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Ingredients
Method
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Take the kidneys and slice each one in half lengthways. Use a small pair of kitchen scissors or a sharp paring knife to cut out the white core and any surrounding sinew. This takes a minute or two and it matters: the core turns bitter and chewy under heat. Pat the halves completely dry with kitchen paper and season well on both sides with salt and pepper. Leave them on the board while you prepare everything else.
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Finely dice the shallot and slice the garlic. Measure out the whiskey, both mustards and the cream into separate small containers before you turn on the heat. Once the kidneys hit the pan, there is no time to be measuring.
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Set a heavy frying pan over a high heat. Add the sunflower oil and let it heat until it just begins to shimmer, about 90 seconds. Add the 20g butter. When the butter stops foaming and the fat is very hot, lay the kidney halves cut-side down in a single layer. Do not move them. Cook for 2 minutes. The cut surface should develop a deep brown crust. Turn each half and cook for a further 90 seconds on the rounded side. The kidneys will feel slightly springy but not hard when pressed. Remove them to a warm plate immediately and tent loosely with foil.
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Reduce the heat to medium. Add the shallot to the same pan with any residual fat. Cook, stirring, for 90 seconds until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more. Do not let the garlic colour.
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Take the pan off the heat. Pour in the whiskey. Return it to the heat and let the alcohol cook off for about 45 seconds, scraping up any browned bits from the base. The smell will be sharp initially, then sweeten slightly as the alcohol burns away.
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Stir in both mustards and the Worcestershire sauce. Pour in the cream and let the sauce bubble over a medium heat for about 2 minutes, stirring, until it coats the back of a spoon. Taste for seasoning.
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While the sauce reduces, toast the soda bread under the grill or in a toaster until the surface is dry and lightly browned. Spread with the remaining 10g butter.
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Return the kidneys and any resting juices to the pan. Turn them gently in the sauce over a low heat for 30 seconds only. The kidneys should be just pink at the centre when you cut into one. Any longer and they will tighten and turn grainy.
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Lay the buttered soda bread on warm plates. Spoon the kidneys and sauce over the toast and scatter over the flat-leaf parsley. Serve immediately.
Irish Context
Lamb has long been part of Kerry farming, particularly on the upland pastures around the Iveragh Peninsula and the Dingle hills where sheep graze on rough ground. Kidneys are a byproduct that butchers in the county have always stocked, often cheaper than any other cut.
This preparation has nothing traditional about it in the sense of age; it is simply what happens when you apply a quick pan-sauce technique to an ingredient that is readily available, inexpensive and widely ignored. Kerry butchers will often include kidneys with a lamb order without being asked.
Tips
Lamb kidneys are far preferable to ox here. They are milder, they cook faster, and they do not require pre-soaking in milk unless they smell noticeably strong when you unwrap them, in which case a 20-minute soak in cold salted water will sort it.
The single most common mistake with kidneys is overcooking. They go from pink and tender to grey and granular in under a minute.
If you are unsure, cut one open at the thickest point before returning them to the sauce. You want a blush of pink, not red.
If you cannot get Irish whiskey, a dry sherry works and gives a slightly nuttier result. Brandy is an acceptable substitute.
Do not use a heavily peated Scotch whisky; it will dominate everything. Soda bread soaks up the sauce better than sourdough or a baguette.
If you are using shop-bought soda bread, toast it a little longer than you think necessary so it holds up under the sauce without going immediately soggy. The sauce can split if the cream is cold and added to a very hot pan.
Taking the pan off the heat briefly before adding it prevents this.
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