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Tag: cooking offal

Cooking and Pickling Pigs’ Feet

Cooking and Pickling Pigs’ Feet

I have occasionally seen fresh pigs’ feet and pickled pigs’ feet in grocery stores., although I’ve never tried either one. In the 1800s, pigs’ feet were cheap and eaten mostly by poor households. Although they were more popular in the South, they were also eaten nationwide. Boiling and pickling the feet helped preserve them before refrigeration was available. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS FRIED PIGS’ FEET Thoroughly burn all the hairs off with a poker heated to a white heat….

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Unusual Catsups – Elderberry, Currant, Cucumber, and more…

Unusual Catsups – Elderberry, Currant, Cucumber, and more…

Old cookbooks used the spellings, “catsup”, “ketchup”, and “catchup” in their recipe titles. For consistency, I used “catsup” for this post. The only catsups I’ve tasted were made from tomatoes. The catsup recipes below are quite interesting and made from what was plentiful during the 1800s. People were sure resourceful and wanted to make their foods interesting and flavorful. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS ELDERBERRY CATSUP1 quart of elderberries1 quart of vinegar6 anchovies, soaked and pulled to pieces 1/2 teaspoon maceA…

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Sweetbreads Are Meat (Offal), Not Breads

Sweetbreads Are Meat (Offal), Not Breads

I had never heard of sweetbreads until I began reading old cookbooks. Sweetbreads are what the thymus gland or pancreas of a calf or lamb are called. Offal or organ meats are the parts of the animal that are not muscle. INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS TO PREPARE SWEETBREADSThe sweetbread belonging to the breast of the calf is far superior to that which is found about the throat, being larger, whiter, more tender, and more delicate. Always buy them in…

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How to Cook Tripe (Cow Stomach)

How to Cook Tripe (Cow Stomach)

Tripe is an edible offal (entrails and internal organs). Some grazing animals like cows, buffalo and sheep have multiple stomach chambers to properly digest their food. These stomach linings are called tripe. Most tripe sold in United States grocery stores is from cows.  INFORMATION BELOW FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS TO PREPARE TRIPE Empty the contents of the stomach of a fat beef. Scrape and wash the tripe thoroughly. Put it in cold water and salt and soak for ten days. Don’t…

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