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Stewed Kidneys

Stewed kidneys simmered in butter, flour, stock, Worcestershire sauce, mushroom catsup, sherry, and seasonings.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Mushroom and sherry are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,176 recipes. Both carry 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol, which smells smoky, clove. The science ↓

Stewed Kidneys

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the kidneys

  1. Split the kidneys in half.

  2. Carefully trim the sinews and fat inside the kidneys.

  3. Cut the kidneys into small pieces.

  4. Place the pieces in a pan covered with cold water.

  5. Heat on moderate fire until almost boiling.

  6. Drain the water.

  7. Cover with fresh cold water.

  8. Repeat this process two more times without boiling.

Make the sauce and finish

  1. In a frying pan, melt the butter until brown.

  2. Add the flour and boiling water or stock.

  3. Stir constantly until it boils.

  4. Add Worcestershire sauce, mushroom catsup, salt, pepper, and the kidneys.

  5. Stir until the kidneys are thoroughly heated.

  6. Remove from heat and add sherry.

  7. Serve immediately.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Mushroom + sherrytop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,176 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol (smoky, clove).

  2. Butter + mushroomtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,525 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

  3. Mushroom + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together13,580 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  4. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Butter + sherrytop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,505 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Kidneys
Provide the meat, which becomes tender and mild after repeated changes of water.
Butter
Fat that is browned to add rich, nutty flavour to the sauce.
Flour
Thickens the stock into a smooth sauce when stirred and brought to a boil.
Sherry
Added off the heat to contribute aroma and a sweet, mellow acidity.

The step that matters

Repeated changes of cold water. Kidneys carry a strong, ammonia-like taste. Starting in cold water, bringing it only to almost boiling, and renewing the water several times draws out these compounds and keeps the meat from toughening. Boiling hard would firm the proteins and make the kidneys tough.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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