Breaded Lamb Fries with Herbs work as an appetizer or a meal. They taste like chicken and are an easy white-meat sell in the organ meat world – as long as you don’t know or aren’t squeamish about what you are eating! They are also a powerhouse of nutrition. Like an egg, they have half of everything needed to create a life from scratch. Are you feeling adventurous yet?
A contentious subject
I confess that I have had the most supportive husband on this organ meat journey and that has been a blessing. For years, I never hid an organ meat. I wanted to eat offal on principal when we started this journey and I wanted to serve it front and center, as a main dish on a plate, and never apologizing. He ate pretty much everything I served.
Well, almost everything. Not testicles. I have written about this before. Jennifer McLagan also suggests that men are typically more squeamish than women. However, the tides are turning and I have had increasing requests in the offal community to post more testicles recipes. Sure, no problem. I have plenty in my freezer.
But I have to say, it gives me perspective on where some readers, winging it among a skeptical or squeamish crowd are coming from. Without the support of my husband, I rarely tell my kids we are eating testicles. Of course, I might use the euphemism ‘fries’ or ‘oysters’ – but that doesn’t mean anything to them.
Tastes like chicken
The saving grace in this case is that testicles are white meat, and besides, as Timon says ‘it tastes like chicken.’
No, but seriously. Testicles are rich and can fill you up, but the flavor is mild and will easily take on the seasonings of the dish. I’ve read that the older the animal, the more intense the flavor; however, when purchasing from farmers, they are nearly always (in my experience) from lambs or calves.
Breaded Lamb Fries with Herbs
Truthfully, we’ve been frying testicles for many years – sometimes plain, sometimes with arrowroot or flour, breadcrumbs or crushed pork rinds. It’s the simplest way to serve them. They work as an appetizer or full meal.
Often they are sliced the long way in the shape of a thick potato-skin slice. This time we sliced them in rounds, but both ways work fine. Similar to liver, they can have a jiggly center if served medium-rare, but there is no harm from this style of preparation. For my family, I’ve found that cooking them evenly all the way through provides the consistent texture that we like best.
Alas, I couldn’t find testicles in the USDA Nutrient Database (even as Rocky Mountain Oysters), so I don’t have specifics on nutrient data. Yet, they have essential nutrients like B-vitamins, selenium and zinc – you know, half of everything needed to create a life from scratch.  If you like eggs, well, then maybe this is your new favorite food. 😉
Breaded Lamb Fries with Herbs
Notes
Soaking the testicles in saltwater removes blood and impurities. You may replace the (salt)water midway if soaking overnight.
If you want to ensure that the testicles are cooked through, you may poach them for about 6 minutes, cooling in an ice bath, before slicing and frying. I rarely do this anymore, however, if they are fresh and you can't cook them right away - this will buy you another day or two to reserve them in your fridge.
Ingredients
- 1 pair lamb fries, outer membranes removed, soaked in saltwater for 2-24 hours, and sliced
- 1 eggs
- 3/4 cup flour, arrowroot, or crushed pork rinds
- 1/4 cup chopped herbs (dill, mint, tarragon, thyme, etc)
- 3/4 t salt
- 1T lard
- lemon zest & lemon slices, for garnish
Instructions
- Soak fries in saltwater for 2-24 hours (optional, to remove impurities) and dry well. Slice lengthwise or crosswise into even slices.
- Whisk egg. In a second bowl, combine flour, herbs, and salt.
- In a pan on medium-heat, add lard. immediate dredge testicle slices first in the egg wash and then into the flour mixture. Set in pan and fry on each side - about 3-4 minutes per side for thin crosswise slices or closer to 5-6 minutes for thicker lengthwise slices.
- Remove slices from pan and garnish with fresh squeezed lemon and zest. Enjoy!
I purchase a local, pastured lamb every year, from my favorite meat vendor at my farmers’ market. This year, for the first time, the testicles arrived with the organs–I had no idea what to do with them! Thank you for posting some recipes and making them sound edible. Like so many others, the idea of eating them was a little iffy.
Do we need to be concerned about getting a dose of testosterone when we eat them??
Also (you don’t need to post this part): I tried to Like one of your lamb fries recipes and got a pop-up wanting me to log-in to Word Press. So if you aren’t getting Likes, you might want to see what’s going on with that function.
Hi Erica,
Thanks for your note! I understand the concern, and do prefer to feed lamb fries to all my boys – but we do all eat them.
Honestly, I’m not sure how much of the hormones themselves are in the meat. ie. How much more cortisol there may be in a factory beef versus pastured. Or in some organs or glands compared to others. Mostly, I focus on the nutrient-density and know that we can all benefit from the nutrients in eggs and in lamb fries – half of what’s needed for life.
Also, women still depend on testosterone to balance our other hormones, especially during the ovulation part of our cycle.
That said, when you buy a whole animal and eat nose-to-tail – that sounds like the right proportion of all the cuts to me.
In the end, I don’t have a clear answer for you because I’ve never seen information about the hormone characteristics of these cuts. But I am comfortable eating nose-to-tail in portions that match my best approximation for what I imagine ancestral eating would be like.
Also, lamb fries are an easy to prep white meat that will pick up the flavors you cook them with – so they are pretty easy to prepare and serve! I hope I’ve inspired you to go ahead with your cut, and not waste any of the best foods. 🙂 Let me know how it goes!
And thanks for the wordpress heads up – I never know how others see the site. I’ll see what I can do!
Warmly,
Janine