Martini’d Lamb’s Kidneys

Cooking The Dark Side ...

Lamb’s Kidneys & Gin on Toast with Scrambled Eggs

It’s time to change for the sake of change! Devilled lamb kidneys is a fossilized old cliché that I believe may now be put out to pasture after decades of loyal service. Shocked Conservatists will probably bite chunks out of their brandy snifters and desperately clasp stodgy steak & kidney puddings to their breasts, but – alas – so be it.

Lamb’s kidneys are mild flavoured, have a wonderful texture (unless over cooked) and are nutritious to boot, despite general public opinion. Granted, I wouldn’t eat them on a daily basis either as they do have a unique taste (as all organs do) that requires a bit of pre-emptive planning to deal with. However, I wouldn’t describe lamb kidneys – which are the mildest tasting of those of beef, lamb and pork – as an acquired taste. They are quite elegant, in fact.

And no, fresh kidneys do not reek (nor taste) of piss or dank alleys. But, they are highly perishable and should not be left to languish in the refrigerator. Fortunately they cook very, very fast, so there’s no need for allowing them to wallow in the fridge until an appropriate opportunity presents itself.

Paradoxically, it is this very ability of lamb’s kidneys to cook so fast that makes them ideal for a lazy, stay-in-pj’s-&-slippers Sunday breakfast in the company of your languid better half. Who knows what might follow after such a luxurious, elegant start to the day?

Needless to say, but kidneys deserve a bit of respect and should be combined with ingredients that celebrate their uniqueness, not suppress it. We shall explore this concept in future posts.

In this recipe we dress sautéed, quartered kidneys with a reduction of mild flavoured gin and a dash of lemon juice. A smidgeon of Dijon mustard and a spot of cream gently bind all the loose strands together and thicken the sauce into savoury, liquid velvetiness that just calls out for excellent toast and creamy scrambled eggs. Crème fraiche or sour cream works better in this setting (in my opinion) than fresh cream. And yes, the recipe for excellent toast is here on this blog.

A word of caution: Absolutely resist the temptation to flambé the boiling gin. Gin contains a shocking amount of alcohol that results in a massive fireball on igniting the pan. Subsequently it only subsides into a vigorous column of careless, blue tinged flames that happily singe the extraction hood filter covers until you manage to slap a shocked lid on the sauté pan.

That initial fireball, however, is a real dozy: briskly removing arm hairs, trimming eye brows and frightening the seven sorts of bejesus out of unsuspecting bystanders. Unfortunately your vengeful fire alarm will not appreciate your sense of humor.

MARTINI’D LAMB’S KIDNEYS

– PRINT RECIPE –

Recipe yields:
2 Portions
Preparation time:
± 20 minutes
Cooking time:
± 20 minutes
Difficulty level:
Easy peasy!

Special Equipment Required:

1 x Spiral type wire whisk

Lamb’s Kidneys & Gin Ingredients

Ingredients:

Fresh kidneys, halved & cleaned
4
Butter
5ml


Medium onion, finely diced
½
Sugar
7.5ml
Butter
5ml


Mild flavoured gin
80ml
Lemon juice
15ml


Fresh or soured cream
15ml
Dijon style mustard
2.5ml
Salt
2.5ml
Freshly ground black pepper
1.2ml

Method:

1.      Halve each kidney half. Rinse under cold, running water and leave to drain.

2.      Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Add the kidneys in one batch when the butter is hot and bubbling. Sauté until the kidneys stop throwing off liquid, 5 – 6 minutes. Check that the kidneys are still pink in the centre. It will cook through in the final step. Transfer to a heat proof bowl, cover and keep warm until needed.

3.      Melt the second portion of butter in the same pan until hot and bubbling. Add the onions and sauté until soft and translucent. Add the sugar, turn the heat down to medium and sauté, with frequent stirring, until the onions start to caramelise. Watch the onions closely to prevent it from burning. Transfer it to the kidneys when ready.

4.      Add the gin and lemon juice to the same pan and stir – using the spiral wire whisk – until boiling. Scrape the pan to lift any stuck or caramelised bits. Reduce the liquid until about two tablespoons (± 30ml) is left.

5.      Add the cream, mustard, salt and pepper to the pan and stir until thoroughly mixed. Return the kidneys and onions – and any liquid collected in the bowl – to the pan, mix through and heat until the sauce just start to bubble.

6.      Serve immediately on hot, crisp white bread toast and pimento olives – if you dare...

Preparing kidneys for cooking:
7.      Bean shaped, intact kidneys need to be prepared for cooking by removing the white, fibrous section found in the ‘eye’ of each kidney. This white part is called the hilum and can be easily removed with a sharp, small utility knife or a pair of sturdy, medium sized scissors. Beef kidneys will require a pair of kitchen shears. The hilum is composed of tough, fibrous tissue that will cook into hard, sinewy sections. Not nice!

8.      Wash the whole kidneys under cold, running water and dry thoroughly. Place a kidney on a dry cutting board with the ‘eye’ facing directly downward. Using a sharp chef’s or butcher’s knife, halve the kidney by slicing lengthwise through the ‘back’ so that you are left with two halves that separate into a butterfly shape. The white hilum sections will be clearly visible in the ‘eye’ section of each half.

9.      Turn each half over and rotate it so that the ‘eye’ of the kidney faces you. The protruding hilum should be visible in the curve of the ‘eye’. Pin it down on the cutting board surface with the index finger of your non-dominant hand. Insert the front third of the utility knife’s blade between your finger tip and the halved kidney onto the hilum.

10.    Firmly and slowly push the blade away from your finger tip while pressing down gently onto the hilum and scraping along it. A slow to-and-fro, sawing motion with the knife will help to separate the hilum from the kidney proper. Don’t press down too hard with the knife while ‘sawing’ or the hilum will be shredded, making it difficult to remove. The hilum will separate from the kidney tissue revealing five white ‘strands’ of hilum tissue extending into the kidney half.

11.     Sever these strands, remove the intact hilum and discard. Wash the prepared, halved kidneys under cold running water and use as instructed in the recipe.

12.     Alternatively, use the scissors to trim away the white hilum section. Be careful not to trim too vigorously or an excessive portion of kidney tissue will be lost.

Lamb’s Kidneys & Gin on Toast, Side View

Comments:

¨     Kidneys are generally supplied whole and may be fresh or frozen. In more up market chain stores, the clean, fresh kidneys will have been halved and prepared for immediate cooking prior to packaging. Alternatively, purchase – or order – fresh kidneys from your friendly neighborhood butcher and ask him to prepare the kidneys for you. The butchery sections of many franchise supermarkets will also have butcher’s staff on duty that will perform this small service on request.
¨     Two kidneys per person should be enough as they are quite filling.

© RS Young, 2017

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Note:

Post updated on 2024.03.14 to include:

1. The updated Recipe for downloading as a PDF file, and

2. Recipe Title and Print Recipe, Recipe Index and Facebook & Pinterest follow links.


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