> Todd Moody wrote:
>
> Where does one find suet?  I've been to several butcher shops and
> they don't know what I'm talking about.  One did give me trimmed
> beef fat when I asked for it.  Any suggestions?

This time of year, well, maybe in a few weeks for folks in the Lower
48 ;-) I can find it in most large grocery stores.  Suet is commonly
used as a wild bird feed (by putting it in a mesh bag like an onion
bag and hanging from a tree branch), so I can usually get it most of
the winter.  It is in the meat department of both Safeway and
Fred Meyer stores here, in the section where the variety meats are
sold (with the hog maws, beef tongue, pig feet, and organ meats).

I can't imagine any butcher worth his salt not knowing what suet
was. It is a pretty basic, old-fashioned meat term. That part has me
extremely puzzled!  But if people give you funny looks when you ask
for it, just tell them you want to feed the birds.

I was just rendering some suet today.  For me, it takes a few days to
do a big batch.  Between work and grad school, I don't have more than
2-3 hours at a crack to cook it down.  Fortunately, it doesn't seem
to mind.  And when I take the little beef cracklins out of the hot
liquid fat, I sprinkle them with garlic salt and call them dinner!
Sorry, the dog gets kibble for her dinner.  (And she is trained not to
make eye contact with me when I'm eating.  If she does, all I have to
say is, "Are you beggin?" and she goes to the other side of the room
and hides her eyes.  Good dog, that Eclipse!)

Lisa Sporleder
Ester, Alaska