Order Mistake

[miles]

OK, so I wanted to make another order from the same place I got my grass-fed beef from before. The only affordable 'cut' they had in stock this time though was mince. They had a special offer, 15% off order >£50 and it was the last chance to get that offer, so I just went ahead and bought 18x500g packets of beef mince as I wasn't even sure if I'd make another order without that offer as I'd thought it'd been permanent last time. In the last order I'd bought one packet of beef mince to see how it was. The trouble is, that it was the first thing I ate so the comparison wasn't great. I thought it had a decent amount of fat but it has almost none, almost all the stuff I thought was fat is very clearly connective tissue. Last time I was used to being deficient in fat so I didn't notice it... Plus, there is a lot of unpleasant bacterial waste-product even though they've been vacuum packed.

So I thought, OK, I can handle that it's lean and musty, because at least they included some EDIBLE fat trimmings like I'd asked them to. No... I don't know what it is, but it looks smooth and moist on the outside, but it's almost rock-hard, powder crumbles from the faces/edges and it sort of breaks apart. Anyway, it dries/clogs up my throat and in my past experience of similar fats it also gives me digestive problems later on(not reached that point yet)... What is this stuff? I might be able to give a picture. How/why would any fat be like this, where's it from in the body...? What in its' composition makes it have this texture?

This came up in a search for suet in google images: http://hailbritannia.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/img_2986.jpg

But the stuff in that picture actually looks like some stuff I quite like, stuff I get from my local butchers if I ask for 'fat trimmings', comes in a big lump... but it's moist and refreshing, energising etc.. although it actually looks like it might be a bit dry from the outside. The stuff I got however looks like it could be really nice.

I'm annoyed.. They must've had better fat than this and I would even have paid for it.. but my order was large enough that I shouldn't have needed to. I did specify edible fat... Now I am stranded, as I had anticipated the order to be something it wasn't and have no way to get out of the mess.

Actually I suppose my stuff looks a bit more like this other result for 'suet': http://hailbritannia.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/img_2990.jpg

What is back-fat like?

[William]

Back fat comes in strips from my butcher; what you got is probably the fat from around the kidneys.

It's all suet.

Tastes OK melted, but  if you fear the effect of heat on the connective tissue then render it. The result is practically pure EFAs, which is what we are after anyway.

[miles]

=/ So even the hide fat under the skin is suet? It doesn't seem like there is much nice fat on an animal.. I certainly like all the fat which comes with the muscles but.. o_O I'm not very knowledgeable about the fat distribution.

Is any of the suet nice or what is the least bad? I'm sure I've had some nice suet or something like it.. It was a big chunk but it was soft, long..

If I'm going to request stuff without seeing it from a butcher a long way away I need to know what I'm on about but I really don't. =/

The supermarket butcher get TONS of perfect lamb fat every day which they trim from the muscle... but they not allowed to sell it... It's ridiculous.

[invisible]

The fat in both pictures is fine to be eaten raw and there is nothing wrong with it.

[William]

=/ So even the hide fat under the skin is suet?

Yes.

Is any of the suet nice or what is the least bad?

The best I've ever tasted was the yellow grass-finished back fat - I got that once per year. Probably the best tasting would be the fat inside the muscles, but I've never heard of them selling that. 

If I'm going to request stuff without seeing it from a butcher a long way away I need to know what I'm on about but I really don't. =/

Welcome to my world. 

The supermarket butcher get TONS of perfect lamb fat every day which they trim from the muscle... but they not allowed to sell it... It's ridiculous.

A mainlander was on a dock in Newfoundland where a fishing boat was unloading, asked the fisherman if he could buy a fish. Fisherman said no, it's forbidden. The tourist asked what would happen if he stole a fish while the fisherman's back was turned. Fisherman said no problem.
He got his fish.
I'm going to ask my butcher about lamb fat, and hope the law is different here. If not, there still might be a way.

[Nation]

William, how do you get your fat?

[William]

William, how do you get your fat?

I've been getting meat from a farmer in Ontario, he must truck the animal to a butcher/abattoir by law, I asked him to ask the butcher for back fat, and he did.
Because there is no back fat on the grassfed animals, I have to ask about 3 weeks in advance, that's OK because they always hang/age the meat for that long. So the fat is from grainfed animals.
I've also recently started making ghee. I mix it with tallow when I eat jerky or pemmican.

[djr_81]

Yes.

No. Suet is specifically the fat around the kidneys or more generally the fat that protects the organs. Hide fat is hide fat.

Grate it up with a cheese/vegetable grater if you need to Miles. It makes it easier to digest and easier to eat too. Lately when I use suet I grate it over my meat and give a dash of sea salt over that. It's kind of like parmesan cheese at that point (not that close in flavor but kind of...).

[RawZi]

...
Because there is no back fat on the grassfed animals, I have to ask about 3 weeks in advance, that's OK because they always hang/age the meat for that long. So the fat is from grainfed animals.
I've also recently started making ghee. I mix it with tallow when I eat jerky or pemmican.

    As I understand things, it takes years longer for grassfed animals to grow back fat.  Also, they have it one part of year, and not the other part depending on temperature.

[William]

No. Suet is specifically the fat around the kidneys or more generally the fat that protects the organs. Hide fat is hide fat.

Wrong. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suet  -note the low congealing temp, which only applies to back fat.