How to cook kidneys?
As you know, offal is often used in traditional cuisines of different countries. Kidneys contain useful vitamins and substances. Perhaps the most important problem in preparing kidneys is to properly cut them and remove the smell, which is a very serious drawback of this type of offal. But if you learn how to cook kidneys, you will understand that this is not just a delicious dinner. With the help of kidneys you can prepare a real delicacy. Let's take a closer look at how to cook pork and beef kidneys.
Additional recipes with video
And in conclusion, we offer you a video on how to cook odorless pork kidneys and then beautifully decorate the finished dish.
Pork kidneys stewed with onions and carrots
Rassolnik with pork kidneys
2 years ago
One of the most useful by-products in terms of its content of valuable components, low-calorie by-products is pork kidneys. How long should you cook them to make them tasty and without any foreign odors? Hurry up to learn all the tricks of their preparation in order to diversify your menu with an economical and appetizing dish.
How to cook odorless pork kidneys
The preparation of offal always has its own nuances, by observing which you can prepare a tasty and inexpensive dish. Let's find out how to cook pork kidneys correctly, odorless, tasty and without problems. Buds are useful and should be included in your menu, but in order to get them, they must be freed from the unpleasant odor. Because of this, many people refuse this valuable product and do not introduce it into their diet. Today we will tell you about the nuances of cooking pork kidneys, and you will definitely succeed. Plus, you'll save money on meat.
See also how delicious it is to cook chicken gizzards in sour cream in a frying pan, soft and juicy.
Shall we get started?
So, initially you need to buy the right product. Whether it’s pork kidneys or beef kidneys, the first thing is that they must be fresh. No frozen product, and cook immediately as you brought it home. Here they are - fresh, beautiful, smooth, elastic, without any extra inclusions or stains.
The only negative is the smell. But we will deal with this problem now. Wash it well, cut off the visible white fat, and wipe it dry so that it does not slip in your hands when processing.
Getting rid of the smell
The most important thing now is to rid the kidneys of the smell. There are several options for this. The simplest one: in this cut form, place them in cold water and soak for 6-10 hours. It’s better to soak them in the evening, after an hour or two, change the water a couple of times, then change it a couple more times in the morning.
Next, rinse and fill with clean water, turn on high heat, when it boils, drain the water, rinse, fill with clean water, boil again once and then set to simmer in clean water.
If you still feel a slight odor after this, proceed to the second option. Add vinegar to cold water and soak the kidneys in it for an hour.
Rinse and cook; you can add onions, bay leaves and peppercorns. Now there will definitely be no smell. But if the patient is too sick, you can also soak in milk for 1-2 hours.
How to cook
There are many options for preparing kidneys: you can fry them, stew them, add soy sauce, any vegetables, mushrooms, and so on. It will be delicious to fry the chopped product in a frying pan, add salt, sprinkle with pepper, flavor with sour cream and simmer. We will cook like this:
Cut the boiled kidneys.
Fry onions and carrots in a frying pan, add kidneys, simmer together until tender, pour in a spoonful of sour cream, tomato, add herbs, pepper, and add salt.
Separately cut the potatoes.
Boil it, puree it, and serve, pouring the resulting gravy with kidneys. Tasty and simple for every day.
This dish goes well with pickled cucumber and fresh vegetable salad.
An offal that requires a special approach - boil the kidneys!
Directly cook the pork kidneys for 40 minutes (if they are cut into pieces) to an hour.
But before you start boiling, they are blanched, soaked, and pickled. These are mandatory steps, because due to the large amount of mineral salts, such an offal has a very unpleasant odor.
On a note! Immerse the kidneys only in boiling water!
There is another way to rid the kidneys of an unpleasant odor - boiling. How long should you cook pork kidneys in this case? The total cooking time is reduced somewhat, but you will still need to immerse them in water for 2 hours first (if you have time, leave the kidneys in water overnight). After which they need to be washed, pour another portion of water, and put the pan on the fire. After boiling, drain the water, pour in a new portion again and boil the kidneys for 40 minutes.
To eliminate the smell of urea and make the taste of the buds more delicate, you can also soak them in milk in the manner described above.
