Rendered Suet

Never before have I completed a recipe and quite so adamantly thought, "NEVER AGAIN." Okay, so suet is the beef fat that comes from around the kidneys. It is the purest fat from the carcass, and as such, was very popular for cooking. Kind of like the lard of beef. It is apparently the only thing to use for steamed puddings because of its particular melting point, and a traditional ingredient in pie crusts, mincemeat, and tallow candles.

If you are lucky enough to live in the U.K., you can get it in the form of innocuous pre-processed pellets . I do not live in the U.K.

So, when we bought half a cow recently, I asked the butcher for the suet. He asked what that was, and then said that they call it the leaf fat. He brought out a great big chunk to the yard, hacked off the meaty tendony bits into the Trash Can O' Animal Bits, wrapped it up for me, and said I could come back any time for the same. Usually they use it to mix into ground game meats.

Let's do this.

7:00 a.m- Looked at leaf fat. Resolved to make it into suet today.
8:00- Looked at leaf fat. Resolved to make it into suet soon.
9:00- Looked at leaf fat. Resolved to make it into suet soon.
10:00- Looked at leaf fat. Resolved to make it into suet soon.
11:00- Looked at leaf fat. Resolved to make it into suet soon.

12:00 p.m.- Convinced husband to cut it into chunks. Cut one chunk myself. Had severe hibbity jibbities. Vowed never to do it again. Husband asked if this was going to smell weird. I reassured him that it probably wouldn't. Possibly. Anyway, it'd probably just smell like beef.

12:15- Put it in the crock pot, with about 2 cups of water.

3:07- Does it smell weird in here? Not super weird, just a little weird?

3:11- It smells weird in here. Is it the suet? It is, isn't it. I should check.

4:00 Lifted the lid of the crock pot. IT IS THE SUET. It does not smell like beef. It smells like fish that has gone off. I hope this doesn't get worse. It isn't too bad as long as you don't open the lid.

4:46- Put crock pot in garage, to quench the smell of death.

5:54- I think it is following me. No. It's just residual.

7:01- suspect stench is infiltrating. Told Husband I was pulling the plug on this project, but he convinced me to try it just a while longer. Sigh.

8:27- The stench may be lessening... or I am just getting used to it.

10:09 p.m., next day- Fat still not entirely rendered. This is taking much longer than I thought it was going to. It doesn't stink anymore! Hooray!

1:43 p.m., the day after that- Looks like pineapple chunks in syrup. Smells... like beef! Admittedly not a super quality in something whose purpose is to go into desserts, but much better than Nasty Fish flavored.

1:48 p.m.: I'm tired of this. I'm straining it.

Gross.

Still kind of gross. But... less so?

This is after chilling. Creamy and delicious? I guess?

Now, to do stuff with it! Yay.

As a reward for getting through all those icky pictures:

***Edit: Please also visit this much more helpful article on rendering lard here.***

Next Time

I apologize for the tardiness of the latest post, but it is something I have to work up to. I have not worked up the courage yet, but I will, I promise.

I can do it I can do it I can do it

American Mince and American Pinwheels

We'll Eat Again [reprinted recipes from WWII]

I am American, and I have never had anything like either of these recipes. And yet, the British Ministry of Food says it is so. I suspect these recipes are American like nachos are Mexican. But less delicious. How about you, Other Americans? Anyone?

And just sit quietly, Canadians. I have a recipe for Canadian Bake that I'll get to in the future, never fear.

Or fear. Fear is probably the more reasonable response.

That's right, Mrs. Smith. We're getting a seventh of our meat now in corned beef--twopence in the 1s. 2d. as you might say. Lord Woolton's watching his stocks--he likes to be sure he's got a bit in hand. I don't mind telling you I was rather afraid the whole ration would be cut down. It's lucky for everyone there is this corned beef to help out with. Cold or hot, you can dish it up in a dozen different ways--and very tasty, too. No, Mrs. Smith, I don't want any points coupons, it's all part of the meat ration.

American Mince

Cooking time: 30-35 minutes
Quantity: 4 helpings

6 oz. corned beef, minced or finely chopped
8 oz. cooked pearl barley
1/2 pint tomato pulp or white sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 oz cheese, grated
1 oz breadcrumbs
1/2 oz dripping or margarine
2 tomatoes (if available)

For a while during the war, 1 oz. of cheese per week was the ration for one person

Method: Place the beef, barley, tomato pulp or white sauce, seasoning, cheese, and breadcrumbs in layers in a greased pie dish. Finish with a layer of cheese and dot with the dripping or margarine. Bake in a moderate oven for 25 minutes.

Yes. That is 1/2 oz. cheese there. Do you know how hard it is to make two layers out of 1 oz. of cheese? Answer: very.

