Not ordering any meat? Nationwide shipping at flat $9 or free! See how here.
📦 Weekly home delivery of our regenerative meats! Order today!
Burger Night is open! Join us on the farm Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun! Learn more 🍔❤

Kidney: Delicious, Extremely Nutritious & Neglected No More!

posted on

January 15, 2022

One of my big goals in 2022 is to eat more organ meats.

I know it probably sounds crazy to many of you ("gross, why?") and for others, it sounds crazy since we live on a farm and are surrounded by this good stuff so "just walk outside, get some organs from the freezer and cook it Steph. Easy. What's the problem?"

Well, probably similar to people not making their own broth (so easy! go HERE), I do not know how to cook organs so it's daunting, especially because I don't want to screw it up and then hate that organ forever simply because I did a bad job of preparing it. 

Kidney is what I most wanted to try since I learned it's almost as amazing as liver when it comes to nutrition making it the #2 superfood and one that is NEVER talked about, certainly nothing close to liver, making it more affordable ($4/lb!!! stock up now before everyone finds out!) and more available (it's hard for us to keep liver stocked)....it's like the neglected superfood.

Kidney has many benefits to it but the top 6 could be: 

  • Vitamin B12 at 1146% RDV you get enough B12 for a week! B12 creates energy and even better moods and sleep for some people. 
  • Selenium (202%): helps your metabolism via a healthy thyroid which also makes "youth-associated" hormones, supports the immune system, repairs damaged DNA. 
  • Riboflavin/B2 (168%): helps the growth, development and function of the cells and creates energy. According to the NIH, a riboflavin deficiency can result in cracked lips, hair loss and sores at the corners of your mouth. 
  • Iron (58%): note that this is the easily digestible "heme iron" which is then used to create hemoglobin in red blood cells which transfers oxygen from the lungs to the body, along with other functions like metabolism, growth and hormone production. 
  • Vitamin B6 (52%): involved in many enzyme reactions, metabolism, immune functions and cognitive health.
  • Vitamin A (47%): important for vision, immune function and maintenance of organ health.

Kidney has many other benefits like being a good source of copper and folate.  

Kidney also contains L-ergothioneine which is a rare amino acid that may promote the kidney health of people that eat it - following the Like Supports Like theory put forth by people like Dr. Royal Lee and Dr. Ron Schmid which theorizes that eating, for example, kidneys, will support your own kidney health*. 

Radioisotope labeling studies in animals have shown conclusively that, when eaten, organs and glands selectively travel to the corresponding organs and glands in high concentrations. This research, done at the University of Scotland in Edinburgh, lends credence to the ancient practice of eating animal organs to help ensure health in one’s corresponding organs..." - Dr. Ron Schmid, ND

It could even bring you back from the dead!

In the Handbook of Native American Mythology, there's a Comanche story about a man who loved his wife so much that when she died, he fed her the fresh kidney of a buffalo and then she came back to life.

Okay, okay, it probably doesn't resurrect people or it would be called the Jesus organ or something but there are other Native American stories that show the kidney going to those who are sick, so there is a consistency in our past that this organ was particularly useful in nourishing.

Image

Yeah, that's all great and wonderful, but.......won't it taste like urine???? Even promises of perfect health would not get me to eat urine-soaked anything (although someone would!).

Andy says I just need to boil the piss out of it and it'll be fine. hahaha, a little kidney humor for you. 

But actually, you soak kidneys to remove some of the strong tastes AND you could start with kidneys from younger or smaller animals that are naturally milder if you'd prefer to start in an even safer place.

But, you gotta start somewhere and I figured frying any organ in lard is a pretty safe place to start.

I used beef kidneys because I like to live life on the edge (obviously). After I chopped them up I soaked them in cold water with a little apple cider vinegar and while they did have a mineral-y taste it was mild (milder then liver) and, most importantly, they did not taste like urine to me. 

In fact, I thought they were pretty delicious.

Go here for my Fried Kidney Recipe

Image

Above: The finished product (my first batch ever - not so bad!). As you can see, they are tasty little nutrient-dense morsels! Serve with a horseradish or garlicky dipping sauce as an appetizer or snack. 

