This week’s Braised Lamb Fries are a rational response to supply and demand. Even if they must be hidden.
All of my organ meats seem to be a rising commodity these days. Prices have doubled, in some cases tripled. After giving her a hard time, one farmer defended their higher prices last week by explaining to me that ‘there is only one on each animal and they’re very valuable cuts.’ I couldn’t agree more.
But in the meantime, lamb fries can still be had for a pretty good price. In fact, a little less than the former ‘organ meat’ price back when they were not differentiating and marking up more desirable cuts. Naturally, there were plenty left compared to other organs from a recent slaughter. So I bought some.
Don’t go there
It’s been a while since I cooked lamb fries actually. I know that the kids will scarf them down when breaded and fried, but I wanted to try something new. But there is one small barrier…which is that fries are one of few foods that my husband will not eat. It’s not gonna happen.
This from a man who starts his dinner every night with any leftovers from the kids lunches. He completely supports the head-to-tail, leave no waste, eat the whole animal, nutrient-density concepts. Not only does he support these concepts, he readily enjoys them in practice. He’s been gulping down liver and kidneys from the start, long before I had acquired a taste for them, and encouraging me all the while.
Unless, of course, fries are on the menu.
(No, not the ones he makes from scratch twice cooked in tallow, salted while shimmering, and served hot with gobs of homemade mayonnaise.)
Chinese medicine and other arguments
I find this fascinating. I mean, isn’t there that whole Chinese medicine thing about fortifying the body with the same organ. As a male, wouldn’t you want all the nutrients that come from fries?
For example, if you need kidney support, eat more kidneys. This has tons of logic to me. All of the nutrients needed for the kidneys to function well can be found in a nice kidney pie.
He argues it’s not needed anyway. I have to concede. But still, can you have too much of a good thing?
Half of the essential material needed for life packed into dinner? It’s not like we don’t love eggs. In fact, in some middle eastern countries, the literal translation of lamb fries amounts to ‘sheep eggs.’ Not to mention they are not at all uncommon around the world.
This is not an argument I can win. And I don’t even want to. I was happy to serve this early dinner when I knew he won’t be home anyway.
Braised Lamb Fries, or Chicken, same same
Browning lamb fries
Even though I don’t typically hide organ meats that we eat, I had a weak moment this time around. Probably something about not having full support in the house.
“Oh, is that chicken?” my oldest son asked when he walked through the kitchen. “Yep.”
Technically I didn’t say the the word ‘chicken.’ He did.
I felt bad. I think that afterwards I casually mentioned that it wasn’t chicken, it was lamb, but didn’t get into it.
Early dinner
So I guess all I’m saying is that if you want to lie about the contents of your dinner, I won’t judge you. Or if you only serve it to half your family because you’d rather preserve some relationships, I won’t judge you for that either. Or if reading this is more enjoyable than serving this, that’s fine too.
One of these days, when the prices go up and my farmer is explaining how incredibly valuable fries are, I will nod my head in agreement. Yet, like the rest of the organs, I will know I had a few good discount years there. And you will know you heard it here first.
Note: Braised Lamb Fries is adapted from a recipe under the name ‘Lamb Fries Clerou’ in Innards and Variety Meats. Like many (offal) recipes, butter and bacon should not be substituted.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 6 lamb fries, outer sac removed (ask your butcher)
- 2 T butter
- 6 slices bacon
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/2 c dry white wine
- 1-2 ripe tomatoes, peeled seeded and diced (or 1/2 c diced canned tomatoes)
- 1/2 c chicken stock
- pinch of dried or fresh oregano
- 1/4 t red chili flakes
- salt
- pepper
- 1 T parsley or basil, chopped as garnish
Instructions
- Place cleaned fries in salted water to cover. Leave in fridge overnight.
- Bring salted water to boil and add the fries, cooking for 3-4 minutes until partially cooked. Remove with a slotted spoon and place into a bowl of ice water. When cool, remove from water, dry with a towel, and slice lengthwise into long halves.
- Add bacon to pan and cook on medium for 8-10 minutes until they have rendered their fat and are crispy. Remove bacon and reserve, leaving bacon grease behind.
- Add butter to pan with bacon grease, turn heat up to medium high and add fries (halves) for 5-6 minutes, browning on the first side before flipping them over. Cook for another minute or two on the second side.
- Add garlic and cook until fragrant, less than a minute. Add white wine and reduce until the liquid has almost completely evaporated. Add the chopped tomato and chicken stock. Add oregano, red chili flakes and season with salt and pepper, being sensitive to how much salt you used to soak and parboil the fries.
- Simmer over low heat for 45 minutes, adding more broth or water if necessary. Garnish with parsley or basil. Serve with a side salad and bread or potatoes to soak up the sauce.
- What to do with the reserved bacon? Serve it for dessert, to those who finish their dinner.
When my cousins invited me to their cattle branding a couple years ago we ended up with lots of this “chicken” after they got done with the male baby cows. The “chicken” weas breaded and fried and given to the participants of the branding. The finished product tasted just like chicken nuggets. Delicious!
Thanks for the reminder that I can buy and make my own. No need to wait for a cattle branding.
BTW this “chicken” is also referred to as “Rocky Mountain Oysters” by the cowboys.
This is easily one of my favorite new blogs. Do continue sharing your experiences with the odd bits!
Meh. Give the kids a choice. Why lie?
I know, right. That was a moment in time, but I agree with you.
I’m so glad I found this recipe! I’m very tired of looking up ideas for organ meat and unconventional proteins only to get bread and fry recipes exclusively. I got around this with frog legs by looking up Chinese recipes but I was having serious issues finding recipes for testicles that weren’t (1) fried or (2) weird bland health food based on fad diets.
Thank you, Natalie! I hope you enjoy it – or at least use is as a base to riff from. Let me know how yours turn out! xo
Okay, I have my report. I was very anxious going in because I am completely unfamiliar with this protein and thus less prepared to fix on the go in case something went wrong. But the dish turned out amazing! First, bull balls are obviously a lot bigger so I ended up cutting them into one-inch cubes after the blanch. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly up to the instruction to simmer.
The next problem I encountered due to my substitution was the cook time. I had wondered if the bull balls, being from a much older animal, would take longer to cook than parts from a younger animal. At 45 minutes, the balls were still tough to the point of being inedible. But as I said. I don’t know this protein at all. Do beef balls in general take a shorter time to cook and I’d simply overcooked them? Was chopping them a bad call? I decided to forge ahead just for the sake of experimentation, and upped the acidity by a lot to hedge my bets in the tenderization department: a tablespoon of tomato paste, another 1/4 c wine, and half a teaspoon of black lime. Thirty minutes later, they finally softened up enough to eat. It was an adventure to say the least. Though I’m still curious as to what exactly it was I was cooking. Stew meat is fat and muscle fibers. What’s in a ball that I’m eating?
Hey Natalie,
Thanks so much for coming back around and sharing this! Personally, I have never had bull testicles, so I can’t speak fluently to all your comments – I am not sure about the exact cook time, but from my experience with lamb, I think that adding acid and cooking longer is exactly what I would have done.
I probably would have tried cutting into strips instead of cubes, but it sounds like it worked out in the end.
From what I know about anatomy, I am assuming that what lives insides the testicles is important stuff and so I expect a heavy dose of connective tissue to support the organ (hence a much longer cook time required). I’d probably need to reference an anatomy book to verify that though – my own cookbooks are woefully lacking in these important questions! lol
Good for you experimenting with all the cuts!! Keep at it and I hope you find some other recipes worth trying on my site!
Warmly,
Janine