Offal

On the whole people are much more enterprising about what they will eat these days, although there are plenty who still have their reservations, or who would turn their noses up at the very thought of tackling sweetbreads, let alone a pig’s trotter or grilled, crumbed ear. Little do they know what they are missing. On the Continent, these treats are rarely overlooked. Scan the display at a charcuterie in France and there is likely to be a tray of precooked trotters, neatly coated in breadcrumbs, just waiting to be taken home and grilled. Here in England, a demand for these odds and ends tends to be met with raised eyebrows and a bemused smile from the average butcher. You will have to do all the precooking yourself, but at least the price is low.