Devilled means cayenne here, and this Hairy Bikers devilled kidneys recipe keeps it to one teaspoon, with sherry, stock and mustard doing the rest. In Meat Feasts eight lambs’ kidneys feed 4 on buttered toast, which takes me 20 minutes and lands near 395 calories a plate.
The headnote claims they “made Dave’s tache curl”, but the devilling is gentler than the name suggests. With a teaspoon of cayenne and your choice of mustard setting the heat, sherry and stock make it a sauce, not a dry coating.
The kidneys get a couple of minutes a side and then three or four more in the sauce, which is shorter than most people expect. Once they are “still slightly pink inside”, the book’s own words, they are done, since a kidney simmered past that point turns rubbery.
Hairy Bikers Devilled Kidneys Recipe
Description
You core and halve the kidneys, dust them in cayenne flour and give them a fast fry in butter. After that the pan gets dry sherry, chicken stock and a dash of Worcestershire, with a spoon of mustard whisked through. Then, once the sauce has bubbled briefly, everything lands on thick buttered toast.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Prepare the kidneys: if they are whole, cut into the thin membrane and peel it away. Then snip out the white core with sharp scissors, halve them and pat dry.
- Devil the flour: mix 2 tbsp plain flour with 1 tsp cayenne pepper or hot paprika, and season well with salt and pepper. Then toss the kidneys through it until coated.
- Sear: melt 15g butter in a large shallow frying pan over a medium-high heat. Then put 4 thick slices of bread on to toast, and add the kidneys and cook for a couple of minutes on each side.
- Add the liquid: pour in 50ml dry sherry and 50ml chicken stock with a dash of Worcestershire sauce. Then whisk in 1 tsp Dijon or English mustard.
- Simmer: let everything bubble up, then turn the heat down and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. Then check one, because they should still be slightly pink inside.
- Season: taste the sauce and add salt and black pepper if it needs it. Then take the pan off the heat so the kidneys stop cooking.
- Butter the toast: butter the 4 slices generously while they are hot. Then put one on each of four warm plates.
- Serve: spoon the kidneys and their sauce over the toast. Then eat straight away, while the toast still has some crunch under the sauce.
FAQs
How do you core a kidney properly?
Meat Feasts and Mums Still Know Best both reach for scissors, since the white core sits in a dimple where scissors get in more easily. In Meat Feasts you peel off the thin membrane first, snip out the centre and halve them, then pat them dry so the flour sticks. And Mums Still Know Best adds that “Dave uses a pair of hairdressing scissors”, though any sharp pair does the job.
Is there a devilled kidneys version without sherry or stock?
Yes, Mums Still Know Best makes it with plain water, so it is the easy one for a house with no sherry in it. Then six kidneys are fried with a sliced onion, before tomato purée, English mustard, Worcestershire and 300ml of water go in as the sauce. Still, it simmers for 15 minutes rather than four, so the kidneys are cooked right through, which some people prefer and I do not.
What is different about the Hairy Dieters devilled kidneys?
Olive oil replaces the butter and there is no flour at all, which is how Eat Well Every Day keeps it light. Then a shallot and garlic go in first and smoked paprika joins the cayenne, in what the book calls “the best breakfast ever”. Also, the book offers flatbreads as well as toast for this one, which the lemon and parsley suit.
When do you eat devilled kidneys, and what else goes with them?
The book calls them “a popular breakfast dish in the old days” and then suggests brunch, lunch or a starter, so pick your moment. On the same breakfast table they sit next to their kedgeree, and both are quicker than they sound. In Meat Feasts kidneys also fry alongside their lamb chops, while their steak and kidney pudding braises them for up to two hours.
And devilled means the same thing on their devilled eggs, where hot paprika does the job cayenne does here.
Can I make devilled kidneys ahead?
Not really, because the sauce is built in the pan on the flour from the kidneys, so there is nothing to make in advance. In Our Family Favourites it goes the other way, with a red wine sauce made ahead and the kidneys added “at the last minute”. So the most you can do is core the kidneys and measure the sherry and stock, and the cooking itself is about ten minutes.