Even those housewives who know how and how much to cook beef kidneys do not always get the desired result. This is because many of them ignore the rules for preprocessing the component. Despite the fact that this procedure takes a total of several hours. As for the timing of boiling beef kidneys, they range from 50 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes.
Only after all stages of processing have been completed can you begin to prepare the main dish based on the boiled offal.
Pork kidneys in sour cream (classic recipe)
Ingredients:
- 700 g offal;
- carrots and onions;
- half a glass of sour cream;
- one clove of garlic;
- butter – 1 tbsp;
- soy sauce – 50 g;
- milk – 200 ml;
- seasonings
Cooking method:
- Pork kidneys need to be freed from odor. It is not difficult. It is recommended to soak the product in milk (the recipe takes its presence into account).
- Cut the kidneys into portions, lengthwise into strips, and place in a bowl.
- Fill them with milk. After three hours you can start preparing the dish.
- Chop the onion and carrots, dividing them in half, and chop the garlic into small pieces.
- Fry these ingredients in oil until soft.
- Place the kidney strips over the vegetables. Continue heat treatment until the first blush appears on the meat.
- Mix sour cream with sauce and spices. Pour over the dish being prepared.
- Simmer for about twenty to half an hour.
- While the kidneys are on the water, it’s time to make the side dish. Prepare mashed potatoes or buckwheat porridge. They will ideally highlight the taste of the odorless offal.
A secret for the curious: how to cook odorless pork kidneys (if there is no milk).
You can remove the “aroma” from the offal by boiling it. Just don’t need to cook them for hours, rendering the product inedible. There is a faster and more convenient way to eliminate a specific odor. At the same time, he will answer the eternal question of housewives: how long to cook pork kidneys.
Rinse the offal well and remove unnecessary fat. Soak the pork kidneys for a couple of hours in plain water (you can leave it overnight). Then you should transfer the kidneys to a container with fresh water and quickly boil. Remove from heat and pour out hot liquid. Immediately add cold water and bring to a boil again. After double cooking, the kidneys will get rid of the unpleasant odor. They can be used to prepare any dish.
Removing the smell
1. First of all, wash and dry the kidneys with a paper towel (this will make it easier to work with them). 2. Trim off any excess white fat. 3. Now we get rid of the smell. There are several soaking options for this. Usually, before this, the kidney is cut lengthwise or soaked entirely. You can also slightly cut the surface with a “mesh” so that accumulated aromas are better washed out.
Option 1. Double boiling
Soak the buds in plain water for 2-12 hours. Then rinse, add water and bring to a boil over high heat. Drain the water, fill it with cold water again and boil again.
Option 2: Rinse in vinegar
Pour 300-400 ml of white vinegar into a bowl and add a heaping tablespoon of salt. Rinse your kidneys until the water becomes cloudy. Place the bowl under running water and let the product “rinse” for about 20 minutes.
Option 3. Soaking in milk
Fill the kidneys with milk (it perfectly absorbs odors and adds tenderness to the taste) and leave for 1-3 hours. Then rinse thoroughly. Unfortunately, milk cannot be used after this.
You should not skip the soaking step, because pork kidneys, in contrast, almost always have a very unpleasant, pungent odor.
How to remove bad odor
The first question asked by any housewife who is going to fry or stew pork kidneys for the first time is related to the possibility of removing an unpleasant odor. There are effective ways to get rid of specific amber, there are even several of them.
- One way to rid kidneys of a repulsive odor is to briefly boil them twice. The offal is poured with water, brought to a boil, boiled for 2 to 5 minutes, washed and the manipulation is repeated, pouring clean water.
- The most common way to remove an unpleasant odor is to soak the buds in water for a long time. The organs of old animals are soaked for at least 8 hours before frying or stewing; the kidneys of a young pig can be soaked a little less. You can make cuts on the buds themselves for more effective soaking. It is recommended to change the water to fresh water every 1.5-2 hours.
- Soaking in salted water is even more effective. However, keeping offal in salt water for a long time can cause them to become too dense, so experienced cooks do not favor this method.
- Soaking in a vinegar solution allows you to remove the smell quite quickly (in 30-60 minutes). To do this, prepare a saturated solution by dissolving 80-100 ml of 9% vinegar in a liter of water.
- Baking soda is no less effective. The offal is sprinkled with it and left for 20-30 minutes, after which it is washed well.
