Breaded and Fried Bison Testicle

The novelty of eating testicles is starting to wear off, but it has been fun venturing out in that direction. My first time eating "Rocky Mountain oysters" was at the Buckhorn Exchange in Denver. I recall the hesitation to try them, that first bite and my squeamish reaction as the organy taste filled my mouth. I've now tried bison, bull, lamb and turkey and they have differed quite a bit. All have been breaded and fried, except some bull testicles we were given at the Carnivore Restaurant in Nairobi. They must have been boiled. They were bland, with an off-putting organy taste, and the texture was very weird. If they'd been my first testicle taste test, they might  have been my last. Of the breaded and fried, those with less breading were best. They were more tender, gave more of the underlying organ taste and had more flavor.  

For Christmas Judy gave me a gift of assorted bison meat. Much of it was filets, but one package stood out: "buffalo fries." For the uninitiated this could be quite confusing, as "French" and "fries" is much different than "buffalo" and fries." I've been looking forward to trying my own hand at cooking testicles ever since, but there have been some barriers to my doing so. First, they were not suitable for some visitors: Judy specifically asked me not to serve them to the missionaries. Second, most people have no interest in venturing into that arena. Even Jerry, my friend who supplies me with wild boar meat and is usually willing to try most anything, declined my invitation for a true testicle treat. 

So with Judy out of town, and just me and the house, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to try them. There were two testicles in the package, that is the package Judy gave to me. One testicle was quite a bit larger than the other. I'm guessing that these testicles were not both in the same original package because I assume that the two testicles in a bison are approximately the same size, although this is only based on a hunch without any kind of a field study or internet search.  

I decided to try the smaller testicle first. Even though it was the smaller of the two, it was still a handful and decidedly different than other types of meat options. Of particular note were the veins (or ductus deferens?) coursing through the testicle and a protuberance that is probably where the spermatic cord was connected. 

Note the size of the testicle to the kitchen shears.

A protuberance at one end.

I defrosted the testicles and after reviewing several testicle recipes, parboiled the smaller testicle in boiling water for five minutes. The testicle turned white. When it had cooled down a little, a sharp knife was used to cut the tough outer membrane and then the membrane was stripped off. 

The parboiled testicle.

The testicle was then cut into thin slices, revealing a yellowish inside that looks remarkably similar to sea urchin sushi. I guess the comparison is not a bad one as the sea urchin sushi is the sea urchin gonads. Mind you, I'm not particularly fond of sea urchin sushi. 

The membrane has been cut into revealing a yellow inside. The outer membrane was stripped off.

A partially sliced testicle.

All sliced.

We have some olive oil diffused with peppers which I used as the cooking oil. To it was added some butter. 

Flour was spooned into a plastic bag and sprinkled liberally with salt and pepper. The testicle slices were tossed into the bag, swished around and then dropped into the sizzling frying pan. 

A few minutes on each side was all it took and the bison testicles were ready for a taste test. 

Golden fried bison nuggets. 

They were better than any testicles I've had, except for the bison testicles at The Fort in Morrison, Colorado. The breading was thin, the testicles were not overcooked, they were nicely salted and had a little bit of heat from the peppers. I ate the entire testicle which was actually quite a bit.