If they're not prepared properly they smell like pee... Obviously I don't know how to cook them or I wouldn't know they smell like that if you do it wrong... lol

I know now that you're supposed to get all the white stuff out though.

Hubby says his mother used to cut them up in small strips, fry them and make stew.

Rita

Where is Hannibal Lecter when we really need him? ;)

Lol! Well, I found out they don't really "grind up" so much as they puree. They didn't smell bad so I added them to a pound of ground beef while it browned. Found out kidney puree tends to burn rather than brown...

Hey shaun, what's red and green and goes 90 miles an hour?

Frogs in a blender!

hahahahohoho

Frogs sound better than kidneys....

I know it's good for you, and I've unwittingly eaten them years and years ago in England in steak and kidney pie..but things that smell bad have a hard time getting past my nose.

So ..was there a discernible taste???

LOL!! Trying to understand this, you're hiding grounded kidneys in lasagna? Is this meant to be a crude joke on someone???

DH used a more crass term than "pee", one that also started with the same letter - "p*ss". Soaking can help. (Not enough for me, but I'm trying to wrap my head around the lasagna thing, LOL.)

Carol

How to clean kidneys: slide in half lengthwise and remove the inner skin the same way that you'd skin chicken meat. This is the pouch that holds 'you know what'. Once you've done that and rinse it thoroughly, there shouldn't be any smell.

You can slide and sautee them with veggies.

Are you mad at your family? Why are you hiding this in the lasagna!!!???

Frog in a blender!!!!!! ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For edibility, they must be lamb's kidney's. They are much milder in flavour than those from other animals, although veal kidneys are an acceptable substitute. I cannot describe the flavour - but it's much better than liver or heart, though I like both those in small amounts. Here's a little household hint, however: If you want to make a steak and kidney dish and can't get kidneys, add a teaspoon of nutmeg to the meat mixture to give the kidney flavour.

I'm very fond of kidneys, as in Steak and Kidney Pie, or Devilled Kidneys. I suggest you start with the Steak and Kidney Pie if you've never tried them before - break yourself in gently.

You're supposed to soak the kidneys in salted water for a little while before cooking, to draw out any unwanted stuff, but I've never done it - partly because I don't like salt, and partly because salt tends to make the meat tough. It's important to cook the meat thoroughly. Always cut the kidneys in half lengthwise. Just remove any trailing bits!

Devilled Kidneys
8 lamb kidneys
60g butter
1 tablespoon plain flour
1 teaspoon French mustard
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup stock or water
salt and pepper to taste
squeeze lemon juice

Skin kidneys, remove cores, cut into thin slices. Heat half the butter in a frypan and quickly fry the kidneys until brown all over. Remove kidneys and keep warm Add remaining butter to pan, stir in flour and curry powder. Add Worcestershire sauce and stock and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Add kidneys and toss well to heat through. Serve on hot buttered toast. [You can add some chopped onions if your want to.]

Steak and Kidney Pie
500g topside steak, cubed
3-4 lamb kidneys, diced
oil for frying
1 tablespoon flour
salt, pepper
1 onion, cut into rings
stock or water

Dumplings:
1 cup self-raising flour
salt
1 dessertspoon (2 teaspoons) butter or dripping
pinch mixed herbs
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
water

Fry steak and kidney in hot oil until light brown, remove from pan and fry the onion rings. Add flour and cook for one minute, then add stock or water, stirring constantly until thickened. Replace meat and simmer gently for 1 1/2-2 hours. Place dumplings on top of meat 15 minutes before serving.

Dumplings:
Sift flour and salt and rub in the shortening until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add herbs and mix to a light dough with water. Roll into small balls.

Well I think kidneys fall into the liver category. Not so much the taste but the texture. I can deal with them in steak and kidney pie but we tried them twice in France, at very upscale places and didn't like them. I hate any liver because of the texture, except foie gras. I love sweetbreads. DH loves any and all organ meat EXCEPT kidneys.

Well, it's done. I sure wish I'd read all this first.

I didn't know about the white thing but it did seem awfully gristley and didn't grind up very well, so I removed it. I didn't know about the skin or "the pouch that holds 'you know what'" so I guess I ate some 'you know what.' (what?) I did have a weak moment when the thing thawed and it crossed my mind that it somewhat resembled testicles but I managed to keep a stiff upper lip and stay the course.

Anyhow, mixed with a lb of ground beef (well, bison) and made into lasagna with lots of garlic, it wasn't bad at all. Didn't taste of p*ss any more than my regular cooking. If you have to eat some kidneys it wasn't a bad way to do it. Hannibal Lector would be proud. Maybe next weak I'll try a different organ.

Maybe tomorrow I'll tell them what was in it. Or maybe not... anyhow, thanks for all the input. I need to go lay down now.

