After making some amazingly delicious chicken liver rolls a while ago I decided to give more offal a go.
With things the way they are with money in our household offal is a great choice when a meaty dish is on the cards.
If money isn’t an issue, half braising steak and half kidney is a delight and is the base of a gorgeous steak and kidney pie.
Pig’s kidney is quite strong tasting though so to balance this I added some brown sugar.
To further sweeten the pot (literally) as an after thought I added tinned carrots and sweetcorn and served it along with some long grain rice.
Cheap, cheerful and filling!
Pepper’s Braised Pig’s Kidney
Serves 4 – 6
Ingredients
1 liter beef stock
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
One large onion, diced finely
700g pig’s kidney, rinsed and chopped small
400g white mushrooms
100g plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
2 heaped tablespoons brown sugar
100g frozen peas
Optional
One large tin sweetcorn 400g (280g drained)
Two tins cooked carrots 600g (320g drained)
or
raw equivalents added 30 minutes before the end of cooking time
Method
Place the seasoned flour into a food safe bag and add in the kidney pieces, tossing until all of the kidney pieces are coated.
Preheat the oven to 160oc.
Heat a large oven safe pot over a high heat, adding in one tablespoon of oil.
In batches, adding oil when needed, brown the kidney on both sides, then remove and set aside.
Add in the chopped onion and cook on a medium heat until coloured and soft.
Place the kidney back into the pot (draining the juices if they are blood coloured) and then add in the mushrooms.
Cook until the mushrooms have reduced in size then add in the sugar, stirring to make sure it’s combined.
Add in the beef stock and bring the mix to a boil on a high heat.
Place on the lid and put into the oven for 2 hours, checking every 30 minutes to stir and add vegetables if desired, until the meat is tender and the gravy is thick.
Add in frozen peas and any other frozen or tinned vegetables of choice and place the lid back on for a few minutes, depending on the size of the vegetables.
Serve along with rice, on it’s own or leave it to cool and place it in a pastry case. (See Beef, Ale & Bacon Pie for cooking guidelines)
