Kidney Fat

Meat

Kidney Fat

Beef kidney fat is the hard fat around the kidneys—part of the suet family, clean and white when fresh, excellent for rendering into high-smoke-point cooking fat and for traditional pastry. It is firmer than subcutaneous fat and renders into a pale, mild tallow when treated carefully. Chop or grate cold, render gently, and strain. Use for frying, Yorkshire pudding, and pie crusts. Fresh kidney fat should smell clean and sweet; discard if yellowed and rancid.

Track this ingredient

Unit

Characteristics

Preparations

PastryRenderedSuet

Traits

Clean WhiteFirmHard FatMildPastry FriendlyRenderable

Nutrition and pairings

Nutrition

Typical values per 100 g edible portion. Nutrient names open the reference page.

Nutrition Facts

Per 100 g edible portion

Calories 892

Amount per 100 g

  • Total Fat 99 g
  • Saturated Fat 34.7 g
  • Trans Fat 0.2 g
  • Monounsaturated Fat 39.6 g
  • Polyunsaturated Fat 24.8 g
  • Cholesterol 242 mg
  • Sodium 59.1 mg
  • Salt 0.15 g
  • Total Carbohydrate 0 g
  • Dietary Fibre 0 g
  • Total Sugars 0 g
  • Complex / starch 0 g
  • Protein 0.2 g
  • Water 0.3 g
Detailed nutrients

Kidney is leaner than many muscle cuts but still an organ meat with elevated cholesterol.

Grading systems

Grades are placed along a shared scale so systems can be compared side by side.

United Kingdom

AHDB / EUROP

United States

USDA

History

GB

British pastry cooks prized beef kidney fat for shortcrust and suet puddings.

US

American home rendering used kidney fat for household tallow.

Nose-to-tail bakers revived suet and kidney fat for traditional recipes.

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