10 tips on offal
David Darmanin of Taverna Sugu is wary of including hardcore meat offal in his menus, but he loves cooking the stuff for himself or whenever he’s asked to. This is how he does it.
As ironic as it may sound, we owe the richness of some of some our traditional foods to famine. A wealth of recipes and ingredients came and left the Grand Harbour during pre-colonial years – but only the privileged and the lucky could actually get their hands on the nosh. Food at sea was a completely different matter, but many commoners working on the hard and living in urban spaces neither had the space to tend to livestock, nor could they afford purchasing primary cuts of meat. They had to make do with scraps of meat and offal – which looked unappetizing, smelled unsavoury and because it’s bull’s intestines we’re talking about – the idea seemed disgusting. But you’d eat anything if you’re hungry. If you’re also creative with cooking, you’ll end up loving it to the point where you start looking down on rich foods. With some luck, your recipe will be remembered for centuries to come but because your name is not Pellegrino Artusi, you will never profit from your invention. The middle class of the time was such a drag.
Whenever I was allowed to express my love for offal publicly, I had to stomach every variation and cadence of expressions that signal disgust - right from the eughs and bleurghs to the ughs and the rudest of all: jaqq. Which brings me to my 10 points… taken a notch (or five) down on the disgustometer to appease even the faint-hearted.
1. Rabbit liver pate. Not pauper food at all. This is actually very posh. Rub fresh rabbit liver with sea-salt, black pepper and thyme and braise for 20 minutes per 300 grams. Add 15cl Cognac and blend.
2. Pig’s trotter, slow stewed in vegetable stock and finished with minestra vegetables will give you our much cherished rustic Kawlata, which is apparently of Spanish origin.
3. Pork Belly. This is where streaky bacon comes from, so it can’t be disgusting. You can also ask your butcher to cut fresh belly in 8cm cubes and then marinate in honey, orange juice, orange zest, chili, red onion and fennel. Braise until you can braise no more.
4. Tripe is tasteless if cleaned properly. It is the texture of tripe (kirxa) that is truly unique. Whether you flavour it delicately or richly is then up to you. Here’s a delicate way: boil, changing the water three or four times as you go along. Roll in flour, then in egg, then in galletti crumbs, again in egg and again in galletti crumbs. Deep fry. Eat with a squeeze of lemon juice. Gnam. Buy your tripe ready-cleaned and from a butcher you trust.
5. Sheep’s brains. I lied about taking it down a notch, sorry I could not leave this out. Trust me, brains taste amazing when fried in batter. Get someone else to cook them for you when you least expect them, leaving clear instructions to be informed about the ingredient only after you express your utter delight – which is statistically guaranteed.
6. Lamb’s sweetbread. Contrary to the belief that ‘sweetbreads’ are an endearing term referring to testicles, this highly prized offal is actually the thymus gland. Pan sear it, flavoured with marjoram or thyme.
7. Fish roe. A female barracuda could present you with a decent amount of roe while gutting it. Ask your fishmonger to keep the roe bag for you if it happens. Stuff in green pitted olives, roll in flour, egg and bread crumbs and fry.
8. Bull’s testicles. Admittedly, you will need to have some stomach to prepare this dish – but once you get over your fears you can really have a ball with it (pun intended). Peel the testes and quarter. Clean thoroughly with lemon juice. Rinse well. Sautee in extra virgin olive oil and season. Serve on a green salad. Feed to your husband if you’re in a mood to threaten or horrify.
9. Oxtail. This is a poor man’s beouf bourgignon. Just better. Cut up the oxtail in 5cm chunks and sear in a pot. Remove the oxtail and add diced carrots, onion and celery. Add beef stock and deglaze. Chuck back the oxtail into the pot and top with red wine. Season and add a bouquet garni. Simmer under a lid for three hours. Braise in a preheated oven for an extra hour or until tender. Enjoy.
10. Pork cheek. Indeed, the tastiest part of pork – as long as you slow-cook in liquid until tender. Pork cheek lends itself to myriad ingredients for flavouring – cider, beer, coriander seeds, cumin, orange zest, ginger… it’s a fun ingredient to work with. In the Italian region of Lazio pork cheeks are smoked. The fat is melted to fry the meaty parts in and the result is used as a base for either Carbonara or Amatriciana sauce for pasta. I know of one deli that sells it smoked in Malta, but it comes at quite a price. Please email me if you know of others.
David Darmanin is chef-owner of traditional Maltese restaurant Taverna Sugu in Vittoriosa.
