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Kidneys, Minced
Chop an ox kidney into pieces the size of a pea, season them rather highly with salt and cayenne, and fry them in two ounces of hot butter for a quarter of an hour, moving them about frequently in the pan, that they may be equally cooked. Moisten the mince with one table-spoonful of good brown gravy, and three table-spoonfuls of champagne, stew a few minutes longer, and serve in a hot dish.
A late-Victorian breakfast or savoury dish that comes together in twenty minutes, provided the kidney is properly prepared before it meets the pan.
- Prepare the kidney firstThe recipe assumes you know to strip the membrane and cut out the white core and fat before chopping. Skipping this leaves gristle and a strong ammoniacal taste. Many cooks also soak ox kidney in cold salted water or milk for an hour and pat it dry, which tempers the mineral edge.
- Ox kidney means beef kidneyA whole beef kidney is large, roughly 1 to 2 lb, and is considerably stronger and tougher than lamb's. Butchers will usually supply it on request; lamb kidneys are a milder substitute but need much less time in the pan.
- Pea-sized diceThe size is the point. Cut fine and evenly, the kidney cooks through fast and the mince holds a sauce; ragged large pieces will be raw in the middle and leathery outside.
- A quarter of an hour is too longFifteen minutes of frying will make finely diced kidney tight and rubbery. Four to six minutes over brisk heat, until browned and just firm, is nearer the mark, with the pan kept moving as directed.
- Two ounces of butterThat is 4 tablespoons, generous for the amount of kidney but it becomes the base of the sauce. Use a wide pan so the pieces sear rather than steam.
- Brown gravyHere this means a made meat gravy or reduced brown sauce, not gravy granules. A tablespoon of reduced beef stock, or stock thickened with a little butter and flour, does the job.
- The champagneThree tablespoons of any dry sparkling or still white wine gives much the same effect; the bubbles will not survive the hot pan. Let it reduce for the 'few minutes longer' the recipe directs, then serve at once.
- YieldThe recipe gives no number of servings and says only to serve in a hot dish; a whole ox kidney will stretch to several small savoury portions. Kidney stiffens as it cools, so warm the dish and serve immediately.
Devilled and minced kidneys belong to the Victorian and Edwardian breakfast sideboard, where hot chafing dishes of offal, kedgeree and bacon were served in households that ate a substantial savoury breakfast. Ox kidney was cheap and strongly flavoured, which may be why the seasoning here is deliberately sharp. The splash of champagne suggests this particular version was written for a well-off kitchen. Cassell's, compiled as an alphabetical dictionary rather than a narrative cookbook, sets many different kidney treatments side by side, from the plainest broil to versions dressed with wine.