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I was just speaking to someone in the sci-fi chat today when the subject of kidneys came up:

Kidneys aren't "bad" in that they have the consistency and taste of muscle/meat... but they're very bitter even after having been prepared. I think you're supposed to boil them.

I've never had boiled kidneys before, nor do I intend to. But the poster of that comment also mentioned that I should Think about what's in kidneys for a moment.

So here I am to ask, should I be boiling them to get rid of their previous contents or are they safe to fry etc?

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ps: Shouldn't the posted question be titled as something other than "my kidneys" as if it's your own remains being cooked? – zanlok Dec 14 '12 at 21:37
@zanlok you're thinking of the liver. – Pureferret Dec 14 '12 at 21:59
@zanlok I understood that so, But some of the urine is still in the kidneys before reaching the urethers. And that makes kidneys have a huge urine smelling. – J.A.I.L. Dec 15 '12 at 0:22
+1 for a great question title. – FuzzyChef Dec 15 '12 at 18:36

2 Answers

up vote 4 down vote

It's perfectly safe to eat kidneys unwashed. But almost nobody enjoys smelling ammonia, urea or nitrogenous wastes in general when eating food.

You can boil them to remove that taste.

But a better alternative is to leave them covered with salt in a colander (so what everybody thinks there's in kidneys for a moment will fall off). Leave there for about two hours, and then rinse them with water with vinegar.

Source: I asked a nephrologyst who prepares one of the best Riñones al Jerez (in English kidneys in Sherry) I've ever tasted.

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And here I thought you had to put them in pie together with steak.... – SAJ14SAJ Dec 14 '12 at 22:33
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@SAJ14SAJ Yeah steak and kidney pie or pudding, can't beat it! – spiceyokooko Dec 14 '12 at 23:02
Well, Riñones al Jerez is a typical dish where I am from. I've also eaten just fried when I was a kid (with liver: supposedly for being healthy). I'm sure there are many tasty recipes for kidneys. – J.A.I.L. Dec 15 '12 at 17:16
up vote 2 down vote

You don't need to boil them.

Skin them, split them lengthways without separating them in two halves and remove the cores. Soak in cold water for 5 or 10 mins.

Fry, grill or sauté them or braise/steam them with Steak in a pie or suet pudding.

Just to add, it's sheep's kidneys that generally get used.

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Why the soaking? – Pureferret Dec 14 '12 at 23:16
@Pureferret You should generally soak most offal (liver, kidneys etc.) in water or milk before cooking to remove some of the strong flavour from them. – spiceyokooko Dec 15 '12 at 2:05
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I've seen recipes calling for pork, beef, lamb or poultry kidneys, besides sheep ones. It depends on the recipe (or on what you can get, I guess). I really don't know why ones would be preferred ver others (except that poultry ones fit whole in your mouth). – J.A.I.L. Dec 15 '12 at 17:02

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