*snicker* *snicker* she said testicles

I don't think I could bring myself to eat kidneys. I will try just about anything...but kidneys don't rank high on my "want to try" list.

Well....just getting around to this one....reading the thread title...I was scrolling like mad to say the "4 letter P word"!! LOL!
But not always! I remember my mother cooking kidneys and just the smell in the kitchen would cause your stomach to flip! But I have had kidneys other times and they were fine...OK...not fabulous...but OK.
Just cook me chicken livers and tall me they are kidneys and I'll be fooled!
Linda C

Oh man, my mom used to "sneak" food in on me...or try. I learned to never trust anything with melted cheese or gravy because of that.

I'll eat frogs if I have to in order to be polite, but I won't ever eat kindeys again. Grandma's Seven Year Rule allows for exceptions. Guess it was no worse than having to eat chitlins though....

"Didn't taste of p*ss any more than my regular cooking."

OK, this line slew me!

I would have suggested a steak & kidney pie...which is the only way I eat them. In one of those it's not so much a taste as a texture (like a slightly tough mushroom). But I'm just not big on organ meats. I can clean a squid under duress but I'm not cleaning a kidney.

Nina

I don't care what you do to kidneys there is no way in

H E double hockey puck that I would ever, ever eat them.

Linda

Thank Goodness, the Rosie I had dinner w/didn't make lasagna last night!!! LOL!

Hey, whatever floats your boat!

I am usually open to try new things, but there's no way I would eat kidneys. And I'd be pi$$ed if someone snuck 'em into my lasagne! Yikes!

(gotta go toss my cookies, now...)

Linda

One of the more famous passages in literature is a description of the taste of kidneys. It's from James Joyce's Ulysses:

"Mr. Leopold Bloom ate with relish the inner organs of beasts and fowls. He liked thick giblet soup, nutty gizzards, a stuffed roast heart, liver slices fried with crustcrumbs, fried hencodÂs roes. Most of all he liked grilled mutton kidneys which gave to his palate a fine tang of faintly scented urine."

Bon appetit!!! Can't wait for my palate to have that fine tang.

The only time I've had kidneys on their own was at Durgin Park in Boston, as part of a mixed grill. Fairly uninteresting flavor, if you ask me. Texture very much like liver.

I've eaten heart, liver, tripe, cheeks, tongue, gizzards, and feet (pig's). I have to say no to kidneys, brains, testicles, or eyeballs.

OK, I've eaten kidneys. Also brains, testicles, heart, liver, tripe, cheeks (I still have my butcher cut me the "jowl bacon"), tongue goes into my sausage, I've been to Joe's Gizzard City on purpose for gizzards and my mother loved pickled pigs feet although I only thought they were OK.

Grandma told me the only way to make kidneys edible was to "boil the p*ss out of 'em". I suppose she did and as has been mentioned, the texture was much like liver. I don't remember a "urine" flavor, but I didn't like them.

I never thought of hiding them in lasagna, though. I'll bet I could slip testicles in there too, LOL. Don't ever eat lasagna at my house, Shaun!!!

Annie

Shawn : You're nuts !!!

Annie : You have weird taste anyway ??? If I ever visit you,
the only thing I'll eat is Apple Butter. Gotcha !!!

Lucy : I think you may never eat Lasagna again.

Does ,PEE PEE , PU, PU, sound better ??? Doctors use it.

Mr.Leopold Bloom , sounds like a flake too. Wheeeoooo!!!

Linda: ( gotta go toss my cookies now ... ) is that something like,
Getting your Cookies Off, ( the pan )

I better get outa here, before I get in too deep !
Lou

Lou, you're already in too deep, LOL.

What, you've never eaten Mountain Oysters? (grin) I have freely admitted that I grew up in a very poor family and if you're hungry you'll eat whatever there is for supper. Still, if you come to visit I'll make you homemade bread and apple butter, just for you!

Annie

Annie, Me and Lou will just have apple butter, thank you!

I love gizzards too - fried. And chicken livers - fried. EVEN frogs legs!

I've eaten fried squirrel too. Just gotta catch em, they're fast!
{{!gwi}}

This is the only forum I can think of where one can find James Joyce quoted in the same thread as the word "p*ss" and a picture of a water-skiing squirrel.

Just saying. :)

Oh, balls, don't knock it till you tried it.

Kidneys, like some livers, need to be soaked in milk overnight to remove any fun odors, if they have them. A careful butcher will clean them for you. Veal or calves is the one to get.

I haven't made them in years but dad loves them in a sweet sour sauce. It is not the Asian type, so I need to dig out the recipe.

We also eat beef and calves tongue here and really love that. I have never tried testicle, brain or sweetbreads, but I am told they can be done wonderfully.

