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!
Yet, somehow, it’s strangely appetizing. It always gets eaten up in our home. I think that because it’s not as fatty as liver – more like muscle meat in texture – it seems more familiar.
Avoiding migraines with vitamin B2
Meanwhile, like liver, kidneys are a great source of all the B vitamins. I keep bumping into B2 though. First, a friend of mine asked about helping her daughter avoid migraines. B2. Then, after a stressful weekend, I ended up with chapped lips – along with everyone around me. Looked that up, and it turned out to be B2 as well.
In addition to chapped lips or corners of the mouth, vitamin B2 deficiency could also show up as bloodshot eyes or light sensitivity. Yet, the most damning result of deficiency may be migraines.
High-dose vitamin B2 was found to relieve migraines in a randomized controlled study. As the researcher note, “Because of its high efficacy, excellent tolerability, and low cost, riboflavin [vitamin B2] is an interesting option for migraine prophylaxis and a candidate for a comparative trial with an established prophylactic drug.”
As far as B2 goes, kidney is equivalent to liver in this regard (when serving size is normalized). While neither of these are high-dose B2 options compared to the quantity used in the study above, a steady diet of bio-available B2 from food sources seems to do the trick in warding off migraines in our home. Kidney kebabs are yet another delicious insurance policy.
Kidney kebabs
This recipe is adapted from Batmanglij’s Persian cookbook, Food of Life. She includes heart and liver kebabs as well (on separate skewers of course, a minute or two more or less, respectively, for cooking times). This marinade makes the dish though, so use whatever you have.
Check out more kidney recipes here.
Notes
Optional, allow additional prep time (no work involved) for soaking the kidneys.
Ingredients
For the kidneys
- 1 lb beef, lamb or goat kidneys
- juice from 1 lemon (optional)
- 1 t salt (optional)
For the sauce
- zest and juice from one lime
- 1/2 t thyme
- 1 t sumac
- 1/2 t salt
- 1/4 t pepper
- 3 T olive oil
Instructions
- Prepare kidneys by cutting out and removing any white fat or connective tissue from middle area. For beef kidneys, cut along folds into walnut sized pieces. For lamb or goat kidneys, cut into large cubes.
- Optionally, place kidneys in bowl and add lemon juice and salt and soak for 15 minutes (on counter) or several hours (in the fridge).
- For the sauce, add herbs, salt and pepper, and lime zest and juice to cup. Add olive oil to cover.
- Remove kidneys from lemon/salt water and dry with a towel. Place kidneys on skewer and grill for about 5 minutes, turning half way through, mindful that they are still fresh or just pink in the middle. Alternately, preheat your oven to broil and cook for 5 minutes, turning half way through.
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