- Rinsing in running water in itself can rid the kidneys of an unpleasant odor. To do this, place pieces of offal in a colander or sieve, place under running water and keep under it for 30-60 minutes. The disadvantage of this method is the wasteful use of utility resources.
- Rinsing in vinegar removes odor almost instantly. To do this, mix 400 ml of table vinegar with 20 g of salt, pour the solution over the kidney pieces and stir for several minutes, then rinse.
- Some housewives soak the kidneys in milk, which makes them more tender. However, the offal cannot be kept in milk for more than 3 hours, otherwise it may spoil. In addition, milk is ineffective against a specific odor. This method can be considered additional.
How to properly prepare beef kidneys for boiling?
The process of pre-processing beef kidneys is not complicated, but it takes a lot of time. It allows you to bring the product to an optimal state, even if it is not of the highest quality (for example, it was obtained from not the youngest cow). There are several stages of preparation:
- First, you need to cut off everything unnecessary from the buds. These are films, channels, fat and veins, which during heat treatment only become harder and are not chewable, which spoils the product. Even if these elements account for a significant part of the live weight, you should not try to save, everything must be removed to the maximum.
- We wash clean kidneys in cold water, changing the liquid several times.
- Be sure to soak the offal in water, or even better, in milk, for 2-3 hours. If possible, change the selected fluid at least a couple of times.
Now all that remains is to remove the product, rinse it under running water and cut into small pieces. Despite the fact that the kidneys can be boiled in their entirety, it is better to grind the component. This will allow you to spend a minimum of time on bringing it to readiness and remove internal vessels and films.
How to store?
After purchasing lamb kidneys, you need to cook them immediately, since these offal products are perishable. Kidneys can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than a day, but only if they are immersed in water or milk.
The by-products can be washed, fat clots and vessels can be trimmed, and the ureters can be cut out, and then the kidneys can be packaged in tight bags and placed in the freezer. The shelf life of such buds will be 3-4 months, but they will not retain all the beneficial substances.
The process of cooking beef kidneys in a saucepan
Place the prepared offal in a cooking container and fill it with water, which should exceed its level by 2-3 cm. Place the dish on medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil. After this, reduce the heat to low and let the mixture simmer for 5-6 minutes. Then drain the water and rinse the workpiece under running water.
If a greasy coating appears on the walls of the pan, it needs to be washed off. Again, place the product in cold water and repeat the entire procedure. In total, this process must be repeated so many times that the total duration of boiling the kidneys is from 50 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes, depending on the quality of the component and the size of the pieces.
Advice: When you have to deal with very fresh offal obtained from a young animal, you don’t have to worry too much. In this case, it is enough to boil the component twice for half an hour, changing the water only once and washing the pan.
Taking into account the specifics of preparing the product, a multicooker, double boiler and pressure cooker are used extremely rarely for processing it. In extreme cases, you can use the microwave. True, you will have to independently determine the duration, frequency and power of the exposure.
Method for preparing odorless pork kidneys
So, on the eve of cooking, rinse the kidneys thoroughly with cold water, cut off the films, remove fat and visible veins, and leave them in water overnight or for 5-6 hours.
Pour 4 liters of water into a saucepan, bring to a boil, throw the kidneys into boiling water. Bring to a boil, cook for 3 minutes, drain the water, drain in a colander, and rinse thoroughly with hot water.
For cooking, you can take 2 large pans, so the process will go faster.
To cook odorless pork kidneys, you need to heat 4 liters of water to a boil again, throw in the kidneys and bring to a boil again. Boil for a couple of minutes, drain the water again and rinse the offal under the tap.
The water replacement procedure should be done 3 times, each time cook for 3 minutes after boiling, and rinse thoroughly each time. Over time, the kidneys will decrease in size, this is a natural process.
Now let's prepare the spices for the final cooking. Finely chop the celery stalks, peel the garlic head, and cut the onions into several pieces. Add a teaspoon each of coriander, fennel and cumin seeds, a bunch of fresh parsley and bay leaves.
Pour 2 liters of boiling water into a saucepan, add the washed kidneys, add seasonings and salt to taste.
