Cooking "The Humbles"

[Deleted]

As mentioned in another thread, the steer is off at the butcher's for processing.

In the meantime, I have frozen most of the liver, cooked the tongue, and did a bang-up job on stuffing the heart.

The lungs went to the freezer, because it's easier to chop them up for the dogs if they're semi-frozen.

Now, I have seen on BBC Farm documentaries that people did, at one time, eat the lungs. In the sense of fairness and frugality, I may be willing to attempt this.

Has anyone here ever cooked and eaten the lungs? How did you do it? How did they taste?

Open to suggestions. If it doesn't turn out, I have five big hungry guardian dogs who will eat almost any cooking mistake I make.

[Skandi]

Haggis.

Only way I have ever eaten lungs. we cook lungs for our pug (labXcollie gets them raw and uncut), and yuck I don't think I want to eat them any way other than minced and spiced!
Now haggis is of course sheeps lungs but I can't see why beef wouldn't work. you can cook it without the skin like a terrine or use ox intestines.
This is a 1773 recipe for haggis from Edinburgh

A mutton paunch, the heart lungs and liver of a sheep, salt; white and cayenne pepper; nutmeg; onions; oatmeal a handful; beef suet 1lb; strong stock 1glass; old whisky or Athole brose (mixture of equal parts of whisky, cream and honey)

1) Wash the paunch and turn it inside out (obviously skip this bit)
2)Boil the heart, lungs and liver, together for half an hour, chop the meat very finely except half the liver which should be grated when quite cold (I would think a food processor would do a decent job)
3) Spread the chopped mixture on a table and season with the salt, pepper and nutmeg
4) Chop the onions
5) add the grated liver
6) and a handfull of oatmeal
7) chop the suet and add that
8) Mix all well together with the stock
9) fill the paunch leaving plenty of space for the oatmeal to swell
10) sow it up and prick with a needle
11) boil 3 hours
12) serve with whisky or athole brose

[Deleted]

Golly, we didn't save a stomach (paunch), so I guess I won't cook it. LOL

Seriously, I may give the haggis combination a go. The heart is gone, but still have some liver and the kidneys. I could add a bit of muscle meat to the blend...

Or, I could just cut up the lights and give them to the dogs.

No... NO, I must at least try...

Unless someone comes up with another recipe?

Tanks, Skandi, for looking up that recipe.

[feather]

I tried haggis when I was in Scotland. It was divine. I'd make it with or without a stomach, just put it in some cheese cloth. Just go for it.

[Woodpecker]

@pony, I’ve never tried a tongue, heart, any of those organs. How big was the heart...must be large in order to stuff it. What does the tongue taste like, similar to anything I would know? I’ve always been a picky eater, drove my mother nuts! I could never even taste a piece of tongue, any of the organs. My mother would make liver & onions...never took a bite, knowing what it was🧐

[Maura]

Just remember the most important ingredient in haggis is the whiskey.

[Skandi]

Sept 19, 2018 19:54:03 GMT feather said:

I tried haggis when I was in Scotland. It was divine. I'd make it with or without a stomach, just put it in some cheese cloth. Just go for it.

Doesn't the flavour bleed out into the water if it's in cloth? I've only ever made it in a bread tin sat in water in the oven (same was as making pate) But yes it is good. if no one told you what was in it you'ld never guess!

I think any muscle meat would do to replace the heart.

@pony, I'm not keen on tongue personally, but I think that is because it's always corned in the UK and served as a sandwich meat, and I do not like corned beef but I love beef! If you want to try offal gently, try heart first, it really doesn't taste any different from other meats, it just has a different texture. A nice slice off a beef heart makes a lovely steak, but do NOT overcook it or it will do for shoes.

[Jolly]

What we call grillades, is not what the folks in New Orleans call grillades. They make theirs with thins strips of pork or beef and usually eat them with grits. We never did. When we cook grillades, it's more of a stew, made with pork liver, lights and the heart. And we eat them over rice, not with grits.

[Deleted]

Sept 19, 2018 20:26:02 GMT Woodpecker said:

@pony , I’ve never tried a tongue, heart, any of those organs. How big was the heart...must be large in order to stuff it. What does the tongue taste like, similar to anything I would know? I’ve always been a picky eater, drove my mother nuts! I could never even taste a piece of tongue, any of the organs. My mother would make liver & onions...never took a bite, knowing what it was🧐

The tongue tasted good, but I just couldn't get past what it was, no matter how small I cut it.

Heart was good sized, a couple of pounds. I'd say about as big as two regulation softballs?

Liver is great if you first soak it in milk for a few hours. Or, in the case of chicken or rabbit livers, make it into pate'. Now that is yummy!

[Woodpecker]

Thanks @pony for the info. So you can’t get past the thought it is a tongue you’re eating. I understand😛 I was turned off of all meats for a very long time. I didn’t eat meat from about age 10 until I was 25. Kinda forced back into eating it, as not to offend my BFs mother, when she had me for dinner.

The chickens, when I was little, running around with no heads after my GF chopped their heads off started my dislike towards meat.

I’m surprised how big that heart was...I’ve only seen chicken & turkey hearts, icky😍

[MeandTK]

A guy was offered beef tongue and said he'd not eat anything out of an animal's mouth.
He then asked for a fried egg!

[LauraD]

I had cow tongue once when in college. It was very tender and absolutely delicious - tasted just like a good cut of steak. If it weren't so expensive in the grocery store, I would buy some in a heartbeat.

[Deleted]

Sept 20, 2018 13:48:26 GMT MeandTK said:

A guy was offered beef tongue and said he'd not eat anything out of an animal's mouth.
He then asked for a fried egg!

Ah, thank you so much!

You gave me a much needed giggle!