Broiled Kidneys
6 lamb's or 4 calf's kidneys
Butter
Cooking oil
Lemon
Salt and pepper
Parsley
Cut the kidneys into halves, remove the white tubes and fat and cover with cold water for thirty minutes. Drain and dry on a piece of cheese-cloth. Brush with, or dip into, cooking oil. Broil slowly until brown on both sides. Remove from the broiler and put in pan, sprinkle with salt, pepper and a little melted butter. Cover the pan and set over a slow fire for a few minutes. Serve garnished with slices of lemon and sprigs of parsley.
A straightforward broil that depends almost entirely on trimming and timing; kidneys turn from tender to rubbery within a minute or two.
- The hinge: do not overcookLamb kidneys need only a few minutes a side and are usually taken off while still faintly pink at the centre. Past that the proteins tighten and the texture goes bouncy, which is what gives kidneys their bad reputation.
- The cold-water soakThirty minutes in cold water draws out some of the ammoniac smell. Many cooks now use lightly salted water or a splash of milk, and rinse well before drying.
- TrimmingSnip out the white core with kitchen scissors rather than a knife; a curved cut through the halved kidney takes the tubes and gristle cleanly without wasting flesh.
- "Broil slowly"On a range of the period this would have meant a moderate rather than fierce heat. Under a modern gas or electric broiler, set the rack 4-5 inches from the element rather than directly beneath it, so the outside browns while the inside is still just cooked.
- "A slow fire for a few minutes"The covered pan over gentle heat finishes the kidneys rather than searing them. The lowest burner setting for two or three minutes is enough to melt the butter and let the juices settle.
- Calf's versus lamb's kidneysCalf's kidneys are larger and milder; lamb's are stronger and cook faster. Either may need ordering ahead. Beef kidney is not a substitute here as it is far too strong and tough for broiling.
- ServingThe recipe gives no yield; six lamb kidneys would make a modest main course for a few, or a breakfast dish for more. The lemon is listed as a garnish, but the acid is also worth squeezing over to cut the richness.
Broiled kidneys belong to the British and Anglo-American breakfast table, where devilled or plain-broiled offal sat on the sideboard alongside bacon and kedgeree, and the habit carried into American household manuals of the same period. Butterick's book came from the pattern company, which also published domestic advice, and addressed a housekeeper expected to use the whole animal; kidneys were both cheap and quick — a virtue when the range was already lit. The soaking step that opens the recipe reflects a real concern of the era: kidneys reach the kitchen carrying the smell of their function, and cookbooks of the period commonly offer some remedy for it, whether cold water, salted water, milk or a scalding. Lemon and parsley are a common finish for broiled meats in books of this generation.