Offally Good Cooking

Actually cooking organ meats week after week

Kidney

Kidneys in Butter-Mustard and Parsley Sauce à la Julia Child

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Julia Child's Kidneys cooked in Butter-Mustard Sauce

Once upon a time, a rat with an exceptional sense of smell determines he wants to cook.  “Anyone can cook,” he is told.

He’s separated from his family and ends up as an assistant secretly cooking in one of the finest restaurants in Paris. After discovering he’s a rat, the rest of the kitchen staff quit and he’s forced to prepare a meal by himself for the leading food critic in France.

Reunited with his family, they join his trusted friends to help him prepare the eponymous dish, which is a smashing success.

“Anyone can cook.”…

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Steak and Kidney Pie with Rosemary

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As the seasons change and weather cools, Steak and Kidney Pie with Rosemary is a lovely way to warm your home.  And to introduce organ meats (back) into your kitchen. Besides, everyone loves pie.  

The meat pie

If a good thing is bound to persist over time, meat pie qualifies. Original versions used the inedible crust to protect and cook the meat within.

I know you can’t believe everything that you read on the internet, but Wikipedia says they’ve been around since 9500 BC (ancient Egyptians).  The Greeks and Romans followed. The French and Italians improved the pastry. And the Brits and Aussies certainly seem to have taken all this to heart. …

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Kidney kebab, delicious insurance against migraines

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Sumac, thyme and grated lim zest base for marinade

After three snowfalls in April, it looks like grilling season has finally arrived here in Chicago.  This recipe for kidney kebabs can be made with other organs as well.  The marinade/sauce is delightful if you like sour – sumac and lime!

Kidneys get a bad rap, but they really shouldn’t.  Well, it does have an offal flavor to it.  And I once heard Brad Farmerie mention that no one wants to order it in his restaurant.

And yes, it can have a strong odor when cooking.  Alas, a perfect candidate for the grill! …

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Kidney tacos to satiate all kinds of hunger

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Kidney tacos put a new spin on one of our favorite foods.  It’s a nourishing meal to satiate the smallest and largest appetites in your family.

This recipe is inspired by ‘Uncle’ Travis and his taco obsession in grad school.  When his baggie of HEB taco seasoning spices (lovingly imported from Austin to Cambridge) ran out, he had to make do on his own.  And there we were, guessing the proportions of spices to make it right….

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Deviled Kidneys (and Other Innards) for Breakfast

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Deviled Kidneys with Leftover Brussel Sprouts and Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Fergus Henderson has a recipe for Deviled Kidneys in his book, The Whole Beast. He introduces it as “The perfect breakfast on your birthday, with a glass of Black Velvet (half Guiness and half Champagne).”  If this dish is good enough for a birthday breakfast, it was definitely something we needed to try.  And wait, did that say breakfast? Should we be eating kidney for breakfast?! Yes, we should.  See, it says ‘breakfast’ right there in the book.

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Braised rabbit with offal

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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, annual averages for 2015 time use surveys show women spending 37 minutes per day in ‘food and drink preparation.’ This is about 27% of all their household activities.  This compares to 17 minutes spent by men; 20% of their total household activities. As I learned in Michael Pollan’s Cooked, this category basically counts up minutes spent opening packages and warming prepared food, assembling the prepared ingredients of a sandwich, and of course any actual chopping or preparation of food in a traditional sense that may occur.

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