Substitute for Suet

Asked by fredcgrace. Answered on 4th April 2015

Full question

Hi. In New Zealand, suet is no longer sold in supermarkets and is impossible to find a butcher (mostly chains) that has it. So is lard for that matter. What is a good substitute for suet to use in Christmas pudding, steak and kidney pudding etc? Cheers Fred

Our answer

Suet is a hard white animal fat and is usually beef suet. It is mostly sold in shredded form and usually dusted with something like rice flour so that it is free-flowing. Usefully the packages sold are ambient/shelf-stable so have a reasonable lifespan. Vegetarian suet has also become popular and is made from a vegetable oil instead.

If you can't find suet then we have found that grated vegetable shortening (such as Trex, Crisco or Copha) is a good substitute. To grate the shortening firstly freeze a stick or block of it until firm but not solid (this usually takes about 30 minutes). Grate the shortening on the coarse side of a box grater into a cold bowl or onto a cold plate, returning the fat to the freezer if it becomes too soft. Before using the grated shortening chill it for another 10-15 minutes in the freezer.