Wednesday, April 13, 2016

K is for Kidney

K is for Kidney

 Lamb's Kidney
Kidney is another thing which used to be eaten a lot in England and is certainly used in Europe. I personally have used beef (or ox as it is called in the UK) kidney and lamb's kidneys off and on all my life. The beef kidney is best for Steak and Kidney pie or pudding
Beef Kidney
although people do use lamb's kidneys for it too. In my mind lamb's kidneys are best for frying for breakfast or making into Devilled Kidneys which used to be a very popular Victorian breakfast dish. My father wasn't quite a Victorian but when he was born people were still eating that way so he imbibed these kinds of dishes with his mother's milk as it were. We always had wonderful breakfasts at home
and kidneys appeared on the menu many times, along with kippers, smoked haddock, herrings fried in oatmeal, salt beef, belly of pork and many other things which are difficult to obtain these days. None of these boring old cereals for my father thank you. I am making myself hungry. I will have to go to the local market for some lamb's Kidneys. I have included a picture of Steak and Kidney Pudding which I used to make quite a lot at one time. Unfortunately, the suet pudding, which is delicious, tends to include way too many calories for me these days so I just make the steak and kidney, without the pudding part. No, this is not a sweet pudding, it is quite savoury and delicious.

By trimming, this recipe means cutting the kidney in half and then removing all the white part which I do with scissors.

Devilled kidneys on toast




By James Martin
From Saturday Kitchen



Ingredients

1 tbsp butter
4 lambs' kidneys, trimmed and cut into chunks
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp tomato purée
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp English mustard powder
pinch cayenne pepper
salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
2 slices white bread, toasted
1 tbsp chopped fresh flatleaf parsley


Method



Heat a frying pan until hot, then add the butter and kidneys and fry for 2-3 minutes, until golden-brown all over.


Place the Worcestershire sauce, tomato purée, lemon juice, mustard powder and cayenne powder into a bowl and whisk together well.


Pour the dressing onto the kidneys and stir well to combine. Cook for a further minute or two, until the kidneys are completely cooked through. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.


To serve, place the toast onto two plates and top each slice with the kidneys and pan juices. Garnish with flatleaf parsley.


Have a great day

30 comments:

  1. Kidney is one of the important organ for all. It helps to purify the blood. I also found of eating them. We used to make kidney roast which taste wonderful...

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    1. I love kidneys but it is difficult to find them here in Ontario WW. Never heard of kidney roast.

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  2. Hi Jo - love kidneys ... and we used to have them at home quite often - devilled kidneys were a treat as I was growing up. Delicious - and I do get them occasionally now - steak and kidney pudding is still a favourite - mostly in pubs ... cheers Hilary

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    1. Me too Hilary although last time I was in the UK I had trouble finding them.

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  3. Hmm. I've never been a fan of kidneys. There's something about the taste but my parents loved them, too. We always had cooked breakfasts, too, still do actually.

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    1. Your parents had the right of it Helen. Delicious food. We don't do cooked breakfasts much any more.

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  4. Stomach churning now. No thanks.

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    1. I'm laughing JoJo, I expected that reaction from you. Does Russell like them?

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  5. Only used them in my chestnut dressing for turkey and then I have to lie about it to my kids. I am not crazy about eating any organs.

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    1. Never used them in chestnut dressing. I just like chestnuts on their own for that Denise. Luckily both Matt and I enjoy kidney.

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  6. We grew up eating a lot of interesting type of meat like liver and beef tongue, but I don't think we had any kidney. Not sure if I would like it or not.

    betty

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    1. For most of us, we grew up with kidney Betty so we liked it (or not) from the beginning. Same as liver and beef tongue which my mother used to cook a lot, the tongue in particular, and I have never tried to cook. However, I loved to eat it but haven't come across it in years.

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  7. Hi, Jo,

    Not my kind of thing.... but I do like Kidney BEANS.... lol.

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    1. Shame on you Alex, and you living in NC where the locals eat all that kind of thing, pigs brains, liver, kidneys, you name it.

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  9. I've eaten them, but for some reason I'm very turned off by them. Must be the shape. LOL

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    1. Or something Yolanda. I love them and wish I could get them more easily.

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  10. I know kidneys are eaten by some but I just couldn't do it.

    Susan Says

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    1. By many actually Susan, but you are not alone.

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  11. Nobody in our family will eat kidney. Even the dogs leave the bits of kidney in their dog food. It's offal in more ways than one!

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    1. Now the dogs surprise me Pinky. I know many humans don't enjoy kidney.

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  12. I love steak and kidney pudding - my mother makes the most amazing one :). And kidney a la rein (no idea if the spelling of that is right, because I have never seen it written down) - it's sausages, kidney and mushrooms done in tomato, sherry and beef stock - it's lovely. I've found pigs kidney the easiest to prepare - lambs can be so difficult to core :)
    Tasha
    Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

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    1. You are unusual then Natasha. I think I make a good kate and sidley pudding too. (Joke name). Presumably that is supposed to be the queen's way so that would be à la reine. Never tried it but it does sound good.

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  13. Ok..sorry but bleccchhhh. Now my friend, who grew up with English diet loves this food.

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    1. I'm the same Birgit. They eat like this in North Carolina too mind you.

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  14. My Gramps at Kidney or wait, maybe it was liver. Actually, he ate allll kinds of stuff like that. I was a veghead as a kid, so I never tried any of it.

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    1. Probably kidney as well as he was from Europe right? I assume this is the right Gramps Ivy.

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    2. The gramps here was a Polish Jew, escaped to the USA. The other one we call, Papam, from Hungry.

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    3. Well I think either of them would probably have eaten kidney and other organ meats Ivy.

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