Thursday 26 September 2019

Dripping.



When I was a wee lad (post war), we ate a lot of Beef. I'm not sure, but I suspect it was cheaper than Chicken or Pork, and was considered 'every day food'; not like today. 

I know that our village butcher (Mr Bryant) was always well stocked, and my father also had a 'black market' supply from some nearby based Canadian troops, who had far too much; it was sent over in huge quantities, either chilled or frozen.

Of course, one didn't only eat wonderful roasts, but there was also that miraculous residue called 'dripping'. I loved dripping on toast, with maybe some Bovril or Marmite; it was heaven on bread, and, in those days, still not regarded as unhealthy.

These days I might occasionally eat steak, but big joints of Beef are prohibitively expensive; so no pot of dripping in the fridge (I would never buy commercial pots as in the illustration).

However, being in S W France we DO have plenty of Duck fat, which in many ways is quite similar, and on occasions I prefer to have Duck fat on my toast than butter, and there is never any shortage.

Yesterday morning I had a real craving; my breakfast HAD to be toast with Duck fat and Marmite. It was bloody gorgeous, and I felt 6 years old again.  I don't suppose it's any more unhealthy than either dripping or butter, and it tastes wonderful.

p,s,. If you were to ask any under 18-year-olds about 'dripping', you'd probably get a blank stare!



36 comments:

  1. I think I would prefer beef dripping to duck fat. It seems as though today's meat has less fat so less dripping.

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    1. I can't remember the last time I had a proper joint of Beef; it's so expensive here, and one can never be sure of the quality. Duck fat is delicious.

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  2. I had to look this up as I never heard of beef dripping before. The article said it was used in cooking, especially, British cuisine. It would not be something that my doctor would recommend, nor would I try, but totally understand your desire to enjoy something from your childhood and all the memories that it brings. There are some meals that I will have that do the same for me.

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    1. Proper Beef dripping has to come from a roasted joint of Beef, and not from Beef fat being melted separately. I don't imagine that it's any more unhealthy than butter.

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  3. My parents, both in their 70's, adore bread & dripping -especially the brown jelly bits! They never made me eat it thank God!! My own grown up children have probably never set eyes on the stuff.

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    1. The sub-dripping jelly is pure nectar. With Duck fat you get a similar layer of jelly, that is equally delicious.

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  4. I grew up on beef dripping and I miss it. With today's obsession with lean meat it is almost impossible to end up with any dripping after roasting a joint. It was real and it wasn't all about herbs and garlic and things. It was just beef dripping. And nobody was overweight.

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    1. Yes, it had to come from a good fatty joint of rib or sirloin. The meat gave it extra flavour; I can't imagine potted dripping being anything like the real thing.

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  5. And the days when you could buy meat on the bone to roast!!!! Joints were large enough for leftovers on Monday and Tuesday, which made houskeeping so much easier. Thinking daily about what to cook is almost more work than the actual cooking!

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    1. Our weekly Beef joints always seemed HUGE to me, with plenty of left-overs for sandwiches, etc. You'd need a bank loan these days for the same things.

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  6. Ah yes.....beef dripping with salt! I guess your " salt" comes from the bovril or marmite. If you got some of the brown bits all the better!!

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    1. The brown jelly was delicious. It's a shame that so many people will never experience such delights.

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  7. I loved beef dripping ..... such a treat. I think those who don’t know about dripping thinks it’s just fat but it was that wonderful jelly at the bottom that made it ..... mixed with a bit of the fat, there was nothing better. The stuff sold in jars is just fat. Nearly as nice ( but not quite ) was chicken fat which also produced jelly ... a slightly different experience but still delicious..... and, of course, a sprinkling of salt on both. Nowadays, joints have a piece of fat from somewhere else or some other animal (?) wrapped round it and no dripping is forthcoming !!! XXXX

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    1. That's what I feared, buying a jar of 'Beef Dripping' would be pointless. I imagine it would taste like Lard.

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  8. Sometimes used to be given bread and dripping when I was at school. Didn't like it then and now as a vegetarian think "yuk!"

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    1. It's not really going to ignite your belly fire as a Veggie, but it still has me going!

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  9. You are right about the blank stare. Childhood neighbours used to eat bread and dripping, with lots of salt. I found it revolting.

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    1. It can't have been good quality, otherwise you'd have loved it.

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  10. Bread and dripping with white pepper and salt. Bliss

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  11. My grandmother loved bread and dripping so I mainly remember eating it at her house. Thanks for reminding me of the lovely brown jelly at the bottom! Indeed back then beef was cheap; chicken reserved for special occasions. Pork fat is delicious too.

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    1. When I was small we had our own Chickens Ducks and Bantams (and a few Geese I think). It was always a real treat to have a WHOLE roasted fowl.

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  12. Oh my, these comments bring back memories of America's more frugal past. Now people are terrified of drippings! But your breakfast is certainly more wholesome that a bowl of sugary cereal. Everyone once kept a can of leftover bacon grease on the back of the stove, for frying delicious potatoes and such. Fat was never, ever wasted.

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    1. Duck fat is never thrown away here; far too precious. Not much else is kept back these days.

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  13. And what was so delicious about 'homemade' beef dripping was that inch or so of thick brown 'jelly' underneath. My mouth is watering Cro.

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    1. We had to fight to get at the jelly; usually my father won!

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  14. My favourite has always been lamb or mutton dripping. Growing up on dripping for breakfast, I was once in trouble at school for spelling it without the “g” on the end. That’s how we pronounced it in Yorkshire!

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    1. I love Lamb, and I love Lamb fat, but I'd never thought of keeping it back as an alternative to Beef drippin'.

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  15. It's my understanding that duck fat is quite a healthy fat, primarily a monounsaturated one, and one which may lower your cholesterol. Emphasis on "May."

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    1. They always used to say that my area has very little heart disease, which they attributed to Duck fat, but they probably would say that; wouldn't they.

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  16. My late Ukrainian- Canadian father would eat dripping on good rye bread for breakfast. Thank you for your post that reminded me of my beloved dad.

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    1. It must be universal. Maybe there are still lots of us who eat such breakfasts.

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  17. I ate dripping growing up in the U.K. in the 50's , don't remember it after that. I read how, when butter was scarce during the war, someone surprised their family with a cake. It turned out she'd used chicken fat instead of butter and it apparently tasted fine!

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    1. I mostly remember it as something we were given on a cold day as a quick inter-meal snack. A big lump of bread topped with delicious dripping.

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  18. We used to have an anodised tin with a lid in the fridge that was the perpetual base for roasts and gravies, and the jelly underneath was a marvel to me. It wasn't used for sandwiches, alas, not sure why. But like you, I cannot remember the last roasted joint of beef I ate at home. Lamb took over, but both are so $$ these days.

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    1. It's a long time ago, but I think my mother used a big 'pudding basin' for her dripping. It was always full and used regularly. Beef is hardly ever on the menu here, other than in the form of Boeuf Bourguignon in winter.

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