Veal, composite of trimmed retail cuts, separable fat, raw

This is the separable fat trimmed away from retail veal cuts, the layer a butcher or home cook removes from a chop or roast before cooking. Rather than being eaten on its own, it is more often left attached to a roast to baste the meat as it cooks, rendered down slowly to use for browning, or discarded entirely once trimmed. When rendered, it can enrich a pan sauce or serve as a cooking fat in the same way beef or duck fat is used.

If it is kept rather than discarded, wrap the raw trim tightly and refrigerate it for near-term use, or freeze it for longer storage, and render it over low heat if the goal is a strained cooking fat. As trimmed fat, it is dense in calories, 638 per 100 g, and mostly fat (67.8 g per 100 g), with a 1 oz (28 g) portion coming to about 179 calories. It does carry some protein from connective tissue, 6.02 g per 100 g (about 12% of the Daily Value), more than pure fat trimmings typically show, a reminder that even the trim from a cut is not entirely without substance, though it remains a minor component next to the fat itself.