Bring to a boil, after boiling, remove the scale with a slotted spoon, although after repeated boiling it is unlikely to appear. Cover the pan with a lid and cook over low heat for 30 minutes.
Take the finished, odorless pork kidneys out of the pan and cool. I also cut them further and cut out the ducts from the center, but this is not necessary.
This semi-finished product is suitable not only for preparing first and second courses, you can also bake a classic English pie with kidneys. Prepare delicious food from inexpensive ingredients.
Bon appetit!
Liver and offal
The most delicious recipe for cooking pork kidneys: two options with step-by-step photos and detailed video instructions, as well as tips! Let's choose and try a dish!
4-5 servings
1 hour 15 minutes
102 kcal
5/5(1)
We offer you step-by-step recipes for preparing pork kidneys, which for clarity are demonstrated with photos and videos for your convenience. Let's figure out together how to properly prepare this offal so it's soft, tender, and without an unpleasant odor!
a brief description of
Lamb kidneys belong to category I by-products, since their chemical composition (presence of useful components) is not inferior to lamb.
What do they look like?
The offal is shaped somewhat like a flat tomato. The surface color is brown or brownish, it can be lighter or darker depending on the age of the ram. The buds are dense and fleshy due to the high fluid content in the fibers. The surface is smooth.
Size and weight
Lamb kidneys are small in size and can fit in the open palm of an adult. The weight of the kidney varies from 100 g to 200 g depending on the size and age of the animal from which the offal was removed. In stores they are sold in packages weighing from 500 g.
The product has an unusual, unlike anything else taste. When properly prepared with preliminary soaking, lamb kidneys turn out tender and juicy, which makes the dish almost a delicacy. The taste is somewhat reminiscent of young lamb meat.
Smell
The aroma of urea and lamb is specific and pungent, but in a young animal the kidneys do not have such a strong odor. After soaking, only the subtle aroma of lamb remains.
Recipes for delicious dishes based on boiled offal
A wide variety of dishes can be prepared from boiled beef kidneys. If you don’t want to limit yourself to mixing them with stewed vegetables, you should try the following recipes:
- Mushroom salad with kidneys. In addition to 150 g of boiled kidneys, we will need 300 g of boiled chicken fillet, a couple of tablespoons of chopped dill, 3 tablespoons of small pickled champignons, 5 cherry tomatoes, a small onion, salt, pepper and a tablespoon of vegetable oil. All components just need to be crushed to the desired size, mixed, seasoned with spices and vegetable oil.
- Take 300 g of boiled kidneys, three large potatoes, 3 pickled (not pickled!) cucumbers, an onion, a carrot, 3 tablespoons of butter, half a glass of pearl barley, a little parsley, basil and salt. Soak the pearl barley for an hour, finely chop the kidneys. Peel the carrots and onions, chop them and fry them in butter. Add chopped cucumbers to them and simmer for a quarter of an hour. Place pearl barley, diced potatoes and kidneys into the meat broth. After 10 minutes of boiling, add all other ingredients and cook until fully cooked. Serve with chopped herbs and sour cream.
- We will need 300 g of boiled kidneys, half a glass of green peas, half an onion, a bunch of lettuce, a teaspoon of wine vinegar, dill, 3 tablespoons of sour cream and salt. Cut the kidneys into small pieces and sprinkle with vinegar. We tear the washed and dried lettuce with our hands and finely chop the onion. Combine all the ingredients, thoroughly but gently knead the mass, season with salt and sour cream.
In addition, soaked and properly boiled buds make an excellent filling for pies and pies; they can be used to make pates and snack cakes. The already boiled component is often added to a variety of soups, stews and porridges in order to give them taste and nutrition. It should be remembered that boiled beef kidneys must be used immediately after cooking. Even if they sit in the refrigerator for only a few hours, their texture will noticeably deteriorate, and the taste will no longer be the same. But ready-made dishes with this component can last in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Most housewives do not want to buy pork kidneys because they do not know how to cook them properly in order to get rid of the specific smell. If, in the old fashioned way, as our grandmothers recommended, you soak the kidneys in water and then cook for a long time, then you can say that there will be practically no smell, but you still want to know how else you can prepare this offal.