Slice the whole tomatoes and spread over the top. Return to the oven for a further 5-10 minutes.

American Pinwheels

Pastry:
8 oz. flour
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
or 1 teaspoon baking powder
2 oz margarine
milk to mix

Chocolate mixture:
2 oz margarine
2 tablespoons sugar
1 dessertspoon Bournville cocoa
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

Pastry: Put flour, salt, soda and cream of tartar in a bowl. Mix together, rub in margarine and bind to a stiff paste with milk.

Chocolate mixture: Cream margarine and sugar together, stir in cocoa, add essence, and if necessary a tablespoonful of milk; do not make too soft or the mixture will run during cooking. Roll out pastry into an oblong and spread with chocolate mixture. Roll up as for jam roll and cut into 3/4 inch rounds. Pack into a baking tin and bake in a moderately hot oven 20 to 30 minutes.


Verdict:

American Mince: Okay, first of all, this is corned beef from a can:

Yes. That speaks for itself. I also had to call my mom on the phone so she could tell me how to open a can with a key. The recipe calls for only half of it, so I put the other half thriftily away to use another day. Hooray! While I was measuring and putting out ingredients, Husband came by and tried to snitch a pinch of cheese. "NOOOOOOOO!" I said. "THAT IS ALL THE CHEESE WE GET PUT IT BACK PUT IT BACK WE ONLY GET AN OUNCE UNLESS YOU WANT TO HIT THE BLACK MARKET AND HELP HITLER DO YOU WANT TO HELP HITLER AHHHHHHHH!"

He put it back.

It took some careful placement to get two layers out of that cheese. In the end, you could not taste the cheese at all, and seeing the occasional shred just felt like a mockery. I would rather have just eaten my ration straight up. At least that way I could have tasted it.

It wasn't terrible though. It was kind of fine. Were I on rations, and corned beef in a can was what I could get, I'd make this. I'd feel kind of sad while eating it, but I would indeed eat it.

My sister came over that day, and I cleverly trapped her into eating dinner with us. This is her plate after dinner.

I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE, KRISTIN. I'm telling mom.

American Pinwheels: Holy HECK is that a tiny amount of filling! It is almost impossible to spread it over all the dough. It does look bigger when it is baked though, which is something I suppose. These are dry biscuits with "essence of chocolate" to tease your mouth. My sister had an excellent idea for improvement, though!

Much better!


Now I need some nachos.

Save That Fat!

Courtesy of Shorpy.com

June 1942. "Why greases must be saved. A soldier of the home front -- and there's one in every American kitchen -- saves all waste fats and greases so that they can be processed into ammunition for America's soldiers on the battlefronts. Pan and broiler drippings, deep fats, renderings from bacon rinds: These are some of the fats which should be put through a strainer to remove meat scraps and other solids, and poured into wide-mouthed cans such as coffee or fat cans." 4x5 safety negative by Ann Rosener for the Office of War Information.

And if you don't give your leftover fat to the government, at least make a veggie-filled pastry!

Apple Bread

Betty Crocker Recipe Card Library [1971]

I usually try out more unusual recipes, but while going through my avocado-green recipe card file, I came across... this. It looked delicious. It was under "Recipes Children Can Make." It seems to be a member of the Upside Down Cake family. It involves butter. How could it go wrong? And I had Honey Crisp apples. Have you tried those? They are delicious. New favorite apple, guys. Besides, I made cake out of beets, so there is a sort of symmetry about making bread out of apples.

Anyway.

Apple Bread
Melt in baking pan, 9x9x2 inches . . 2 tablespoons butter
Mix with fork in small bowl . . . . . . 1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Sprinkle sugar mixture on melted butter in pan.
Cut into thin slices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 apple

Arrange apple slices in rows on sugar mixture in pan.
Sprinkle over apples . . . . . . . . . . . a few raisins

Stir together with spoon in large bowl . .
1 pkg active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water
(105-115 degrees)

Add . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup Gold Medal flour*

Beat 2 minutes or until batter drops from spoon in sheets.
Add and beat until smooth . . . . . . . . . .1 egg
1/4 cup shortening
1 1/4 cups Gold Medal flour

Drop batter by small spoonfuls over apples and raisins in pan. Cover pan and let rise in warm place until double, 50 to 60 minutes.

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until brown. Immediately remove cake from pan by turning upside down onto serving plate.
*If using self-rising flour, omit salt.


Verdict:

It's.... DELICIOUS. Thank you, Betty Crocker! This is fabulous! It's a dang apple upside down cake! I didn't have any raisins, so I used frozen blueberries. Highly recommended, for it was tasty times indeed. It was also super easy and fast, especially for a yeast-based food, so the awesomeness is compounded.

