Eating Stewed beef kidneys might seem odd but it’s actually a part of the cuisine of many nations and cultures. You can get steak and kidney pie in England, Stewed beef kidneys soup in Ireland and kidney and beans in Persia. Eating organ meat is also said to be really nutritious. Stewed beef kidneys are high in omega fatty acids and are an excellent source of protein and iron. While I don’t eat much of it, eating it reminds me of my childhood weekend breakfasts that my grandmother used to make. It’s also my oldest son’s favorite thing to eat — an American born child! Go figure!
Here are a few notes before you get started:
Prepping the meat
Beef kidneys have a lot of fat on them. The fat is actually useful in pastries and puddings. It is known as beef suet or beef sweet. While you can save this fat and reuse it, I prefer to buy suet that is already processed and broken down. Before cutting the kidneys, remove as much of the fat as you can. Once all the fat is removed, cut the kidneys into thin slices. (See video) The smaller the pieces of kidney, the more tender the meat will be.
Cook time
Stewed beef kidneys will cook for about a total of 30 minutes. You do not need to cook them very long. Once the meat hits the pan, allow it to cook in its own juice for about 5 minutes before adding a small amount of water. You will then cover the meat and cook it for about 20 minutes. After adding fresh seasonings to the pot, you will cook for an additional 5 minutes or until the seasonings break down and flavor the sauce. Breakfast will be ready in no time.
Sauce
Adding fresh seasonings like scallion, onions and thyme to this dish is how you give it all its needed flavor. Let the veggies cook until they break down and then add in ketchup and pickapeppa sauce. Allow the sauce to thicken and reduce tasting for salt and pepper. You may or may not need to add more salt. This you will do to your own taste. I always like my food to be spicy so I add in some Spurtree Spices yellow scotch bonnet sauce to flavor the sauce but also to give it a kick.
Fried dumplings
I will do a separate video for the cartwheel fried dumplings. The Stewed beef kidneys recipe is similar to normal fried dumplings. I simply subbed the water for milk and formed the dumplings into a disk rather than a rounded ball.
For Stewed beef kidneys you will need:
Tools
- Sharp Knife
- Cutting board
- Large bowl
- Large dutch oven or stew pot
Ingredients
- 2 lbs beef kidneys
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp Maggi All-purpose seasoning
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp gravy master
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 scallions
- 1 small onion
- 1 small plum tomato
- ½ a scotch bonnet pepper
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tsp pickapeppa sauce
- 1 bullion cube
- 1 tsp Spurtree Spices yellow scotch bonnet sauce
Instructions
- Clean kidneys by splitting them in half and removing the fat that sits in the center of the underside of the meat. Remove as much of the fat as you can. Slice the meat in thin slices to ensure they will cook evenly and not get tough. Rinse the meat under cold running water and drain the excess water from the meat.
- Slice garlic cloves and add to the meat. Add all purpose, garlic p., onion p., paprika, gravy master and black pepper to the meat. Use a spoon to mix in the seasonings well.
- Heat a stew pot on medium high heat with 1 tbsp of oil. Once the oil gets a bit smokey, add the meat to the hot pan. Stir the meat briefly so all of it is coated in the oil and btouches the hot pan. Cover the pot for about 5 minutes and allow the meat to sweat its own juices. You will not need to add any liquid at this point. The meat will make its own liquid.
- Uncover the pot after five minutes and give the meat a good stir. Add ½ cup of water to the meat and cover the pot. Allow the meat to cook for roughly 20 minutes on medium heat. The water should not completely evaporate but watch the stew to make sure the meat does not start to stick or burn. If the water has evaporated completely and the meat begins to stick, add a small amount of water.
- After 20 minutes, add the fresh seasonings to the pot. Add in scallion, thyme, tomato, onion and scotch bonnet pepper. Cover the pot and cook the seasonings for about 5 minutes until the fresh seasonings begin to break down.
- Once the fresh seasonings have started breaking down, add in ketchup, bullion cube scotch bonnet sauce and pickapeppa sauce. Allow the sauce to thicken and reduce for about 2 minutes. Taste the stew for salt and add if necessary.
- Serve hot with your choice of sides. Enjoy!
