Steak and Kidney pudding, or how to eat the entire cow (WAS silly question)

[bluesqueak]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at y..., "Kathryn" <kcawte at k...> wrote:
> 
> Alora writes:
> Wow! Thanks for the great responses. I now have a better idea what 
> treacle is. I don't think I want to eat it, either *LOL*
> 
> Here's another I thought about today: steak and kidney pie. Sounds 
> awful, but does it taste good? What is in it?
> 
> Alora
> Kathryn replied:
> Exactly what it sounds like steak and kidneys chopped up in gravy,
> surrounded by pastry like with most pies. Better is steak and 
> kidney pudding which is made with suet pastry but that usually has 
> to be steamed rtather than just bunged in the oven.
> I guess it depends whether you like kidney as to whether you like 
this -
Kathryn

Broadly speaking, over 2000 years of famine, war, and having the lord 
of the manor invariably steal the decent cuts of beef have taught 
Europeans that it is possible to eat *all* parts of a cow, from the 
tip of the tongue (boil it, chill and press it with a heavy weight to 
make chilled ox-tongue) to the tip of the tail (boil again, with any 
available vegetables, to make either ox-tail stew, or oxtail soup). 

The cow's head is included in 'edible' (boil, with herbs, then remove 
skull. Chill remaining fluid until it becomes a jelly like substance 
called brawn) as are the feet (guess what! You boil them for *hours*, 
then chill until you get a substance called calves-foot jelly. The 
Victorians used to feed it to invalids - who would generally, on 
being faced with this stuff, either die immediately, or make a 
miraculous recovery).

The innards of a cow can be quite nice. Kidney is popular,especially 
in steak and kidney pudding/steak and kidney pie. Liver is generally 
stewed or braised with onions; sweetbreads (the pancreas and thymus)
are also also braised. Heart is generally cooked with a bread and 
herb stuffing in the holes. Brains are now no longer sold, due to the 
BSE crisis, but I believe Dr. Hannibal Lecter has a very nice recipe 
suggestion.

Tripe, which is canonical, is the lining of the cow's stomach. There 
are many recipes for tripe, most of which try to hide any taste of 
the actual tripe. Tripe cooked on its own looks and tastes exactly 
like boiled knitting. The general opinion of tripe is probably best 
suggested by the slang use of the word 'tripe' - which means rubbish, 
garbage, absolutely worthless.

You will have worked out by now that we are down to the bones (which 
you boil, for stock or for soup). And the hide. This is the only part 
of a cow that we don't actually eat. Unless it genuinely is a famine, 
in which case you boil the ruddy thing. Otherwise, you sell the hide 
to the leatherworkers.

Are you beginning to realise why your ancestors emigrated? [evil grin]

Pip
(Actually, steak and kidney is very nice. But avoid tripe ;-)  )