What Are Beef kidneys and How Can I Use Them?
If beef kidneys have turned up in a recipe or caught your eye at the store, here's what you need to use them with confidence and how to choose them, cook them, store them, what to substitute, and 6 recipes to try them in.
What are beef kidneys?
Beef kidneys weight in at about 1 pound a piece. They are large, oval, and shaped with many lobes. They are not tender, and unless properly prepared they have a strong taste.
Before cooking all of the fat, gristle, and membrane should be removed. To remove all of all the strong flavor and obtain a palatable meat, it is essential that they be soaked in cold water with lemon juice (1/4 cup lemon juice for each quart of lemon juice) for 30 to 40 minutes, changing the water once or twice during soaking. After draining cook according to your recipe.
Kidneys are usually grilled or sautéed, but in more complex dishes they are stewed with a sauce that will improve their flavor. In many preparations kidneys are combined with pieces of meat or liver, like in mixed grill or in Meurav Yerushalmi.
Among the most reputed kidney dishes, the British Steak and kidney pie, the Swedish Hökarpanna (pork and kidney stew), the French Rognons de veau sauce moutarde (veal kidneys in mustard sauce) and the Spanish "Riñones al Jerez" (kidneys stewed in sherry sauce), deserve special mention.
Where found
Beef kidneys are usually found in the meats section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.
| In Chinese: | 牛肾 | |
| British (UK) term: | ||
| en français: | reins boeuf | |
| en español: | riñones de carne |
Recipes using beef kidneys
There are 6 recipes that contain this ingredient.
The President's Beefsteak & Kidney Pie
A proper British steak and kidney pie with claret-marinated beef, browned mushrooms, and a golden puff pastry lid. Hearty, old-school comfort that feeds eight hungry guests.
Felvideki Finom Nulleves
Felvideki finom nulleves, a hearty Hungarian hare soup from the Upper Highlands with root vegetables, lard-browned liver roux, and rice. Old-country game cookery from the Felvidek region.
Best Steak & Kidney Pudding
Steak and kidney pudding, the British pub classic: cubes of round steak and kidney slow-braised with onions, Worcestershire and herbs into a rich gravy, then topped with flaky pastry and baked golden. Hearty old-country comfort.
My Steak & Kidney Pudding
Steak and kidney pudding with diced beef and kidneys in a suet pastry crust, steamed for 4 hours until the meat is meltingly tender. A proper British steamed pudding done the traditional way.
English Steak& Kidney Pie
English steak and kidney pie with beef round steak, kidneys, mushrooms, and carrots slow-simmered in gravy under a flaky pastry crust. A proper British pub classic done right at home.
English Steak & Kidney Pie (British Isles)
Traditional English steak and kidney pie with flour-dredged beef and kidneys braised in gravy with mushrooms and carrots under a golden pastry crust. A proper British pub classic.
