Cooked Pig Thyroid

[Max23]

Has anyone cooked pig´s thyroid? I bought some pig throats, found the thymus, but not the thyroid. Something was cut off. I just can´t find an endo to prescribe me thyroid, so I wound´t have to do crazy things. Has anyone had experience with cooking pig´s thyroid and eating it as a medication; or has anyone advice how to convince an endo to prescribe thyroid. My health is really bad.

 

[ecstatichamster]

Chicken necks or fish heads would be my choice. Easy to get. Make a soup. Refrigerate and skim the fat.

 

[SOMO]

Where are you located? If it's in the US, there's almost 0% chance the throat includes the thyroid. I think butchers/meat suppliers might be required to remove it.

I'm not familiar with pig anatomy, but I imagine their thyroid would look similar - a butterfly shape.

That "nut" in the middle is the thyroid.

 

[Max23]

I live in Estonia. This throat I cooked doesn´t look anything like in the pictures. I think the thyroid is probably removed. I don´t think that it is attatched to the trachea like it is in humans and in order to reach the trachea the thymus and thyroid are taken off.

 

[nwo2012]

I believe it is a government regulation in US, I know it is in Australia because I asked a few meat suppliers and they confirmed they are required to remove them while processing the meat at the abattoir.

 

[SOMO]

I live in Estonia. This throat I cooked doesn´t look anything like in the pictures. I think the thyroid is probably removed. I don´t think that it is attatched to the trachea like it is in humans and in order to reach the trachea the thymus and thyroid are taken off.

View attachment 9969

Hard to say because obviously the anatomy is a bit different when the pig is intact vs when the throat is removed.
The "most likely" thing in that photo to be the thyroid is the thing you labeled as trachea, but yeah it's likely that it was simply removed.

 

[Max23]

Reply to ecstatichamster: "Chicken necks or fish heads would be my choice. Easy to get. Make a soup. Refrigerate and skim the fat."

I hadn´t thought of that, but my master plan was to make my own dessicated thyroid, since it isn´t available in Estonia and the inhuman endos won´t prescribe T3 and not even T4. One even told me that if you´re euthyroid with bad health and hypothyroid symptoms, it is bad if you get healthy with thyroid hormone.

 

[Max23]

Hard to say because obviously the anatomy is a bit different when the pig is intact vs when the throat is removed.
The "most likely" thing in that photo to be the thyroid is the thing you labeled as trachea, but yeah it's likely that it was simply removed.

What I labeled as trachea is a long tube that connects everything in the picture. Now I am pretty sure the thymus and thyroid were removed from the throat I bought. I guess if there are regulations in the US and Australia about the removal of them, then they must be in the EU as well, since everything concerning the thyroid is pretty similar in the western world. You can predict the behaviour, beliefs of an endocrinologist in Estonia on what can be read about them in the US.

 

[aguilaroja]

I live in Estonia. ...I think the thyroid is probably removed....

If you have not already done so, it may be helpful to go into a small butcher shop and ask. Sometimes shop people can give parts that are normally not sold. They can be surprisingly helpful. If they cannot answer directly, they may direct you to a local small farmer.

There are probably easier work-arounds, like chicken neck stew as mentioned by @ecstatichamster/@Mittir/others, ordering internationally, etc. I have sampled calf thyroid but do not have long term experience. Updates about your project would be appreciated.

 

[Max23]

If you have not already done so, it may be helpful to go into a small butcher shop and ask. Sometimes shop people can give parts that are normally not sold. They can be surprisingly helpful. If they cannot answer directly, they may direct you to a local small farmer.

There are probably easier work-arounds, like chicken neck stew as mentioned by @ecstatichamster/@Mittir/others, ordering internationally, etc. I have sampled calf thyroid but do not have long term experience. Updates about your project would be appreciated.

I tried the chicken neck soup/stew, but they didn´t have thyroids attached to them. There are no more butcheries in Estonia, only meat factories. Small farm pig farming isn´t allowed in Estonia beacause the resent African swine virus outbreak. I doubt the market people even know what a thyroid is. I´ll try an outlet of a meat factory next week. Overall I am leaning toward buying online thyroid now. But I´ll post what they answer me.

 

[aguilaroja]

I tried the chicken neck soup/stew, but they didn´t have thyroids attached to them. There are no more butcheries in Estonia, only meat factories...I doubt the market people even know what a thyroid is. I´ll try an outlet of a meat factory next week....

In many places, it is possible to get more direct access to small-scale livestock producers or preparers. Areas with small farms have cutters who recognize each animal organ. Sorry there are so many barriers in this case.

 

[Max23]

In many places, it is possible to get more direct access to small-scale livestock producers or preparers. Areas with small farms have cutters who recognize each animal organ. Sorry there are so many barriers in this case.

I visited the outlet of the meat factory and asked for pig thyroid. And they said it costs two fifty a kilo, but you have to special order it because they don´t collect them, because nobody wants them. I was amazed because I had basically given up getting it. I´ll order them next week. I am thinking of what to do with them. I want to make a supplement out of them. I wonder how to do it? I think I´ll boil them, cut them to pieces, stir them and start eating them in certain portions. What remains, I´ll deep freeze. Other ideas are using a meat mincer somehow. A beef jerky machine is also an option, but I don´t have it. I wonder how they make desiccated thyroid.

 

[aguilaroja]

I visited the outlet of the meat factory and asked for pig thyroid. And they said it costs two fifty a kilo, but you have to special order it because they don´t collect them, because nobody wants them. I was amazed because I had basically given up getting it. I´ll order them next week. I am thinking of what to do with them. I want to make a supplement out of them. I wonder how to do it? ... I wonder how they make desiccated thyroid.

''

Glad to hear you found a source. Whether it’s krooni or Euros, I hope the price is 2.50 and not 250 per kilo.

I do not have direct report or experience to give guidance. With a kilo, there is certainly quantity for exploring different methods. It is possible there are people who cook/prepare organ meats (offal, sweetbreads) in your region who could give tips about preparing and preserving, even if they mainly use other organs. It is possible that very old cookbooks and homesteading books have some clues.

Of course, in exploring, use tiny amounts in the beginning.
Case report: Recurrent hamburger thyrotoxicosis

 

[Max23]

It was supposed to be 2,5 euros per kilo. I called the meat technologist and she had no clue that they sell thyroids, then she called the manager and the next day me and said they don´t sell thyroids. I said why and she said because they are hard to cut out. I said no they are not, I know it myself. And said I´ll pay good price. She said it won´t matter and offered me pancreases, I said I don´t want them. I don´t understand why the person in the outlet said thyroids cost 2,5 euros per kilo. I am very mad, this along with the overall situation in medicin makes me disappointed in mankind. Nothing is possible, nothing can be done, people call you basically an idiot. It is so hard being sick. Maybe someday I´ll try again.

On the positive side I just received my T3 and tried it the first time. It would be much easier to take a drug then thyroids, as you mentioned, there is always the threat of thyrotoxicosis beacause the batches are uneven.