Suet?

[SOO-iht]
Found in beef, sheep, and other animals, suet is the solid, white, fat found around the kidneys and loins. Many British recipes call for it to lend richness to pastries, puddings, and mincemeats.

I love the richness of Christmas pudding and mince pies, and that richness comes from suet, whether you use the beef variety or the vegetarian, (which is nothing more than palm oil and rice flour). According to some people, it adds depth of flavor, or umami, to the mincemeat. Suet also has a very high melting point, so is perfect for pastry making, (same as butter).

But although woodpeckers, cardinals, blue jays, chickadees, and bluebirds, among others, are known to favor suet-based bird feeders, I can’t quite justify it for human consumption, unless of course, you are an Arctic explorer or drive sled dogs in Alaska, and you need it for your high daily energy requirement.

I can’t in good conscience use something that is 52% saturated fat. If depth of flavor is what you’re after, let your mince pies sit for a few days in a tin. Trust me: the taste improves, exponentially, over time.

If you disagree with me, and you’ve decided to use suet, however, here is a good source for it:

·        Wellness Meats: www.grasslandbeef.com; (877) 383-0051.

P.S. Whatever you do, please don’t use vegetable shortening or butter. It just doesn’t give good results, according to most articles I’ve read.

Five Great Ways to Use Mincemeat:

1.     In vanilla ice cream. One of my local ice cream places has sold Christmas pudding ice cream for years, and it is one of their most popular flavors. If you are making homemade vanilla ice cream, add the mincemeat just before the ice cream is frozen to your satisfaction—at the same time you would add nuts or broken cookies to the mixture. If you want to be really decadent, make pumpkin ice cream and add the mincemeat, or put a scoop of mincemeat ice cream on top of your apple pie.

(Or, microwave good quality, store-bought vanilla ice cream for 30 seconds to soften the ice cream enough to stir in the mincemeat.)

2.     As chutney or in a sauce. Use mincemeat alongside any meat or game that goes well with apples or dried cranberries/raisins, such as ham, chicken, and duck. My grandmother even serves it alongside her roast beef. You also can add it to your reduction sauce for your roast chicken or duck. Again, at the last minute, stir it in. It really adds depth of flavor.

3.     In Greek yogurt as a snack. Whether it’s vanilla or plain Greek yogurt, this might become your new favorite snack, as it is mine!

4.     In your favorite apple crumble (crisp) recipe. Just add a liberal amount to your apple mixture, thereby eliminating the need for any sugar and spice you might otherwise use. (You can also cut down on the amount of sugar and spice you use for your crumble topping.)

5.     For the ubiquitous, post-Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches. In America, at least, we are always looking for creative ways to use the turkey leftovers. This November 25 I will be trying my homemade mincemeat on top of the usual turkey breast, stuffing and white bread sandwich (which I like almost as much as the meal from the day before). If your mincemeat has dried cranberries in it like mine does, why wouldn’t it be as good as cranberry sauce or cranberry pepper jelly?

Please write and tell me other ways you use mincemeat!