Know Your Kidneys

The famous steak-and-kidney pudding isn’t the only way the English eat kidney. They’re also fond of it deviled and served on buttered toast at breakfast and breaded and grilled for lunch.

Kidney is as essential as sausages and steak in an English mixed grill. It often gets tucked into Lancashire Hot Pot with the lamb chops and is commonly braised with mushrooms and cream.

On this side of the Atlantic, it’s a different story. There’s so little call for kidneys here that supermarkets may not stock fresh kidney at all, much less offer a choice of types. Some will get it for you if you order it a day or so in advance, but the best bets for quickly finding beef, veal, pork or lamb kidney are butcher shops and ethnic markets.

Here is a primer of the basic types of kidney:

* Beef: Largest of the four types sold. Dark, reddish brown with multiple lobes. Less tender and stronger in flavor than kidney from some smaller animals.

* Veal: Half the size or less of beef kidney and lighter in color, still made up of multiple lobes. Flavor is more delicate than beef kidney and texture more tender.

* Pork: Smaller than the previous two, with a smooth, single lobe. Reddish brown, strong in flavor and less tender than veal or lamb kidney.

* Lamb: Smallest of the four types. Single, smooth lobe, sometimes sold encased in fat, which should be creamy white. Similar in flavor and texture to veal kidney.

Beef and pork kidneys are typically soaked for a couple of hours in cold, salted water to temper their flavor. They are best braised or stewed.

Veal and lamb kidneys shouldn’t be washed or soaked before cooking because they will absorb the water. Both can be broiled or sauteed.

All types of kidney should have a fresh, glossy appearance and only a slight odor of ammonia. The outer membrane may or may not have been removed.

Fresh kidneys may be kept tightly covered in the refrigerator up to two days. If purchased frozen, thaw fully in the refrigerator before using.