In our final installment of our exploration of the New York Historical Society’s culinary collection, we are taking a look at Unusual Meats, a pamphlet published in 1919. Because frankly, who wouldn’t be intrigued by a pamphlet called Unusual Meats?
The meats in question are those sold by Swift’s Fancy Meats company, which are in fact not at all fancy, and are in fact offal.
Like brains.
And pork “plucks.”
and Beef melts.
And other suspiciously named body parts. A “melt,” I found out, is actually the pancreas. And I really wanted to try the Salisbury beef melts after pancreas meat was prominently featured in last week’s episodes of American Horror Story. But butchers don’t seem to carry pancreas anymore, so all I could get my hands on was a veal heart.
When I purchased the heat, I had fully intended cooking it according to the recipe below. But at the moment, the heart is just sitting in my refrigerator. After the moose face…I’m just so tired.
Ha ha! I like how it already says “gross” on the pork “plucks” box. A warning to the customer!
That’s probably my favorite part. And I still don’t know what a pluck is. Like “sweetbreads” and “prairie oysters,” there is a long history to giving organ deceptive, borderline adorable, names.
Pluck is a collective term for the heart, liver, and lungs. From a pig it’s also called the haslet or harslet.
Aha! I’ve heard of haslet before: https://fourpoundsflour.com/eating-like-a-tenement-family-day-7/
Tha makes perfect sense. Thank you!
I guess “fancy” is in the eye of the beholder.
I wish I had an option to just “like” this.