Anyone up for czrnina, the Polish duck blood soup?

Organ meats and things made with them don't gross me out, I just don't like them. Sometimes taste, sometimes texture, sometimes both. And I have found that there is little room for second chances - taste something poorly made ONCE and you are never willing to try again. I have had terribly prepared chicken before and I still eat chicken. I have tried kidney and brain ONCE (two separate but equally unfortunate experiences) and that was more than enough for me LOLOLOL.

Dances - who is glad your lasagne came out fine.

Beanthere: You forgot Pu Pu and " oh, Balls "

Shaun : I know Squirrels can do all kinds of tricks, like
leaping
tall outhouses in a single bound but are they faster that a speeding bullet?
That's one of the best meats I've ever ate.

I forgot all about chicken livers, Sauteed w. Onions and Garlic.

When are we going to Annie's for Apple Butter ???

I,m out of here. I've caused enough trouble, for a while.
Lou

I'll bet more than a few of you have eaten beef heart... Yes you have... lol

Every stop at your favorite Coney Island restaurant and get a Coney dog, with lots of chili???

Well most of the restaurants in southeast Michigan get their chili mix from Dearborn Sausage and it contains beef heart... LOL

Rita

Rita, you're right, lots of people here eat sausage and hot dogs and kielbasa and bologna and I'll bet they've eaten ALL of the things mentioned above, plus ears, tails and parts unmentionable!!!

Annie

A lot of it with me is the texture, then the smell. Tripe, for instance. I can't get past the texture.

But mostly? I had enough biology in college to know what those parts are used for and that just turns me off. "The liver is used fordecomposition of red blood cells, plasma protein synthesis, and filtering poisons and toxins from the body. So, let's cover it with onions and fry some up!" Um...no...thanks.

I guess if I were hungry enough, I'd eat whatever I could get my hands on, but until that day comes I choose to exervise my options. Had to eat that stuff as a kid, and that was enough. Grandma with the d*mned pork brains in the scrambled eggs...as Bill Cosby once said, "I ain't eatin' nothin' nobody's been thinking with."

More for you guys who like them. Seconds even. :)

When young I was taught to eat what was set before me without complaint and be thankful for it. Fortunately it was generally good, though some things I'm not the least bit nostalgic for. I've eaten everything mentioned in this thread, I think, including the Rocky Mountain oysters. But the one thing not mentioned I hope never to eat again is the chicken feet.

Carol

Here in Germany, the kidneys are used mostly to make gulasch. I love it, but can only eat it at fests because noone else in my family will eat it.
I also like liver, heart and tongue. The other organs I have never tried.
I loved chitlins when they were fried. Taste like pork skins.
Lisa

I love lambs' kidneys, especially devilled. I have to eat them when I am home alone, though, as DH can't stand being in the same house with them.
Love liver, don't mind heart, tongue, like tripe, especially Chinese style, and chicken feet. Don't like the texture of brains.

Well, I have to say, I didn't mind the idea of eating them before reading this thread, but now I never want to eat organs again! What was I thinking?!! I guess that they're good for you. But I didn't give much thought to what kidneys are used for - blech! Why would people eat that on purpose?

I stopped eating hotdogs the day my son informed me that pig anus's are still 100% pure pork. And labeled as such on the ingredient list.

And I almost went vegetarian the day I read a description of meat as "putrescent, cadaverous flesh." EEWWW!!

Ok, seldom am I literally laughing out loud when I write LOL, but Sigh, you got me on a roll here! Laughing so hard I forgot about the nauseous feeling I was getting from this thread. Thanks for pointing that out - I missed it the first time around.

"Didn't taste of p*ss any more than my regular cooking."

Freaking classic.

LOLFR (for real)

Oh gosh, Rosie! Didn't taste of p*ss any more than my regular cooking." OMG, I'm really and truly ROTFLMAO.

This is a heckuva thread - I'm slightly nauseous but still laughing!

Won't eat chitin's? Wanna bet? What do you think they use for pork sausage links or the natural casings for hot dogs??? LOL

Love liverwurst??? Recipe calls for 'bull' meat and 'cow' meat... LOL

Love your lunchmeats, hot dogs, ham, bacon, sausage??? One whiff of dry sodium nitrate/nitrite will cause your nose to bleed, inhale a 1/4 of a teaspoon and your lungs will bleed.

Something else to think about.... You are what you eat... How many turkeys do we have here? LOL... LOL

Rita

Rosie this is the second time this week you have made me laugh out loud, really out loud! This one and the grandkids as company! LOL

You're a hoot lady!

Carol, AMEN!

Oh yeah, Chase, the grandchildren comment was a hoot!
Rosie - you're something else!