Suet- safe to eat? How to eat?

[Koalamom]

I just got 28 pounds of grass fed suet from a local farmer down the road. It was $30. Is that a good deal? And is it safe for human consumption? Does it has toxins since suet is the fat from around the kidneys, cause fat holds toxins? And how do I go about using it?

Or is this just for the birds?

[cristeen]

Around here, that would be a great deal. Render it like you would lard, it has similar uses, too. If i had that, id be making some old fashioned mincemeat, since suet is a major component.

[Koalamom]

If you were around here i'd give you a bunch as I think 28 lbs is way too much. I am a little overwhelmed. The farmer called me up and said that he seta side some suet for me. I just thought I was going to get 5 lbs or something.

I have never rendered lard before, time to read up on that...

Ok I am a little excited about this fat as I always wanted to make donuts but never had enough bulk healthy oil to fry in. Now I can!

On a side note, my dh is unemployed and the grass fed beef (and pig and sheep) farmer said that he was looking for winter farm work and hired dh! Now we will have access to all the good meat we want!

[kl5]

Originally Posted by bluebirdmama1

Ok I am a little excited about this fat as I always wanted to make donuts but never had enough bulk healthy oil to fry in. Now I can!

French fries in beef tallow are amazing... Lucky you!

[Brown Lioness]

OMG, im jealous! I need to stock up on some suet here. I had JUST rendered some before we move back in May and my dear husband THREW IT AWAY while packing us up to move! Yea, so i need to stock up.

Tallow is PERFECT for fries or any other frying, to put on roasting veggies, all that good stuff!

[LemonPie]

You can make soap with it! BTW, render it outside if at all possible. Trust me on that. You don't want your house smelling like suet for days.

[Skrimpy]

The 28lbs will render down a bit when you do render it. You can do it in the oven, stovetop, or my favorite, slow cooker. Check out Youtube for rendering lard - you do it the same way and there are some good videos

Once rendered I store in wide-mouthed quart-sized mason jars. We use it for lots of cooking - scrambled eggs, leaner beef, etc. You can also use it to make pemmican and such!

[Koalamom]

So I rendered about 12 lbs yesterday and only got a little more than half the amount in fat. It really cooked down.