Delicious pork kidney recipes
This product goes well with soy sauce or pickles. Kidneys can be prepared as a separate dish and served with all kinds of cereals, added to soups and pickles, used as an appetizer, or stewed immediately with a side dish. We offer you several recipes for simple but endlessly delicious dishes.
Pork kidneys stewed in sour cream
Ingredients:
• 1 kg of kidneys • one medium carrot and onion • 3 cloves of garlic • 3 tbsp. sour cream • 2 tbsp. soy sauce • 50 g butter • 200 ml milk • salt, pepper
Cooking:
1. To prepare the kidneys, you need to first soak them in milk and then “double boil” them. 2. Let the product cool and cut it in any way. 3. Then cut the onion into half rings, the carrots into half circles, chop the garlic and fry it all in oil until soft. 4. Add pork kidneys. Fry until they begin to lightly brown. 5. Make a sauce from sour cream, seasonings and soy sauce and pour it over the prepared dish. Simmer for 20 minutes.
The ideal side dish for stewed kidneys would be buckwheat porridge or potatoes in any of its forms.
Pork kidneys with mushrooms in Lithuanian style
Ingredients:
• 400 g of kidneys • 10 g of dried mushrooms • 40 g of onions • 20 g of flour • 50 ml each. vegetable oil and white wine • salt
Cooking:
1. Cut the soaked kidneys into strips and place in a frying pan with already heated oil. 2. Add finely chopped onion and fry until lightly browned. 3. Fill the pan with wine and simmer until tender (10-15 minutes). 4. In another pan, fry the chopped mushrooms. 5. Mix flour with salt, sprinkle on kidneys and stir. 6. Place the prepared kidneys on a dish and sprinkle mushrooms on top.
For beauty, you can put a sprig of parsley on top.
Pork kidneys with vegetables (multi-cooker recipe)
Ingredients:
• 600 g of kidneys • 5 large potatoes • 2 fresh cucumbers • 1 large carrot • 1 large onion • 1 clove of garlic • large bunch of parsley (with root) • 2 tbsp. tomato paste and vegetable (preferably olive) oil • 1 glass each of water and sour cream • salt, pepper
Cooking:
1. Cut the soaked kidneys into cubes, sprinkle with salt and pepper and leave for a few minutes. 2. Place them in a slow cooker, sprinkle flour on top and cook for 15 minutes in the “Baking” mode. 3. Mix sour cream, tomato paste and chopped garlic. 4. Pour the resulting sauce into the bowl and simmer for 15 minutes. 5. Finely chop the onion and carrot into a frying pan, chop the parsley root as much as possible and fry in oil for 10 minutes. 6. Then pour it all into a bowl, cut the potatoes and cucumbers into strips, put everything in a slow cooker and simmer for about an hour and a half.
How to choose pork kidneys
It turns out that in order for the kidneys to turn out tasty, you need to be able to choose them correctly. Namely, you will need an exclusively fresh product. Pay attention to the color: the shade of this product should be red, but not dark, but light.
The buds should be elastic if you lightly press on them with your finger, as well as shiny and, very importantly, smooth. If you pressed and dents remain, then this product is no longer fresh, as are dark spots, as well as mucus.
If frozen kidneys are available for sale, it is also undesirable to take them.
How to get rid of pork kidney odor
What you need to know to cook odorless kidneys. Method one:
- The offal must be thoroughly rinsed in water and dried with paper towels.
- Armed with a sharp knife, cut off the fatty areas (or rather, light fat).
- Now you can think about the most important thing: to get rid of the smell, you need to soak the kidneys in water. To do this, you need to cut each unit lengthwise, or you can leave the buds whole. But it’s still better to make thin cuts on the surface so that unpleasant aromatic substances are washed out faster.
- You need to take cold water and soak for a long time - for 8 hours. Moreover, it is advisable to drain the water every 2 hours and take fresh water.
- After 8 hours of soaking, the kidneys need to be dried, the film, vessels (at least the largest), ureters removed and rinsed well again under running water.
Method two:
- Boil, but first you need to prepare the kidneys again, leave them in cold water for at least 2 hours, and maximum overnight.
- After this, rinse the offal, add fresh water, and put it on the stove. When the water boils, drain it, fill the kidneys with fresh water, and wait until it boils again.
