Braised Kidneys à la Gladys

I promised to post this recipe as soon as I could get my husband to collaborate with me on writing it down. For this nostalgia-inducing dish we used beef kidneys from Skagit River Ranch. Since my husband’s childhood memory of this dish included rice and buttered peas, that’s how we served it, except we used brown rice because we’re nutrition nerds. My favorite brown rice is Lundberg’s short grain brown rice.

Ingredients:
1 beef kidney (about 1 pound)
1 cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1-2 tablespoons butter
½ cup thinly sliced onions
½ cup beef stock
½ cup red wine

Prepare the kidneys by slicing them in half and removing the white membrane (small scissors are useful for this chore). Cut the kidneys into bite-size chunks.

This next step is not necessary (my husband’s mother never did this) but can be done to alleviate some of the strong odor and flavor of beef kidneys. Put the sliced kidneys in a colander in the sink. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Remove from heat, add 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar and stir. Pour the acidulated water over the kidneys, one cup at a time, shaking the colander well between each rinsing. Rinse under cold water and allow to drain.

Pat the kidney pieces dry or too much flour will stick to the meat. Season with salt and pepper. Dredge the kidney pieces in the flour.

Melt the butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Sauté the kidney pieces in the butter quickly – just enough to brown the outside, about 2 minutes. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside.

In the drippings, sauté the onions over medium-low heat until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add the meat back into the pan, along with the stock and wine and simmer for about 15 minutes. Adjust seasoning if necessary and serve.

Serves 4.

Check out the Joy of Cooking or The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating for more recipes using organ meats.