Crispy Fried Kidney

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Crispy Fried Kidney


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  • Author: Jill Baker
  • Yield: 4 Servings 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale

1 Beef Kidney, about 1 lb., cleaned and prepped *See Here*

4 Tbsp. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, divided

1 c. Blanched Almond or Cassava Flour

1 Tbsp. Fine Sea Salt

1 Tbsp. Ground Black Pepper

2 Tbsp. Unsalted Grass-fed Butter

3 Cloves Garlic, minced

2 tsp. Ground Coriander

1 Tbsp. Fresh Lemon Juice


Instructions

  1. Pat the kidney dry and cut it into 1-inch cubes. Toss in a medium bowl with 2 Tbsp. of the olive oil until well coated.
  2. In another medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, and pepper, Dredge the kidney pieces well in the flour mixture.
  3. Heat the remaining 2 Tbsp. of oil in a 12-inch cast iron skillet over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the kidney cubes and fry until cooked through, about 7 minutes. Remove the kidney from the pan and place on a place lined with a paper towel to soak up any excess oil.
  4. In the same pan, melt the butter, then add the garlic and coriander and cook until the garlic turns light brown. Return the kidney to the pan, then add the lemon juice. Cook for 30 more seconds and finish with a liberal sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Notes

Because beef kidney tend to have a stronger flavor than the kidneys of smaller animals, it’s key to soak them to remove impurities, as instructed here. Consider serving these with a tasty dipping sauce (found here). If you’re hesitant about stronger-tasting offal, start with smaller kidneys, such as veal or lamb, before working your way up to the big show!

This will keep in the fridge for about 4 days.

Recipe is an excerpt from It Takes Guts by Ashleigh Vanhoute and can be purchased here.

How to Clean & Prep Kidneys

 

Farming website logo

To prepare kidneys for cooking, begin by removing any outer fat or membranes.

Cut the kidneys in half lengthwise and remove the tough white gristle from the inside.

Once this is done, rinse in cold water and, to reduce some of the stronger flavor of the kidney, soak in cold water with a pinch of salt and 1 Tbsp. of apple cider vinegar (or the juice of 1 lemon) for 1 hour.

Drain, pat dry with paper towel, and proceed with the recipe as written.

 

This information is an excerpt from It Takes Guts by Ashleigh Vanhoute and can be purchased here.

Liver, Heart, and Kidney Tacos

 

 

Here’s a simple rule: When you’re dealing with things that people are afraid to eat, tacos are the way to go!

Hence this 2-day recipe for livers, heart, and kidney.

You can use any kind of liver, heart, and kidneys for this recipe-the method is the same-but I used chicken here, since these organ meats are widely available!

 

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Liver, Heart, and Kidney Tacos


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  • Author: Jill Baker
  • Yield: Feeds 4-6 people 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale

Equal Parts, 4 oz. each: Chicken Liver, Heart, and Kidneys

2 Tomatillos, golf ball sized

1 Tomato

3 oz. Dried Mexican Chili Peppers

1 Red Onion

1 Jalapeño Pepper

1/4 Bunch (3 oz.) Cilantro, chopped but not picked

2 Cloves Garlic, minced

3 Limes

Pepper, to taste

1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil

12 oz. Fresh Corn Tortilla

8 oz. Radishes, sliced

1 While Onion, diced small

Sea Salt


Instructions

Prep The Ground Meat

Set up the meat grinder, all metal parts from the freezer. Grind the liver, heart, and kidneys on a medium-size (1/4″) plate into a bowl sitting on ice. Mix the meat to combine.

Prep Your Veggies

Cut the tomatillo tomato in half. In a cast-iron pan, cook each half dry until charred black. Remove them, put in a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap to steam. Cut the red onion in half, the char and steam the same way. Char the jalapeño on all sides, then wrap in plastic to steam.
For tomatillo, tomato, and jalapeño, scrape off all black matter and seeds and discard. Chop the charred onion.
In a blender, combine half of the cilantro, garlic and charred tomatillo, tomato and red onion. Squeeze in juice of 3 limes and blend until liquefied to make salsa. Season with sea salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Cook Your Meat

In a cast-iron pan with vegetable oil, cook off the ground meats. Remove and discard the seeds of the dried Mexican pepper, then chop the pepper and add to meats while cooking. Add 1/2 of the pureed salsa to the meat while it’s cooking. Add water if needed. Cook until the dried pepper is tender. Season with salt, pepper, lime juice, and salsa to taste.

Prep The Tortillas

Lightly oil a nonstick pan. To warm up tortillas, lightly dampen them on one side, then put the damp side down in the pan and cook on low heat.

To Serve

Assemble each tortilla on a large platter with 2 Tbsp. meat mixture in the middle and top with salsa and chopped cilantro. Scatter sliced radishes and diced white onion around the platter.

Notes

Feel free to add in your favorite toppings; avocado, cojita cheese, sour cream, spring (green) onion, slaw, etc. The sky’s not the limit! Use the Salsa Verde sauce found here!

Information contained within is an excerpt from The New Charcuterie Cookbook by Jamie Bissonnette. Purchase the book here.

How to Prepare Kidneys

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How to Prepare Kidneys


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  • Author: Jill Baker

Description

Never prepared kidneys before? Here are some ways on how you can! Here’s a hint: the key is to soak them!


Ingredients

Kidney, any animal organ will suffice


Instructions

To Prepare:

  1. Wash and remove the outer membrane. 
  2. Split through the center lengthwise, remove fat and white tissue.
  3. Soak in cold salted water for 45 min.
  4. Precook beef kidney 1 hr. and pork kidney 20 min.

To Broil:

  1. Split open, brush with melted butter.
  2. Broil 10-15 min. depending on size.
  3. Turn once. 
  4. Season and sprinkle with lemon juice or a bit of mustard.
  5. Serve on buttered toast.

To Bread:

  1. Dip into egg.
  2. Roll in crumbs and pan-fry for 15 min. in hot fat.

Notes

Slice into “steak” sizes, bread and fry.  Liver and kidney benefit from soaking for a half hour or so as you would fish: in milk, lemon juice, or salt water.

Source of B12, riboflavin, selenium, iron, copper, zinc, phosphorus, as well as healthy amounts of B6, folate and niacin.

This recipe is brought to you from Baker’s Green Acres’ very own Jill Baker