Method three:
- The kidneys can be soaked in an express way. In order to save time, the kidneys need to be filled with white vinegar (400 ml), add salt (1 heaped tbsp).
- Soak until the water becomes cloudy.
Method four:
- Place the kidneys in a bowl and cover with water.
- Place the bowl in the sink, open the tap so that the water barely drips - let the water flow directly into the bowl with the offal.
- Rinse in this way for 20 minutes.
Method five:
- Soak the kidneys in milk. First, the offal must be prepared, rinsed thoroughly under running water, and fat removed. Cut into 2 parts.
- Place the kidneys in a bowl and cover with cold milk. Leave for 3 hours (minimum 1 hour).
- Then rinse the product (pour out the milk!) and you can cook. This method will remove the unpleasant smell of urea and give the kidneys a delicate taste.
Spicy pork kidney snack without flavor
Ingredients:
- kidneys – 300 g;
- carrots – 300g;
- vinegar - 1 tbsp. l.;
- bulb;
- vegetable oil, vinegar, soy sauce, red and black pepper, garlic (to taste).
Cooking method:
- Soak the kidneys in milk or water in advance (we get rid of the smell). It is advisable to keep them in the liquid longer, after making a notch (small cuts) across the entire surface.
- Next, you should boil the offal. Housewives often stumble at this point, not knowing how to cook pork kidneys. This product, previously removed from the smell, is subjected to heat treatment for no more than forty minutes.
- While the kidneys are simmering on the fire, prepare the Carrot salad.
- Grate the carrots on a special grater (you can use a regular, large one).
- Cut the onion into small cubes.
- Heat a spoonful of vegetable oil in a frying pan. Fry the onion until golden brown. Quickly squeeze a clove of garlic into the heated mixture and add to the grated carrots. Salt and pepper to taste. Add a teaspoon (at least) of vinegar. Leave in a sealed container.
- Cool the buds, with the odor already removed. Cut into strips. Sprinkle with soy sauce. After five minutes, mix with the prepared salad. The original appetizer is ready.
Methods of soaking
The main problem when preparing dishes from offal is the unpleasant smell. It occurs due to a high concentration of urea. Soaking helps get rid of it.
For the night
This is the most common method, which involves long-term soaking of the offal. To save time, housewives advise soaking the kidneys in the evening and starting cooking the next morning.
- First, the raw materials are washed and dried, then the light fat is cut off with a sharp knife.
- Large buds are cut in half, and deep cuts are made on small ones to make it easier to wash out the urea.
- They are placed in a large plastic bowl and filled with cold water. If possible, it is advisable to drain the water several times and replace it with fresh water.
After soaking, the kidneys are washed and dried again, then the vessels and ureters are removed. After this they are ready for further preparation.
In milk
To prevent offal from stinking, they can be soaked in milk. This will soften them and give them a delicate flavor.
- The kidneys are cut, washed, and inedible elements are removed.
- Place in a bowl and fill with milk. It is advisable to change it every hour. The processing time is 3–4 hours (the longer you leave it, the tastier the dish will be).
- The milk is drained, the kidneys are washed and dried with napkins.
How to cook odorless pork kidneys
Now let's prepare a delicious dish - pork kidneys in sour cream.
To work you will need:
- pork kidneys – 1 kg;
- medium-sized carrots and onions - 1 pc.;
- sour cream – 3 tbsp;
- garlic – 3 cloves;
- soy sauce – 3 tbsp;
- milk - a glass;
- butter – 1 tsp;
- salt and ground black pepper - to taste.
How to cook kidneys so that there is no smell:
- First, you need to soak the offal in cold milk for 1 hour, then double boil it: add fresh water, put it on the stove and wait until the water boils. Drain the water, pour in new water and wait until it boils again. The kidneys cook quickly.
- Drain the water, rinse the kidneys, process (free from films, vessels, etc.), leave on the table, let them cool.
- Carrots and onions need to be peeled and chopped (carrots - grated, onions - cut into cubes).
- Fry vegetables in vegetable oil with garlic (cut into slices).
- When the onions and carrots are almost ready, you need to add the kidneys (cut into strips or cubes) and fry until lightly browned.
- From the remaining products: soy sauce, sour cream, salt and spices, you need to make a sauce and pour it over the almost finished dish. Simmer for only 20 minutes and you can serve.
