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Pig's Kidneys, Broiled
Split the kidneys lengthwise from the rounded part, without separating them entirely. Peel off the skin, and pass a wooden or metal skewer through them to keep them flat. Sprinkle a little pepper, salt, and powdered sage over them, oil them slightly, and broil them over a clear fire, the hollow side first, so that the gravy may be kept in when they are turned. Serve on a hot dish, either with or without maitre d'hotel sauce in a tureen. Time to broil the kidneys, four minutes each side, or more, according to the size. Sufficient, one kidney for each person.
A short recipe that depends almost entirely on heat and geometry: the kidney is opened flat, pinned so it stays flat, and cooked fast. Everything else is seasoning.
- The hinge: keep it flatSplitting from the rounded side and leaving the halves joined gives you a butterflied kidney that cooks evenly. Without the skewer it curls into a cup within seconds of hitting the heat and the thick centre stays raw while the edges scorch. Two soaked bamboo skewers pushed through crosswise work as well as one metal one.
- "A clear fire"This means a coal fire burnt down to steady red with no flame or smoke — the equivalent of a hot charcoal grill or a gas grill preheated to high. Under a domestic broiler, put the rack in the top slot and preheat it fully; a lukewarm broiler stews the kidney in its own juice.
- Trimming the coreCassell's says only to peel off the skin (the thin membrane, which pulls away easily once you get a corner started). Modern practice is also to cut out the pale gristly core and any visible fat at the hinge with the point of a knife, which reduces the strong flavour people dislike.
- SoakingPig's kidney is stronger than lamb's. Half an hour in cold water, or in milk, then a rinse and a thorough pat dry, tames it. Dry the surface properly or it will not take colour.
- Doneness and timingThe recipe gives four minutes a side as its baseline, with longer for larger kidneys; small ones may need less. Pork offal should be cooked through — firm and juicy with no red in the centre, not pink like lamb's kidney — but a minute past that point turns it to rubber, so check the thickest part early.
- Oiling"Oil them slightly" is a brush of olive oil or melted butter, no more. Kidney has little fat of its own, and any excess drips onto the coals and flares.
- Maitre d'hotel sauceUsually a butter worked with chopped parsley, lemon juice, pepper and salt, close to what a modern kitchen calls maitre d'hotel butter, though the direction to send it "in a tureen" suggests something loose enough to pour. Softened almost to a pouring consistency and sent to table separately is the safest reading; a cold pat set on the hot kidney does much the same job.
- YieldOne kidney per person, as stated, makes a breakfast or savoury portion rather than a dinner. Powdered sage is the period seasoning; it is assertive, so a scant pinch per kidney.
Broiled kidneys belong to the Victorian and Edwardian breakfast table, where grilled offal, devilled bones and kedgeree stood on the sideboard for a household that ate its largest meal much later in the day. Lamb's kidneys were often said to be the preferred choice; pig's kidneys were cheaper, larger and stronger-tasting, and sage — the herb English cookery has long paired with pork — is worked into the seasoning here. Cassell's New Dictionary of Cookery was an alphabetical reference for the middle-class kitchen rather than a chef's book, and its instinct is visible in the last line: a note on timing and a note on quantity, so a cook could scale the dish for whoever happened to be at table. The recipe also assumes the open coal range, and the phrase "a clear fire" is a reminder that grilling over a smoking or flaming fire was understood to taint the meat.