Minced Calf’s Kidneys on Croutons

Ingredients

• a Calf’s Kidney
• three large onions
• fry them in a little butter
• cooked mushrooms
• a little bechamel sauce
• grate a little nutmeg over
• sprinkle them with breadcrumbs
• pour a little warmed butter over

Method

1. 1

   Cut some slices of bread, about 0.5 in. thick, from a household loaf, and fry them in a little butter.

2. 2

   When done, take them out, drain them, and cut out a little of the centre.

3. 3

   Remove the skin from a Calf’s Kidney, and put into a stewpan to cook.

4. 4

   When done, remove all the fat, and cut it up into small pieces.

5. 5

   Put an equal bulk of cooked mushrooms, with a little bechamel sauce, in a small pot, add a little minced ham and melted glaze, and reduce this to a thick cream.

6. 6

   Work in the kidney mince, warm it up, fill the croutons with it, smooth the tops with a knife, then sprinkle them with breadcrumbs, pour a little warmed butter over, and glaze with a salamander.

7. 7

   They should be arranged on a folded napkin laid on a dish, and served very hot.

As published

This recipe was extracted from The encyclopædia of practical cookery (1890) by Theodore Francis Garrett, page 88. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

Minced Calf’s Kidneys on Crofttons. — Cut some slices of bread, about |in. thick, from a household loaf, and fry them in a little butter. When done, take them out, drain them, and cut out a little of the centre. In the meantime remove the skin from a Calf’s Kidney, and put into a stewpan to cook. When done, remove all the fat, and cut it up into small pieces. Put an equal bulk of cooked mushrooms, with a little bechamel sauce, in a small pot, add a little minced ham and melted glaze, and reduce this to a thick cream. Work in the kidney mince, warm it up, grate a little nutmeg over, and fill the croutons with it. Smooth the tops with a knife, then sprinkle them with breadcrumbs, pour a little warmed butter over, and glaze with a salamander. They should be arranged on a folded napkin laid on a dish, and served very hot. Omelet of Calf’s Kidney. — Chop up what is left of the kidney of a cold roasted loin of veal. Put eight eggs into a basin, season with pepper and salt, pour in a few drops of water to melt the salt, and beat well. Mix the chopped kidney with the eggs. Put a lump of butter in an omelet-pan, melt it, and then pour in the omelet mixture. Tho pan should be continually turned, and not kept too close to the fire. Gather up the edges of the omelet, and roll it before it is too much cooked: the middle part should always be mellow. Turn tho omelet quickly on to a hot dish, and^ serve. Calf’s Lights or Lungs. — It cannot be said that there is much demand or culinary use for this offal, unless it be for invalids whose tastes are occasionally governed by faith and eccentricity. For those whose inclinations lead in this direction, two famous receipts are appended, and others will be found under Calf’s Pluck. Calfs-Iiig-lits Broth, for Invalids. — This medicinal broth is of very ancient notoriety. Well wash the lights (lungs) of a freshly-killed Calf ; cut them in largo pieces, put them into a saucepan with 6 breakfast-cupfuls of water, and cook until reduced to one-third the original quantity. Now add six dates, four large figs, |oz. of raisins, and six jujubes, and boil for ten minutes longer. Remove the pan from the fire, put (in £oz. each of the following medicinal herbs : maidenhair fern, ceterach, polytrichum, scolopendrium, and polypody ; let these infuse for about ten minutes, with the pan covered over; pass the liquor through a fine cloth, and it is ready for use. Taken warm, a little in the morning and evening, this broth is considered to be a capital drink for diseases of the chest. It may not always be possible to get the herbs named, in which case it is probable others might be substituted. Stewed Calf’s Lights and Liver. — Boil half of a Calf’s Lights in salted water ; drain it, wipe with a cloth, and cut in thin slices. Cut half a Calf’s Liver in the same way. Finely chop three large onions

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.