Kidneys go well with sauces and will also accompany pickled cucumbers. Can be served with any side dish. Bon appetit!
Most often we use standard dishes in our diet, but sometimes we want to cook something tasty from products that are unusual for us.
When looking for recipes, we turn to either a cookbook or a cooking website. Of course, there are no particular difficulties in finding recipes on the Internet now. Resourceful housewives post online step-by-step preparations for a wide variety of delicacies. One of these delicacies is kidney dishes. But not every housewife would risk preparing such a healthy but specific dish, because... There are quite a lot of nuances in its preparation, and if you don’t follow the step-by-step instructions, you won’t get any tasty dish from the kidneys.
Pork kidneys: how to cook without smell - quickly and tasty
They could well be classified as superfoods, if not for one “but”. Everything cancels out the unpleasant smell. Because of it, many housewives bypass the offal “tenth price”. If they take it, then for pets. Although properly cooked kidneys are a restaurant-quality delicacy!
“Real” buds have a mild, rich flavor and a delicate, buttery texture. They are easy to prepare. This is ideal for a quick dinner or lunch.
Product selection
I buy frozen pork kidneys from a local producer. An alternative is fresh from the market. Look for them in the meat pavilion of pork sellers. It is preferable to take offal from a young animal, not a “boy”.
Externally, the buds resemble beans. They have a smooth surface and a pleasant, reddish-brown or chocolate color. The older the animal, the darker the shade. One piece weighs about 150 grams. Choose whole specimens, evenly colored, without damage or fat.
Take a kilo or two at once. The volume during cooking decreases, plus there is a lot of waste.
Proper preparation
Most recipes begin with the words “soak in saline solution” or “soak in water.” I cooked like this once... I ended up throwing everything away.
Don't repeat other people's mistakes! Salt imparts toughness, and soaking makes the flesh “rubbery.” Moreover, these techniques do not help, like blanching or boiling in three waters. When you start cooking, you will immediately understand by the smell that this is the wrong way.
Prolonged exposure to water or warm milk (even worse) contributes to the accelerated proliferation of microorganisms. Even low temperature will not slow down bad processes too much. Kidneys are a specific product, well, you understand what I mean...
What can you do to prevent pork kidneys from stinking?
The preparation is long, but not difficult. The main thing is that it will help avoid unpleasant odors and make any dish tasty. I propose the following algorithm:
- Thaw the kidneys at room temperature (if necessary), rinse under the tap, and dry with a paper towel.
- Remove outer films, light fatty core (required!), connective tissue, ducts. Get rid of fat and everything unnecessary. You should be left with clean pulp.
- Use kitchen scissors or a sharp knife. Cut lengthwise and then crosswise into slices. The thickness is arbitrary. I chop them 1 cm at a time, so they soak better.
- Transfer the resulting semi-finished product (of which 70 percent of the original volume remains) into a colander and rinse thoroughly.
- Then place in deep bowl and cover with baking soda. You will need a lot of powder - 2 tablespoons per kilogram.
- Do not be alarmed if foam appears (and it will definitely appear - a neutralization reaction occurs).
- After 30-40 minutes, rinse thoroughly. Pour in vinegar diluted 1:1 with water. You can take apple one. The liquid should completely cover the pieces. Stir so they don't touch. You will get a lot of foam.
- Leave for an hour or two. Don't rush to cook.
- Rinse under the tap, fill with water, leave for half an hour. Do this several times (two or three). You can go about your business, visiting the kitchen from time to time.
Voila! Pork kidneys are ready to turn from an offal into a luxurious delicacy. There is not much left - to cook them and “bring them to mind.” If in doubt, drain the first water after boiling, then add new water to the pan.
By the way, you will understand from the broth that everything was done correctly. There will be almost no foam in it. The smell is normal, not strong.
Additional recommendations
Don't add salt! Cook under a closed lid at low simmer for 30-40 minutes. I add bay leaf and peppercorns. Love them.
Now you can prepare the product in any traditional way, fry or stew with tomato, sour cream, onion. No one will refuse such a tasty treat, and some will not even realize that there are “some kind of” kidneys in front of them.
Instead of vinegar for soaking, beer is suitable (if you don’t mind