kidneys

"There is nothing quite like them--that feral taste combined with a mouthfeel not quite as tender and fatty as liver, nor as chewy as gizzards." [Photographs: Chichi Wang] Of all the nasty bits on earth, liver and kidneys must be...

The Nasty Bits: Deviled Kidneys Recipe

lamb's kidneys

red wine

red wine vinegar

cayenne pepper,

mustard

heavy cream

Salt and pepper

To prep the kidneys: Cut kidneys in half and carefully remove the gristly white centers with a paring knife. For lamb's kidneys, quarter them. For pig's kidneys, cut into bite-size chunks, approximately 1-inch across.

Heat a little fat in a frying pat and add the kidneys, sauteing for just a brief minute to brown.  Add the sherry and let it bubble for 30 seconds.  Add the vinegar and simmer for 10 to 20 seconds. 

Add the jelly, mustard, and cayenne pepper, stirring the kidneys to mix all of the elements together.  Add the Worcestershire sauce, and let the liquid simmer for 20 seconds until it is slightly reduced.  Taste for balance.  Depending on your taste for kidneys, you may want to add more sour or spicy elements.  

Finish by taking the pan off the heat and adding in the heavy cream, stirring to mix.  

Serve with toast or rice, garnishing with parsley if desired.  

Sear the kidneys in a ripping hot pan and serve them simply. I like them with just good salt and lemon, but  a good country mustard  is also nice.

Seared Venison Kidneys

venison or lamb kidneys

milk

Kosher salt

grapeseed oil

lemon

Coarse finishing salt like fleur de sel

Carefully peel the membranes off the kidneys. Slice them in half lengthwise so you preserve the kidney shape. Cut out the hard, white centers of the kidneys with kitchen shears or a paring knife. Soak the kidneys in the milk in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. If the milk gets too bloody, change it up to once per day.

Rinse off the kidneys and pat them dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle some kosher salt on them.

Heat a small frying pan on high for 2 minutes. Add enough grapeseed oil to put a film on the pan. You don&#39;t want the oil too deep or everything will spatter all over the place. Heat this oil for 30 seconds to a minute. You want it hot, but not smoking.

Place the kidneys cut side down in the hot oil so they are not touching. They will want to curl up, so gently press down on them with a spatula or bacon press. Sear like this for 2 minutes. Turn the kidneys over and sear in the same way for another 2 minutes. Kidneys should still be pink in the middle.

Take the kidneys off the heat and allow to rest on a cutting board for 3 minutes. Sprinkle some lemon juice over them. Serve finished with coarse fleur de sel.

Any kind of medium or large dried bean works great here. Starchier varieties&mdash;like Italian gigante beans or cannellinis&mdash;will produce a creamier broth, and more vegetal ones&mdash;anything lima-like&mdash;will produce a thinner, slightly stew-ier broth. Black beans, kidneys, and pintos are all good. The onions and cabbage melt into the dish, providing a blanket of sweet richness. Embrace the versatility of this dish by playing around with the vegetable make-up by adding cubed winter squash, swapping chicories for the cabbage, using stock in place of the water, or stirring in blanched hearty greens or spinach at the end, for example. And serving options are similarly open-ended; see below for a few favorites.

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The Nasty Bits: Deviled Kidneys Rec...

Seared Venison Kidneys

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Top 3 kidneys recipes from across the web

The most viewed kidneys recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

The Nasty Bits: Deviled Kidneys Rec...

Seared Venison Kidneys

Very Versatile Baked Beans With Cab...

The most viewed kidneys recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine