Last week I wrote about a delicious Japanese hotpot called sukiyaki, which requires a block of beef suet to oil the pan before cooking the meat and vegetables. Most people understand that suet is beef fat, but what exactly is it, and what do you do with it?
Suet is raw beef fat from around the joints and kidneys that has a low melting point. You can get suet from just about any butcher. I got a pound from Whole Foods for free, and I like to cut them in 1-inch cubes and wrap them individually in foil and store them all in a large Ziploc bag. I mostly use them for sukiyaki, but there are other uses for suet. It can keep in the refrigerator for a few days. All blood, connective tissue, and non-fat items should be removed. Many recipes involving suet call for it to be coarsely grated. It's been documented in cookbooks going back to the year 1617.
In the old days, suet was often rendered into tallow to make soap. Suet is also the primary ingredient in English Christmas pudding, and other steamed puddings such as steak & kidney pudding. It is used in mincemeat as well. Other foods that suet is commonly found in are:
• Haggis
• Windsor pudding
• Dumplings
• Spotted dick
• Kishka/Kishke
• Chili con carne
• Rag Pudding
• Jamaican patty
As a non-human comestible, it is commonly used as a wild bird food.
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oh, mincemeat. i never liked it, and you can find recipes that don't call for suet, but i remember my grandmother pulling out her big metal grinder every year to make it.
My Mother-in-Law makes "THE" best chili with suet using her mother's recipe....
I couldn't find proper lard for tamales. I rendered kidney suet and made my own (I think).
Tamales turned out great, though. But I have no idea if what I did with the rendering was right. I just made it up.
so interesting!
my mom used to make sukiyaki all the time but i never knew if she used beef suet or not.
the first time i'd heard of suet was when i was reading about pie crusts and came across this one in the nyt about "heaven in a pie pan": http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/15/dining/15crus.html?_r=1
My mother rolls a piece of suet in bird seed and hangs it outside in the winter as a bird feeder.
I'm a Brit and yes, suet is necessary for many traditional dishes. It is difficult to find in the States though and many people don't even know what it is. And many people think you're talking about the stuff you use for the birds.
gimar, don't eat that suet you've seen! Suet you buy at the hardware store for bird seed is NOT interchangeable for the suet used in cooking.
I agree gimar. Roll the suet in birdseed. If you are anything like me I find the suet in the meat section of the supermarket labeled Beef or pork suet. Suet at a hardware store? Gross.
sue3465, just saying that most suet sold here in the States is meant for the birds (even at many supermarkets). Birds do love it so and it's a lovely thing to feed them and in my area we must have a lot of bird lovers because that kind of suet can be purchased at pet stores, hardware stores, drugstores, and even gas stations/convenience stores, just sitting around on shelves.
Therefore much of the suet that's available can be of questionable quality and age and can't be trusted for cooking/baking anything meant for human consumption.
If you have a good butcher/meat department or render your own and store it properly, I'm sure it's good for bird and human alike.