The fat of the land

Martin Waldhoff was in need of some animal fats to make his own soap, not having been able to buy any ready-made that did not contain palm oil or other vegetable fats.

Talking about his quest to a friend, he was overheard by a butcher who said: “I can make that, I have my equipment from 30 or 40 years ago.”

However, the equipment comprised a 100 litre vat for rendering fat and Martin required only a kilo or two.

“I had to find something to do with the other 98kg,” he said.

“At that time I was becoming paleo and had a bit of an audience so I trialled the dripping and it went really well.

“I just caught the beginning of that movement.”

That was three years ago and the beginning of Tassie Tallow, purveyor of beef and lamb dripping and lard, products that catch the paleo low-carb highfat wave but also were liberally lashed on the Sunday roast by your great-grandmother.

Saturated animal fats have been demonised by health bodies because they are high in cholesterol and so said to contribute to heart disease.

Now they are being somewhat redeemed — the incidence of heart disease having increased even as dripping and lard disappeared.

Dripping — rendered fat, mostly suet from around the kidneys of cattle and sheep — and lard, rendered pork fat, are very good for high-heat cooking because they remain stable and do not generate free radicals.

Martin says he began avoiding vegetable oils because many of them are highly refined. Animal fats also contain vitamins, including D.

Health claims aside, dripping and lard are lauded for the taste they impart to food.

For years, dripping was the favoured fat for frying fish and chips in the UK, and now Rick Stein’s Cornish restaurants use it again.

In the 2015 Great Taste Awards in the UK, the supreme champion was a beef dripping from an Irish butchery. Martin says the expense — 20 litres of canola oil costs about $18, whereas the same amount of dripping costs $100 — prohibits its use in deep fryers here.

At the new Elizabeth St restaurant Rude Boy, they do use beef dripping for their Cuban sandwiches.

Kalis Group executive chef Paul Foreman said they found spreading the bread with Tassie Tallow beef dripping and then putting them on the grill gave “just the right flavour and texture”.

You can make dripping or lard at home, but I think I’d rather leave it to the two nameless butchers who make it for Tassie Tallow. They mince the fat then cook it for six hours, filtering it twice, all without the use of machines,

Martin says vegies sauteed in dripping maintain their colour and mushrooms stay firm. You can create the aromas of mum’s roast, just by baking potatoes in lamb dripping, and beef dripping is terrific for Yorkshire pudding.

Lard is silkier that dripping and has a sweet smell — use it for terrific crackling.

Designer Tony Heywood has joined Tassie Tallow for a redesign of the labels and a relaunch of the brand. All the fats — including ghee (clarified butter) come from Tasmanian animals that have eaten nothing but grass. They also sell duck fat, but from mainland ducks.

The recommended price for dripping, lard and duck fat in a 375g glass jar is $9.95. Ghee is $15.95 for 375g.

“I just caught the beginning of that (paleo) movement” MARTI N WALDHOFF ON RENDERING