Still not convinced but you do totally understand that you should be eating organs? 

Try our Ground Beef with the organs blended right into it! A super easy swap!

This is a new product for us so a quick recap of my thoughts on it: when you cook it, you can smell the liver, when you eat it all by itself you can taste liver but if you put it in something you can't taste it (especially if you don't know it's in there!). 

So, feeling brave or maybe just curious? 

Image

If nothing else, kidney is just kind of fun to play with - it's odd with all of its drupelet-like sections (like on a berry). Pro-tip: I did find it easiest to use a scissors instead of a knife to prep it. 

Don't forget to use the tags like "sugar-free" to help you navigate through all the clean products Together Farm's offers. 

Order by midnight on Sunday for pickup or home delivery next week!

Yes! Deliver Nourishing Food to My Door!

And if you do decide to try something new, please share those recipes and pictures with me!!

Wishing you health & happiness!!

Steph

More from the blog

Burger Night Week 8 (of 23)

Burger Night is open, rain or shineThursday & Friday 4pm-9pmSaturday noon-9pmSunday noon-7pm Welcome to Week 8 of the Burger Night season and the official start of summer! The weather proves to be a formidable foe, but it at least looks like rain and cold are not going to be a major factor this weekend! In fact, the pendulum is swinging in the opposite direction but the heat can be beet! We've got oodles of shade, TONS of natural air conditioning and lots of cold drinks (win slushies!) so we'd LOVE if you joined us on the farm for some summer fun! We are slowly but surely working on adding more shady spots! The Weeping Willow is growing crazy fast but we are an impatient bunch and I wanted something now. Note that I know some of the furniture is on it's last "leg" but holy smokes is outdoor furniture expensive, so we'll keep slowly adding and replacing pieces, in the meantime, be gentle with what we've got please. ------------------------------------------------ I'm also pretty excited for this week's Burger of the Week: Beet, Feta Have My Honey! We made this one a million years ago - during the first covid year I believe - but you asked for us to bring it back this winter and, being a sucker for beets, I succumbed to the pressure (I think it was one person 😂). Roasted beets for this weekend's Burger of the Week: Beet, Feta Have My Honey! 😋------------------------------------------------Beet, Feta Have My Honey 🌱 NEW Garlicky roasted beet spread🧀 Feta crumbles🍯 Honey drizzle🐮 100% grassfed beef patty🍞 Toasted, buttery brioche bun Even if you don't love beets (🤨) this is going to be one of those "the sum is better than the parts" type of burger and you're still just going to have to try it!! The young'ins that work here are not expecting very many of these to sell, but I think we should prove them wrong and give them something to think about when it comes to the deliciousness that is roasted beets. So, whaddya say? Wanna help me reshape young minds? It will NOT look very much like this.... This is a picture of the first Beet, Feta Have My Honey BOTW we made several years ago and now we think we can make it EVEN BETTER! Come out and try v2.0 and let us know what you think!------------------------------------------------But wait, there's more! NEW! Now that we are restocked with two different types of beet kvass's we thought we'd do shots of kvass at the bar!! Not sure if you're old? One clue: You do well at tonight's Bird trivia. Second clue: You are really excited for non-alcoholic gut-health-promoting shots of kvass. Third clue: You know what kvass is! 😂 In any case, I hope you're more excited for this than you ever were for jagermeister! 🤮 We just got a ton of brand new ferments in from the Wise Goat that we'll slowly be adding online, unfortunately, these will only be available for on-farm pick-up or local delivery (can't ship them). We're loving these new kvass's so much, you can now order shots of them at the bar! Tomorrow you're going to wake up HEALTHIER from doing shots the night before - how's that for a twist?!------------------------------------------------ Thursday, June 19 Tonight's trivia is all about birds!! Trivia at 7pm: Birds 🐦🕊️🦅🦆🐤 Remember, we give prizes to 1st place, 2nd place and Last place. Bring your friends! (probably the more mature ones. 