Eat Your Kidney

The little farm where I get my milk, pastured meat (including beef liver, and heart), and corn/soy free eggs from pastured chickens, has started selling beef kidney! I was so pleased to find this! Kidney is an excellent source for myriad minerals, including copper and zinc. I have been reading a lot about these two minerals specifically lately, and have found what I believe to be two of the sources of problems I have in pregnancy.

Perhaps I'll write a post about that sometime. In the mean time, the following is a sample of what we had for dinner tonight, kidney included.

Beef Kidney Sausage with Fennel and Mashed Potatoes with Creamy Mushroom and (mock) Wine Reduction

Beef Kidney Sausage:

1 beef kidney

1 lb ground pastured beef

1 tsp. sea salt

1/2 cup sprouted spelt flour

1 tsp. sage

1/4 tsp. rosemary

pinch basil powdered (you can powder dried herbs by taking a pinch in your fingers, and with hard pressure, rubbing your fingers together.)

sea salt

cracked pepper

2 tblsp butter

2 tblsp olive oil

Method:

Soak one kidney for 1 1/2-2  hours in a bowl with 1/4 cup vinegar, and enough water to just cover the kidney.

At some point durring this soaking process mix the flour with the herbs, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

When the soaking is finished, cut the flesh away from the fat in the center of the kidney. Apparently this fat is very valuable, I personally have never used it. (If anyone experiments with this, let me know!!) Toss the kidney into the blender to grind. Mix ground kidney with ground beef, and 1 tsp sea salt. Form into patties of what ever size you'd like, and dredge the patties in the herbed flour.

In a skillet heat the butter and oil over medium heat. Cook the sausage patties on medium, or even lower heat. Slower cooking at lower heat makes the meat more digestible.

MEANWHILE:

Creamy Mushroom and (mock) Wine Reduction:

2 cups sliced mushrooms (Any mushrooms will do, but different mushrooms will vary recipe flavor. I used crimini.)

1 onion, diced

2 tblsp butter

3/4 cup cream

1/4 balsamic vinegar (this is the mock part)

4 cups chicken, or beef stock

4 tblsp sprouted spelt flour

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

In skillet (I use skillets for EVERYTHING) caramelize onions with the butter over medium low heat (this will take a few minutes, but is well worth it!) Add mushrooms, turn heat up to medium, after about 5 minutes cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender. Add cream, and stir well. Add vinegar, and stir well. Salt and pepper this mixture. Allow to boil, then add 3 cups stock. Bring to boil, then reduce heat, and allow to simmer until the volume has reduced by a quarter, or more. Mix the flour with the additional stock, up the heat of the mixture, add stock flour slur to the simmering sauce. Allow to simmer, this will thicken the sauce.

AT SOME POINT:

Cube and boil as many potatoes as you need to feed whomever you are feeding. Boil these until they are tender. Strain, and mash with butter and milk, or chicken or beef stock, to desired consistency.

I forgot to take a "before" picture... sorry! It looked a lot nicer before we got to it. Promise.