Kidney

Hello all,

I wanted to make a steak and kidney pie...however, I am having a really hard time obtaining a kidney. Both my butchers say they can't get them for me. Any advice? Are there any parts of chicken that I could sub for kidney...ie, livers or hearts?

Hello all,

I wanted to make a steak and kidney pie...however, I am having a really hard time obtaining a kidney. Both my butchers say they can't get them for me. Any advice? Are there any parts of chicken that I could sub for kidney...ie, livers or hearts?

In terms of flavor, heart is probably closer to kidney than is liver. Can't say that I've ever tasted a chicken heart, though, so you might have to do your own homework. Have you tried going to a halal butcher? They might have access to offal meats that more mainstream butchers don't have. Another possibility is to cultivate the acquaintance of hunters and make a deal to take from them the deer kidneys.

Mark Lipton

Maria, chicken hearts tend to be a bit chewy (as opposed to the softer liver). They're quite nice!

The Asian and Latino markets around here are chock-full of kidney, heart, and all sorts of other meaty bits you don't see at Safeway. Any of those in the area?

Thanks everyone! These are great ideas!

Mike - I am not sure about the asian markets...but I have a girlfriend from Brazil who goes to Latino markets a few towns over. I will ask her if she can score me any kidney.

Try this:

http://www.unos.org/members/committeesDetail.asp?ID=89

We'll know who the perp is if any people with incisions in their backs are found in bathtubs filled with ice in Maria's area.

LOL you two! My husband and I were just joking about that, because we have several deer that live in our backyard and I commented that he might find one on ice in our bathtub with a missing kidney!

I guess it shows how butchery has changed over the years.

In the past, having a butcher not selling kidneys would be like them not selling steak. They would buy the whole animal, they'd butcher it themselves and sell it (all, or at least almost all). Where do kids go for the pig's/sheep's eyes for biology lessons now I wonder?

I've mentioned him before, but would strongly recommend having a look at books / tv shows with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Very much of the opinion that if you kill an animal, you learn to make use of the whole beast, not just the obvious cuts. His view (and I very much agree, even if I still have a few squiemish moments) is that by not discarding the less attractive cuts, you give more respect to the animal. An extension perhaps of the more general attitude towards shark-fin soup.

regards

Ian

Another possibility is to cultivate the acquaintance of hunters and make a deal to take from them the deer kidneys.

Mark Lipton

That is good advice. None of the deer hunters I know eat the kidneys so I think they would gladly give them away to someone that would use them.

Ian - ITA about using the whole animal. I was absolutely surprised that my local butcher (who has been in business for over 40 yrs), does not receive the animal with the innards.

I would make friends with a hunter if I knew any. Unfortunately, it is illegal to discharge firearms in Morristown, NJ, and there is no hunting here. That is why we have such a tremendous deer problem (and goose problem). It makes me sad that they have to euthanize these animals, instead of allowing them to be hunted and the meat donated to soup kitchens or homeless, *sigh* but I digress. The closest hunting I know of is in PA...about 45 min from here. And I don't know any hunters. If I did, I would be asking for some venison steaks too!!

I guess it shows how butchery has changed over the years.

In the past, having a butcher not selling kidneys would be like them not selling steak. They would buy the whole animal, they'd butcher it themselves and sell it (all, or at least almost all). Where do kids go for the pig's/sheep's eyes for biology lessons now I wonder?

I've mentioned him before, but would strongly recommend having a look at books / tv shows with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Very much of the opinion that if you kill an animal, you learn to make use of the whole beast, not just the obvious cuts. His view (and I very much agree, even if I still have a few squiemish moments) is that by not discarding the less attractive cuts, you give more respect to the animal. An extension perhaps of the more general attitude towards shark-fin soup.

regards

Ian

Ian, I've just watched the first three River Cottage series, and I have to say, whilst I admire the man enormously, there are certainly some squeamish moments. I'm not sure which I found more face scrunching - the castrating of the bull calf and then frying and eating the testicles, or the dyeing of wool in his own urine (collected over a couple of weeks).

And I had to laugh at the comment in his book about hazelnuts. To paraphrase, the best way to find a hazel tree is to follow a squirrel. Once you've found the tree, the critically important thing to do first is - shoot the squirrel, or it will eat all the hazels before you can get them. Of course, you then eat the squirrel as well.

Cheers, Celia

LOL you two! My husband and I were just joking about that, because we have several deer that live in our backyard and I commented that he might find one on ice in our bathtub with a missing kidney!

Maria, this is your opportunity to take up hunting yourself! Nothing like chowing down on meat you brought to bag with your own efforts.

Ok, I should have read the later posts, or I'd no that you can't hunt there.

I don't doesn't that stink? I would love to go hunting though (I am a terrible shot...but I would practice. My husband is a great shot, so maybe he could shoot and I could skin!) But it seems so silly, with all these deer, geese, wild turkey, that we can't hunt them.

Why not go next door to Pennsylvania and hunt there? Not only are deer plentiful, they taste good from all the apples and corn they eat. I once read that Pennsylvania bags more game than any other state. I'd believe that. And so would my car, which wiped out a couple of deer, including an 8-point buck.

Why not go next door to Pennsylvania and hunt there? Not only are deer plentiful, they taste good from all the apples and corn they eat. I once read that Pennsylvania bags more game than any other state. I'd believe that. And so would my car, which wiped out a couple of deer, including an 8-point buck.

I've definitely been considering this Larry.

My husband is a great shot, so maybe he could shoot and I could skin!

You may be the ideal wife.