Kidney help !!

Menolly_2

Sorry, I loathe kidneys with a passion - bleurgghh. I remember vividly having to prepare them for Steak & Kidney Pie at school in Home Economics, knowing full well that when I got the darned thing home, my mum, dad and brother would pick out all the bits of kidney. I also remember having to cut out all the white bits - YUK!

parsonswife8

Pink-winged wrote: »

Like MrsM I use scissors to cut out the core. It is a fiddly job but well worth it for the flavour kidneys give to the dish. My fav breakfast is kidneys on toast. :drool:

Pink

___________________________________________

Lamb's kidneys and creamed mushrooms on toast. Yum!!
:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

THIRZAH

We had lunch in a local pub last time DD1 and her BF visited. BF and I both ordered steak and kidney pie.We got a slice of steak and a small pie full of kidneys!

champys

Tashja wrote: »

Will have to see what the final taste is like !!! They were really cheap though - 55p and there were 12 of them !!!

Are there any other "offal" bits I could try - we like liver and are trying kidney - not sure about heart, etc though.

T xx

Heart is fabulous - I have only discovered that very recently. We received half a heart free with our organic beef, and I did not want to waste it. Many recipes are for 'stuffed heart', which is difficult if you only have a half. I ended up making a dish called 'beef heart braised in wine' and both DH and myself were amazed how lovely it was, the gravy is just gorgeous. This will definitely figure on the menu more regularly. If you are interested I can give you the recipe.

Tashja

champys wrote: »

Heart is fabulous - I have only discovered that very recently. We received half a heart free with our organic beef, and I did not want to waste it. Many recipes are for 'stuffed heart', which is difficult if you only have a half. I ended up making a dish called 'beef heart braised in wine' and both DH and myself were amazed how lovely it was, the gravy is just gorgeous. This will definitely figure on the menu more regularly. If you are interested I can give you the recipe.

Yes please - I might be brave !!

Is heart hard to prepare - have to say I wasn't prepared for the "fidldyness" of the Kidneys !!

T xx

champys

Tashja wrote: »

Yes please - I might be brave !!

Is heart hard to prepare - have to say I wasn't prepared for the "fidldyness" of the Kidneys !!

T xx

Tashja - no, in my case all I needed to do was slice it, even though the recipe says 'remove fat and arteries'. Heart is all muscle, so not as spongy and fiddly as kidneys. It does need long, slow cooking though, which I did in my pressure cooker. The 1 hour in the recipe is probably a little optimistic. But I expect a slow cooker will also be excellent at getting this right.

Here's the recipe:

4 pounds beef heart
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons butter
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 potatoes, chopped
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup red wine

1 Wash the heart and remove any fat and arteries. Slice the heart in half, then slice it into 1/2 inch thick slices.
2 Dredge heart in flour and season with salt and pepper.
3 Heat the butter in large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the heart slices and cook for 30 to 45 seconds per side.
4 Stir in the onion, carrots, potatoes, thyme, beef broth and wine. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour. Serve.

Do try it, it is really delicious!

Stephen_Leak

This might be a way of getting rid of aany remaining lamb's kidneys - one or two at a time.

BAKED POTATO & KIDNEY

This recipe is a combination of surgery and cookery. If you are cooking this for someone else, don’t tell them what’s in the potato and call it "Baked Potato Surprise".

Serves 1

INGREDIENTS

1 baking potato
1 lamb’s kidney
1 rasher of bacon
Butter
Ground pepper to taste.

METHOD

Prepare and start to bake the potato as you usually do.

Whilst the potato is cooking, remove all the tubes from the middle of the kidney. Wrap it in the rasher of bacon.

About 20 to 30 minutes before the potato should be ready, remove it from the oven.

Make a star-shaped cut in the top of the potato, and open out the flaps. Dig a kidney-sized hole in the potato with a teaspoon. Put a little bit of butter in the bottom of the hole. Push in the bacon wrapped kidney. Season with the pepper. Bury the kidney with as much of the dug out potato as you can. Close the flaps.

Put the potato back in the oven and cook for a further 20 to 30 minutes until the kidney is cooked through.

ADDITIONS & ALTERATIONS

Add a little bit of English mustard. Add a little bit of parsley.

TIPS

Remove the kidney’s tubes (called the core) with a pair of sharp scissors.