The Old-School Pork Product Fans Swear Is Delicious (But Most Folks Can't Stomach)

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Out of all the things you can find in a can, there's one that sounds so unlikely that you'd think someone was making it up. The first hint is that it's a meat product, namely pork — and it's not one of the several delicious types of Spam. The second hint is that it involves an organ meat but not a commonly eaten one like liver. Give up? 

It's pork brains, but not just any pork brains; it's pork brains in milk gravy. In case you're wondering, you can still purchase canned pork brains online, and no, it's not some kind of gag gift. It really is a thing. This isn't a delicacy from a far-flung region of the earth, either. Rose, the brand that produces these pork brains, is owned by a company called Boone Brands, which is based in North Carolina. 

Eating pork brains with scrambled eggs is an old Southern tradition, which is now much less common. It likely comes from a waste-not, want-not attitude, when families would slaughter their own hogs for meat. The very first parts to spoil when an animal is dispatched are the organs, which is why they needed to be eaten right away. So you might as well put them in one of the fastest cooking dishes in the world, hence the scrambled eggs. Those who still eat the combination for breakfast swear by its hearty deliciousness, which is why the canned product still exists today.

Out of all the people you could ask to describe pork brains, I'm oddly well-equipped to answer that question. That's because I've happily eaten brain dishes in multiple formats, including in the form of a fried brain sandwich for this very site (I have been here a long time). Brains are a very mild organ meat with a custard-like texture, a creamy flavor, and a slightly metallic aftertaste. They're quite rich, but if you don't bat an eye at the concept of eating them, they're actually pretty good. I've also had brains in the form of tacos de sesos (brain tacos), as well as in a Pakistani preparation called maghaz masala (but those were lamb brains). I have not, notably, tried the canned Rose Brand version in milk gravy.

Just because organ meats are among the foods Guy Fieri avoids at all costs doesn't mean you have to. Indeed, the scariest part about the brains isn't the organ itself or the cornstarch-laced milk gravy — it's the cholesterol content. A 5-ounce can of pork brains in milk gravy contains 3,190 milligrams of cholesterol, which is equivalent to 1,060% of your daily recommended intake of the stuff. Mixed with scrambled eggs, and that results in even more cholesterol, which is impressive. 

So I promise these things are totally edible; the decision to try them out is just about whether or not the concept of brains and cholesterol turns you off. And if you're still hungry, Rose Brand does sell one other canned organ meat product. Canned beef tripe in milk, anyone?