Husband and I polished it off within about 12 hours, and that was only because we were trying to be responsible. One of those servings had vanilla ice cream. Then we ran out of ice cream. :( It was more than tasty without it, though! It is at its best warm, so take that into consideration when you make it.

Because you will.

You will.

WWII Rationing: Mock Goose, Beetroot Pudding, and Mock Whipped Cream

We'll Eat Again [reprinted recipes from 1940's]

Phew! Sorry about that break, but the kitchen of Time Travel Kitchen is now both larger, and closer to willing victims. HOORAY. I promised you goose, didn't I? I did. And you, poor things, have been waiting with bated breath. Wait no longer!

"Man-about-Kitchen"
Now that thousands of wives and mothers are helping in the factories, or evacuated to the country, many men are having to do their own cooking. No wonder they ask their women-folk for easy recipes! Here are a few suggestions. [Well, one.]

Mock Goose

Cooking time: 1 hour Quantity: 4 helpings

1 1/2 lb. potatoes
2 large cooking apples
4 oz. cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
salt and pepper
3/4 pint vegetable stock
1 tablespoon flour

Method: Scrub and slice potatoes thinly, slice apples, grate cheese. Grease a fireproof dish, place a layer of potatoes in it, cover with apple and a little sage, season lightly and sprinkle with cheese, repeat layers leaving potatoes and cheese to cover. Pour in 1/2 pint of the stock, cook in a moderate oven for 3/4 of an hour. Blend flour with remainder of stock, pour into dish and cook for another 1/4 of an hour. Serve as a main dish with a green vegetable.

Dig for your dinner
When salvage is all that remains of the joint
And there isn't a tin and you haven't a 'point'
Instead of creating a dance and a ballad
Just raid the allotment and dig up a salad!

Beetroot Pudding
Here is a new notion for using the sweetness of beetroot to make a nice sweet pudding with very little sugar.

First mix 6 oz wheatmeal flour with 1/2 teaspoon baking powder. Rub in 1/2 oz fat and add 1 oz sugar and 4 oz cooked or raw beetroot very finely grated.

Now mix all the ingredients to a soft cake consistency with 3 or 4 tablespoons of milk. Add a few drops of flavouring essence if you have it. Turn the mixture into a greased pie dish or square tin and bake immediately in a moderate oven for 35-40 minutes. This pudding tastes equally good hot or cold. Enough for 4.

Reflect, whenever you indulge
It is not beautiful to bulge
A large, untidy corporation
Is far from helpful to the Nation.

Mock Whipped Cream
1/2 oz cornflour [cornstarch]
1/4 pint milk
1 1/2 oz margarine
3 teaspoons sugar
few drops vanilla essence

Method: Mix cornflour to a paste with a little milk, heat remainder and when boiling add to the blended cornflour, stirring well. Return to saucepan bring to boil and cook 3 minutes. Cream the margarine and sugar. Whisk in the cornflour mixture gradually. Add vanilla essence.


***

Verdict:

Mock Goose: In... in what manner is this a goose? The duck, the duck I could see. It looks sort of ducky, and there's meat. This? This is a DANG POTATO CASSEROLE. It wasn't cooked for long enough, so it was still kind of crunchy, and the vegetable broth did not thicken in any way. It was more like wet potato discs with oddly flavored apples and surprising tiny globlets of soggy cheese. Were it cooked for longer, the vegetable broth thickened, and more herbs added, this would probably be fine. Troll your vegetarian friends. Invite them over for dinner. When they arrive, tell them you made goose. Hilarity cannot fail to ensue.

Beetroot Pudding: Gahhh. I am undecided on this one. A list must happen.

Good:
*Beets are pretty sweet, so this actually sort of worked as far as sweetness goes.
*It's pink!
*It's really good for you

Bad:
*It was gritty. Like sand. And I like whole wheat.
*A shred of beet got stuck in my teeth.
*It's density is similar to that of brick.
*It's really good for you.

I will have to revisit this one, and see if it can be improved on. What made it quite palatable was the-

Mock Whipped Cream: Mmmmm. If you think about it, this recipe actually makes mathematical sense.

Given that:
Cream = Milk + Butterfat
Butter ≈ Margarine

Therefore:
Margarine + Milk ≈ Cream

Ta da! With the addition of some cornstarch, sugar, and vanilla, a reasonable approximation of whipped cream can be made. It's more like a pastry cream than whipped cream, but let us not quibble. A sweet, creamy topping can be made. Let he who is without Kool Whip among you cast the first stone. Besides, it helps the sandy pink beet grit slide down much easier.

***

Bonus propaganda! Have you wondered how much soy flour is needed to make a loaf big enough to fill Red Square? Wonder no longer.

Please Hold

The kitchen of Time Travel Kitchen is being moved to a new house. Please hold. If you wish, you may play the relaxing music of your choice in the interim.