SC - Processing Suet - was: Art/Sci results

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Hullo, the list!

Re suet...

If the nineteenth-century instructions for various plum-pudding-type
items are any guide, I get the impression that the suet, which comes
interleafed (is that a word? it should be) with some rather tough
membranous tissue, should be chilled, or even partially frozen, and then
grated on a box grater, which removes most, but not all, of the
membranes. As far as I can tell, the entire point of using the fat in
this minimally processed form is that some of that adipose tissue (as
opposed to merely the fat contained therein) contributes greatly to the
texture of a cooked pastry or pudding, just as it might if you lard a
roast instead of basting it with rendered lard.

As for removing the meat attached, I should point out that most suet
comes from inside short loins of beef, which age for anything from 1-3
weeks or so before cutting and sale. The first thing that happens before
cutting is that the suet and the kidney are removed (the suet is often
sold to rendering plants) and then the rest of the loin is trimmed for
good stuff like porterhouse steaks and such. What is trimmed off the
loin is the same, more or less, as the shreds of meat attached to the
suet: meat that has been exposed to the air for as much as three weeks
or so. Give or take. It's probably a good idea to throw it away.

Adamantius 

Melcnewton wrote:
> 
> The few times I've done this is by rendering out. In other words, you fry
> the suet until it's small hard lumps, then throw away (or feed to the dog,
> your choice) the lumps and save the melted fat. Put the fat in the
> refrigerator to harden. Either chop into bits (which it calls for in my
> Cambridge pudding recipe) or remelt if needed.
> Beatrix of Tanet
> Oakheart, Calontir
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Browning, Susan W. <bsusan at corp.earthlink.net>
> To: 'sca-cooks at Ansteorra.ORG' <sca-cooks at Ansteorra.ORG>
> Date: Monday, June 14, 1999 6:01 PM
> Subject: RE: SC - Art/Sci results
> 
> >
> >
> >>put in a great store of Beef suet well beaten, and small shred,
> >
> >I have been wondering about how one processes beef suet.  The suet I have
> >seen usually has some meat still attached.  Do you just cut the meat off
> and
> >chop it?  Do you ever cook it some way?
> >
> >Just curious
> >
> >Eleanor d'Aubrecicourt


- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com
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