it in butter, like any steak, maybe allowed it to simmer awhile to cook "through", then cut it into bite-sized chunks to be included in a broth of soup, sometimes containing barley, but usually a thick mix of "Dill gravy", which imparted a distinct but not unfavorable flavor. How the old man's eyes shone! I found the meal to be a treat, too! Almost pure protein, smooth-eating, tasty, all ya gotta do is get past the negative thoughts about the stuff's source. imp
Click to expand...

I will pass on all that stuff, thanks!
 
vickyNightowl said:
Yes,it's a Greek word meaning 'hailstone', I did not know it is the word used for the egg thingy!
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I'm sure that would be a suitable description that most people can relate to. Not sure what the fuss is over a word not found in some people's vocabulary.

But it this helps:

The chalaza (/kəˈleɪzə/; from Greek χάλαζα "hailstone"; plural chalazas or chalazae) is a structure inside bird and reptile eggs and plant ovules. It attaches or suspends the yolk or nucellus within the larger structure.

http://collegiatecook.com/2012/01/30/should-you-remove-the-chalaza-from-an-egg-before-baking/
 

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