According to local variations, this recipe is cooked with cider or muscadet, but the cooking spices remain the same:bacon bits, small onions and shallots.
Skin and clean the kidneys. Remove the fat that coats them and the skin film that wraps them, as well as the nerve parts and the fat lodged in the center. Then cut them into fairly large regular pieces. Peel the small onions and the shallots. Blanch the bacon in a pot of boiling water, drain and cut into lardons.
Melt some of the fat from the kidneys in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Add the kidneys and sear them, turning them on all sides, over fairly high heat. Then lower the heat and continue cooking for 7 minutes. Be careful not to overcook them, as they should remain pink. Drain them and keep them warm.
Add the small onions and the finely chopped shallots to the pan as well as the bacon bits. Stir-fry everything for 5 minutes, then pour in the cider and add the calvados and nutmeg.
Lower the heat, salt and pepper. Let simmer gently for about 10 minutes. Cut the butter into pieces and add it, whisking vigorously to bind the sauce well. Divide the kidneys and onions among hot plates, pour the sauce on top and serve immediately.
Source:The Regional Cuisines of France
