»16—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Wovtwbf 5,1983 Variety Meats Gaining Popularity HARRISBURG Variety meats are fast becoming favorites in today’s meal planning, and for good reason! Variety meats offer different tastes, excellent sources of essential nutrients and often, real economy. Variety meats include liver, brains, heart, kidneys, sweet breads, tongue, tripe and others, according to Joan Liesau, coor dinator of the Pennsylvania Meat Marketing Program. “These meats are usually good buys and offer interesting variations for serving meat, while providing excellent nutrition,” Liesau ex plained. Like other retail meat cuts, the size of variety meats will vary. For example, variety meats from beef are the largest and lamb the smallest, with pork and veal in between. Variety meats are more perishable than other meats, and should be cooked and served soon after purchase. LIVER is probably the best known and widely served of all variety meats. All kinds of liver are exceptionally high in nutritive value, and delicious when properly cooked. Beef and pork liver are frequently braised or, fried and sometimes ground for loaves and patties. Veal, lamb and baby beef liver are usually broiled, pan broiled or panfried. “Trim or peel membrane from liver before cooking,” Liesau said. “When liver is to be ground, it should be cooked slowly on both sides in 2-3 tablespoons of fat for about five minutes. This makes grinding much easier.” The HEART is very flavorful, but one of the less tender variety meats. Therefore, braising and cooking in liquid are preferred cooking methods. The heart should be washed and the hard parts removed before cooking. KIDNEYS, considered a great delicacy, are served in a variety of gourmet dishes. Veal and lamb kidneys are often left attached to chops (as veal kidney chops and lamb English chops), although both varieties are also sold separately. Beef kidney is less tender than other and should be cooked in liquid or braised. SWEETBREADS have long been regarded a delicacy and are favorite party fare. They are the two lobes of the thymus gland LESTER A. SINGER Ronks, PA PM7171687-6712 Hours: Monday thru Friday 8-5; Sat. by App't providing a tender and delicately flavored meat. Veal and young beef furnish nearly all of the sweetbreads on the market. As the animal matures, the thymus gland disappears. Sweetbreads may be broiled, fried, braised or cooked in liquid. BRAINS and sweetbreads are much alike in tenderness and texture. Their mild flavor and tenderness blend well in breakfast, luncheon or supper dishes. If brains are not used immediately after purchase, they should be precooked regardless of the method of prepration. Brains should be washed and the mem brane removed before or after cooking. Beef and veal TONGUE are more often available as uncooked meats. Pork and lamb tongues are small and usually sold ready to serve. Tongue is sold fresh, pickled, corned or smoked. TRIPE may be purchased fresh, pickled or canned. It has a very delicate flavor and is one of the less tender variety meats coming from stomach tissue requiring, long, slow cooking in liquid. Tripe is partially cooked before it is sold, however, further cooking in water is preliminary in all ways of serving. Precook tripe in salted water, allowing one teaspoon of salt for each quart of water. Tripe may also be pur chased fully cooked. It can be served with a well-seasoned tomato sauce; brushed with melted butter and broiled until lightly browned; spread with dressing and baked; dipped in fritter batter and fried; creamed; or used as an ingredient in a thick soup. A multitude of ways to prepare variety meats will please any palate - and they are nutritional and economical too! For a free copy of RECIPES FOR VARIETY MEATS which includes 22 recipes, a buying preparing and nutrition chart, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Penn sylvania Meat Marketing Program, Variety Meats, Pa. Dept, of Agriculture, 2301 N. Cameron St. Harrisburg, PA 17110. Following are two recipes for The Todays profit minded poultry, swine, end grain „ , . producers must think in terms of an automatic Systems Approach system, * “System thinking" can help you plan away problems Ot before you begin, or it can help you automate away Hershey Equipment is geared to provide an vnn components of the system including equipment, yuu p) um bing. electrical and building. This will assure that put It all together the pieces will fit together to form a profitable system. KgiISHEY Hog Systems Hot Dip Galvanized TUT HERSHEYEQUIPMENT PI [COMPANY, INC,