You may have recently heard of eating “nose to tail,” meaning to eat the whole animal, not just cuts of muscle meat like we usually see at grocery stores. These parts of the animal are usually called “offal,” which includes the intestines, liver, heart, lung, kidneys, brain, etc.  In the 1800s, there were many recipes for cooking brain, usually beef brain. But brain from other animals can be used. 

INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS

TO PREPARE BRAIN
Put the brain in a bowl of cold water with a tablespoon of vinegar. Leave it in from one to two or three hours till you are ready to use it. Do not leave it more than five or six hours and not less than one hour. Take it out and remove the thin skin and blood-vessels that are all around.

TO BOIL
Put the brain in a small saucepan and cover it with cold water. Add two tablespoons vinegar, half an onion sliced, three stalks parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, six pepper-corns, one clove, and salt. Boil about five minutes and take off the fire. Cut each half of the brain in two from side to side. Place the four pieces on a dish, the part cut upward.

Au Beurre Noir 
When dished as above directed, put two ounces of butter in a frying-pan and when melted, turn into it two tablespoons of vinegar. Boil two or three minutes, then throw into it half a dozen stalks of parsley. Take them off immediately with a skimmer, pour the butter and vinegar over the brain; spread the parsley around, and serve.

TO STEW
When prepared as directed, put it in a small saucepan and cover it with claret wine. Add half an onion sliced, one clove garlic, one clove, two sprigs parsley, one of thyme, salt, a bay-leaf, and six pepper-corns. Boil gently for about fifteen minutes. Cut and dish it as directed above; pour the sauce over it through a strainer and serve.

Another Way ~ Cut half the size for frying and put in a stew-pan with a lump of butter, pepper and salt, a little water or soup stock, and half an onion, chopped fine and stewed tender. Add this, and cook slowly for a few minutes, then put in two or three spoons of milk or cream, and a little white wine or juice of lemon.

MARINADE OF BRAINS
Boil the brains, then remove the skin and veins. Cut them into pieces the size of half an egg. Let them stand an hour in a marinade of oil, vinegar, onion, pepper and salt. Then wipe and dip them into fritter batter and fry in hot fat. Arrange them on a napkin and serve with tomato sauce.

TO FRY
Soak the brains for several hours in weak salt water to get out the blood. Drain and put them in a saucepan, pour very little boiling water on, and simmer a few minutes. Handle them lightly, and arrange so as to form round cakes, without breaking. Pepper them and use very little salt. Have ready a beaten egg, and cover the top of the cakes with it, using a spoon to put it on. Sift over grated cracker and fry in hot lard; serve the other side the same way. Keep closely covered while frying.

BRAIN CAKES
Clear the brains of strings, beat them up with the yolks of two eggs, some crumbs of bread, pepper, salt, fine parsley, a spoonful of cream, and a spoonful of flour. When they are well mixed, drop them with a spoon into a frying-pan with a little hot butter, and fry them of a light-brown color.

BRAIN FRITTERS
Carefully wash the brain and boil it for a quarter of an hour in well-seasoned stock. When the brain is cold, cut it into slices as thin as possible. Dip each of them in batter, drop them as you do them into a stew-pan half-full of fat at a temperature which will brown instantly a piece of bread dipped into it.

To make the batter, mix two large tablespoons of fine flour with four of cold water. Stir in a tablespoon of dissolved butter, the yolk of an egg, and a pinch of salt and pepper. When ready to use, beat the white of the egg to a strong froth, and mix with it.

Do not fry more than two fritters at once. As you take them up, throw them on paper to absorb any grease clinging to them and serve on a napkin or ornamental dish-paper. If this recipe is closely followed, the fritters will be light, crisp, delicate morsels, melting in the mouth, and form besides a very pretty dish.

Garnish with fried parsley. Take care the parsley is thoroughly dry, put it into a small frying-basket, and immerse it for an instant in the fat in which the fritters are to be cooked. Turn it out on paper, dry, and serve.

SCRAMBLED BRAINS
Soak two pounds of brains in strong salt water one hour. Then carefully remove all membrane and blood clots. Dip the brains in flour and fry brown in hot drippings, bacon preferred. Hash the brains with a knife and scramble four fresh eggs with them, season with salt and pepper, tossing well together with a knife until nicely browned. Serve with toast or hot buttered rolls or baking powder biscuit.

Image from Deposit Photos

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Have You Ever Eaten Brains or any Other Type of Offal? Please Leave a Comment Below.

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An Interesting Book about Other Parts of the Animal.

Click on the link below to purchase from a number of book retailers. Available as an ebook and physical book (in some locations).

ODD BITS: How to Cook the Rest of the Animal

We’re all familiar with the prime cuts—the beef tenderloin, rack of lamb, and pork chops. But what about kidneys, tripe, liver, belly, cheek, and shank? Odd Bits will not only restore our taste for these cuts, but will also remove the mystery of cooking with offal, so food lovers can approach them as confidently as they would a steak. From the familiar (pork belly), to the novel (cockscomb), to the downright challenging (lamb testicles), Jennifer McLagan provides expert advice and delicious recipes to make these odd bits part of every enthusiastic cook’s repertoire.
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