🙃) ------------------------------------------------ Friday, June 20 LIVE MUSIC from Chris Herriges, 5:30-8:30pm Chris is a highly regarded singer, guitarist and songwriter based in the Twin Cities. Among accomplishments, most noteworthy is probably the large amount of airplay garnered via independent promotion, for a number of original recordings on commercial radio (Rock, Top-40) throughout the U.S., primarily in the 1990's. Also, glowing reviews in many national as well as local publications, also primarily in the early to mid '90's. Can currently be seen regularly in solo-acoustic and duo performances throughout the Twin Cities area and greater Minnesota and Wisconsin. This will be Chris's first time at Together Farms! Let's give him a warm welcome! Like, really warm. Too warm? Nah. We've got shade and fans and wine slushies and cold beer and a pond full of snapping turtles and leeches if we get really, really desperate.------------------------------------------------ Saturday, June 21 LIVE MUSIC from Olivia Maro, 5:30-8:30pm Just a few of the artists she covers... Miranda lambertMaren MorrisZach BryanZac Brown BandTaylor SwiftChris YoungLuke CombsMorgan WallenKelsea BalleriniJon PardiLauren AlainaCarly PearceJo Dee MessinaKacey MusgravesMaddie & TaeLainey WilsonDolly Partonkid rockLuke BryanZac Brown Band and more! Who are you most excited to hear?? Come and check out Olivia Maro, an up and coming country artist who is going to come an sing you some of your favorite tunes! Don't miss this one!I think this might also be Olivia's first time! So, let's give her a warm welcome too! You be the fans! We'll drop the beats....and also beets.------------------------------------------------ Sunday, June 15 1/2 off kids meals all day.3 - 5:30pm: Free Xtreme Bingo for the folks over 21 (deluxe prizes pictured below) and free Kids Bingo for the folks under 21!It's BINGO WEEK! That means they are adding an extra ball to each round to INCREASE your odds of winning!! Let's win something BIG this week!! 🎉✨ Remember, you can't win if you don't play! ✨ Let's giveaway some prizes! Every Sunday at 3p, we play 9 games and give out either a huge fancy prize (like 1,000s of $$s) or a practical and modest gift with every round! It's BINGO WEEK! Which means you get a bonus ball to try to win EVEN MORE big prizes this week!------------------------------------------------ Heads up: Surprisingly, the 2025 season is 35% over after this weekend. Plan accordingly. Farm Store Updates Don't forget to checkout the BEEF restock! We've already got a few items selling out and the Bundle of the Month will be very soon (so we may redo it - watch for an update).  All BIRD stuff is on sale! booksRaising chickensEgg cookbooksBirdhousesAttracting birdsDealing with squirrelsBird triviaBird poemsKids board books all about farm animalsTurkey huntingBird dog huntingBird poop and still more!!StickersStuffiesReusable egg cartons for you DIY types with a sense of humorSauces & seasonings for chickenFelt bird ornamentsChicken & eggs themselvesand more  ....will all be on sale, all weekend!  ICE CREAM UPDATE:  The equipment is all here and all the product we need to get started. The health inspector is coming this afternoon to see if we're good to go and then it's time to order ice cream and get to dippin'!  Bird trivia tonight but all bird things are on sale all weekend!------------------------------------------------ If you can't make it here, let's meat online instead! Thank you for your support during what is probably going to be an unbeetable Burger Night Week! Love you lots! 💚 Steph & the TF fam------------------------------------------------ No dogs, carry-ins or reservations (please let us know about groups though). $10 min on cards, ATM on-site. 📍 w93 Norden Rd, Mondovi, WI 54755 See the menus and learn more: togetherfarms.com/burger-night I am extremely biased that TF, the only "Burger Farm" in the midwest is pretty awesome, so don't take my word for it, check out the google reviews to see what others think, here's an example from Deanna: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ What a darling place out in the sticks. Well worth the drive to enjoy the atmosphere, burgers 🍔 and animals. The pigs were my fave. 🐷 Will be going back several times with our family each season! Oh, and the fries….🍟 SO good.

with customization by Grapevine Local Food Marketing