Kidneys, Grilled

A classic British breakfast dish that survives almost unchanged; the technique matters more than the ingredient list.

• Which kidneysThe recipe does not say, but lamb's kidneys, small and mild at roughly 2 oz each, are the likely intention; two per person is a normal serving. Veal kidney can be treated the same way but needs cutting into thick slices; beef kidney is too strong and too tough for grilling.
• Skinning and coringAfter peeling off the thin membrane, snip out the white core at the hinge with scissors. The book omits this, but the core is gristly and will not soften in seven minutes.
• Butterflying, not halvingCut through lengthwise but stop short of the far side, then open the kidney flat like a book. The skewer holds it open so it cooks evenly; without it the kidney curls and the middle stays raw.
• The gridironA gridiron is a rack set over live coals. A ridged cast-iron grill pan over high heat, or an outdoor grill, gives the same result. A domestic overhead broiler works but sits the kidney further from the heat, so allow a minute or two longer.
• Cut side firstThis is the instruction that matters, and the recipe is explicit about it. The cut face gets the fiercest heat and browns while the kidney is still moist; searing does not literally seal juices in, but starting rounded side down wastes that browning on the flat face.
• Six or seven minutesThat total, split roughly evenly between the sides, leaves the centre faintly pink, which is correct. Kidney cooked through turns grainy and ammoniac. Judge by feel: firm at the edges, still yielding at the thickest point.
• Suet on the barsRubbing the hot bars with fat stops sticking. Any neutral high-smoke-point oil on a folded paper towel does the same job.
• ServingThe toast is structural, not decorative: it catches the juices that run out when the kidney is unskewered. Maitre d'hotel butter or mustard butter appears with grilled kidneys in some Victorian cookery, though this recipe seasons only with pepper and salt.