Stewed Lamb Kidneys with Madeira and with Mushrooms

To obtain fine stewed kidneys it must be perfectly well understood that they should be sauted over a quick fire in order to seize them rapidly and ought never to be allowed to boil or cook in their sauce. Suppress the skin from eight fresh lambs' kidneys; mince them up, removing all the hard parts. Heat some butter in a pan and when hot, put in the kidneys and fry them over a brisk fire; season with salt and pepper, and when the meats are sized without being dry, take them out with a skimmer, leaving the liquid in the pan. Fry a tablespoonful of chopped onions in butter in a sautoir, pour into it the reduced kidney gravy, and let the whole cook with a little half-glaze sauce (No. 413), and half a gill of Madeira wine, strain and skim the fat from the sauce, and pour it over the kidneys, heat them without boiling, and finish the stew with lemon juice and chopped parsley.

With Mushrooms.—Instead of using Madeira, reduce the sauce with mushroom essence (No. 392), and add some sliced mushrooms.