Cowboy Sushi...

...mountain oysters, calf fries, criadillas ...call 'em what ever you want. They are the testicles of young calves and they are delicious when prepared by an old hand. The NYT article describes them well as Basque comfort food.

I loved the story that my mother-in-law told me about a family visit to Europe when she was a girl. After a long while on the grand tour, they were sitting in yet another fine restaurant this time in Paris. Her younger brother was tiring of being abroad so long. When it came time to give the waiter his order, he sighed, "Oh, how I wish there were criadillas!" Several at the table smiled and nodded in agreement.

At a certain time of the year, when male calves are almost ready to be weaned from their mothers, it is time to castrate them. Castrating them before weaning allows them an advantage as to healing; the mothers' milk imparts a lot of help in fighting any subsequent infection from the surgery.

That time of year yields a lot of testicles. It would be a shame to just throw them to the ever present dogs ...but you have to be careful: the dogs are always waiting for you to turn your attention away from the tasty treats.

In the province of Buenos Aires Argentina, we'd never bother with battering nor deep frying nor anything other than throwing them onto the parilla over the hardwood coals. But, being a yanqui, I've always thought that a spicy sauce or some alternative preparation could be really good. The "tequila, cumin and cayenne" combo mentioned in the article strikes me as teriffic!

They've always struck me as perfect for hors d' ourves ...beats the hell out of cocktail wienies or rumaki!