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| garden carrots and potatoes for a chilly fall day |
I mentioned last we that I rendered almost 2 cups of fat from 3 pounds of beef short ribs.
I keep this fat in a container in the kitchen freezer to use in cooking. When sautéing, it's easy to cut a piece of fat off and melt in a hot skillet before adding vegetables or lean meat. Oven-roasting vegetables takes one additional step.
I use about 1 tablespoon of beef fat for carrots and potatoes for 4 adults. I scoop the still frozen beef fat into a microwaveable dish, then melt the at in the microwave until liquid.
Using a spoon and a rubber spatula, I toss cut vegetables in the melted fat until all are lightly coated. The spatula helps to use as much of the fat as possible.
I roast the veggies on a darkened baking sheet. My rendered fat is unseasoned, so I sprinkle the veggies with salt before roasting.
I roasted this batch at about 425 F degrees for about 30 minutes, until toasty-looking.
My family loves root vegetables roasted in beef fat. My husband likes to remind me that Mc D's French fries used to be fried in beef fat. Are these as tasty as French fries? Perhaps not. But they're awfully good nonetheless. As for how much fat remains on the baking sheet after roasting.I needed to wipe out the baking pan a few times with brown paper before I could wash it in the dishwater. I imagine about 2 teaspoons of the fat wind up coating the vegetables while 1 teaspoon remains in the pan. We aren't eating gobs of beef fat with dinner.
I love roasted veggies, and I bet these tasted better than McDonald's fries. Healthier, too!
ReplyDeleteHi Kris,
DeleteBoth the carrots and potatoes were delicious after roasting in the beef fat!
I'm not a big lover of meat fat but we do keep bacon grease for roasting potatoes or frying an egg so why not keep beef or chicken fat too. I'm going to give this a try and see how that works.
ReplyDeleteAlice
Hi Alice,
DeleteMy family enjoys the flavor that meat fats add to a variety of foods. Beef fat is particular good with Mexican-style bean dishes. It adds a great flavor. We use chicken fat for everything from sautéing veggies when starting soups, to rice pilafs and risotto. The one meat fat that I don't like (but my husband will use) is turkey fat. I don't like the flavor of that fat in other foods. Fortunately, turkeys have very little fat compared to their size.
We roast a lot of vegetables here, but usually use olive oil. Like Alice, we do save bacon grease to use with a few things. But I bet vegetables roasted with meat fat would be good, too and more economical than olive oil.
ReplyDeleteHi Live and Learn,
DeleteI use olive oil for some vegetables, too. I like turnips roasted with olive oil, for example. If I'm doing rosemary potatoes, I'll use olive oil. The finished flavor and combined flavors is my primary consideration when choosing which fat. And, yes, I like the economy aspect of using meat fat, too.
Oh, I didn't know Mc D's french fries used to be fried in beef fat!!! Beef is terrible for the environment :(.
ReplyDeleteHi Farhana,
DeleteYep! And those fries were so much better than the current ones fried in canola, soy, hydrogenated soy, and corn oil. Something tastes oddly like chemicals in today's McD's French fries to me. Years ago, I think the beef fat was blended with a vegetable oil and not straight beef fat. I don't subscribe to the theory that beef is bad for the environment. It's a theory, and those types of theories have been debunked over and over in my lifetime. High-quality beef is a nutritious food. Cattle is a gift from God for human use. I choose moderation in all things, including what I consume.