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1
Rinse your sweetbreads thoroughly in cold, gently running water to remove any blood, giving them the occasional gentle shuggle to aid the cleansing process.
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2
Bring your pot of water with its wine, herbs, and spices to a boil.
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3
Reduce to a gentle simmer.
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4
Slip your sweetbreads into the pot.
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5
Poach for 2 1/2 minutes so they firm up slightly.
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6
Think of the finger that pushes the Pillsbury Doughboys tummy.
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7
Your finger should push the same way.
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8
Remove the sweetbreads from the pot, lay a kitchen towel out on a tray, and scatter the sweetbreads across it to cool and dry off.
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9
Once the sweetbreads are cool enough to handle, peel the membrane off the little glands, a slightly fiddly process but well worth the trouble when it comes to the eating.
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10
Now to the vital part.
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11
Get your frying pan hot, but not furiously hot.
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12
Add a splash of oil and a knob of butter.
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13
As this melts, season the sweetbreads with salt and pepper and then add to the pan.
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14
What we are looking for is a steady sizzle, not a frantic singeing, so that the sweetbreads brown to a nutty crispness all over, maintaining a giving interior.
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15
At this point they are ready to serve with a chunk of lemonthe nutty nodule, not the burnt offering or the anemic gland.
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16
Once you have achieved the nutty nodule, there are many additions to the pan you can make, for example, a splash of chicken stock, a splash of red wine vinegar, peas, pea shoots, young fava beans, bacon, quarters of Little Gem lettuce, braised endive, mint, capers, young spinach, or watercress.
