[Sca-cooks] Suet (Was Introductions..)

[Olwen the Odd]

>So tell me m'lords and ladies, what *DOES* happen to suet when cooked, and
>what is its purpose in a dish?  I have to admit that while it doesn't sound
>appetizing, neither does raw flour so thats not necessarily an indication.
>
If you want to experiment first hand, then go to your butcher and ask for a 
small piece of suet.  Suet is the hard interior, very white, pieces "fat" 
that you see on certain cuts of beef, as opposed to the exterior tyoes of 
'thin' fats that run mostly on the exterior of the meat.  For instance, 
birds will eat the suet, but, unless they are preditor birds, they will not 
eat fat unless they are starving or it is silently put in thier food supply. 
  When cooking a piece of meat, it is important to know the ration of suet 
to fat at the fat will cook faster and the suet, if cooked at the same 
temperature in a small cut of meat will be mostly undone (for rare or 
med-rare).  When cooking a large roast, one would cut off much of the 
exterior fat, but not all, to preserve the exterior from becoming too dry 
before the interior lard fat comes to the "melt" point.  Which makes this 
lecture more clear, and you will see after your "experiment".  Fat spits and 
spats, lard melts.  And there is the answer.
Olwen who should be in bed by now.