Caul Fat

[A Patric]

Hello all,

I am in search of caul fat. I have found a slaughter house/retail butcher about 40 minutes from where I live. They are willing to sell me about anything that I want (that's legal) including caul fat for a pâté that I will be making but the trouble is, they don't know what caul fat is. The guy I was talking to had no clue what it was and suggested that maybe it is what he calls "leaf lard." I looked this up online and don't think that the two terms are synonymous. However, I can't find a clear definition of caul fat online. Some sources say it is the web-like fat from around the hog's stomach, and others say it is from around the intestines. I was starting to think that it could be from around the stomach or intestines, but then came across something called ruffle fat that is apparently from around the stomach. So, what exactly is caul fat? How would I explain it to this butcher, and is it easy to remove from the stomach or intestine?

Would leaf lard or thinly sliced back fat achieve the same result as caul fat, or is there something special about it.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Alan

[Carolyn Tillie]

I would be wary of a butcher who does not know what caul fat is... My understanding is that it is the webbing that encases the intensines.

That said, in my terrines I have used both fat-back and bacon, but both have to be heavily blanched beforehand to remove the salt. It is usually harder to get it as thin. Caul fat provides a thinner layer of fat around the terrine but there is no reason you cannot use other forms of fat (I have even used chilled duck fat to some success).

[Chad]

From Michael Ruhlman's "Charcuterie"

"Caul fat, the veil-like connective membrane that lines the stomach and other viscera of sheep and pigs, called the omentum, can also be used as a kind of casing. Essentially a layer of collagen and fat that melts away during cooking, caul fat is an extraordinarily useful kitchen tool...."

Looks like Niman Ranch carries caul fat.

Take care,

Chad

[A Patric]

I would be wary of a butcher who does not know what caul fat is... My understanding is that it is the webbing that encases the intensines.

That said, in my terrines I have used both fat-back and bacon, but both have to be heavily blanched beforehand to remove the salt. It is usually harder to get it as thin. Caul fat provides a thinner layer of fat around the terrine but there is no reason you cannot use other forms of fat (I have even used chilled duck fat to some success).

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Yeah, it seemed a bit odd to me that they didn't know what it is, but the company is a large supplier of pork and beef for the mid-west, so I don't think they are anything to be wary of, just a bit ignorant. They are nice though, and willing to sell me some if I can explain what it is exactly, so I'm not complaining. I just need to make sure that I know exactly, for 100% sure, what it is. So, is the final verdict that it is the webbed fat from both the intestines and the stomach? At any rate, maybe I should just try out some super thinly sliced fat back. I can get it fresh pre-cured, so there is no need for me to blanch it, and it is only $0.75/lb. But then again, I also really want to try this caul fat as it is apparently the real deal for pâté de campagne, and I am big on authenticity.

I'm torn.

Alan

Edited after seeing Chad's post above

Edited March 9, 2006 by A Patric (log)

[adegiulio]

Carolyn is 100% correct. And I will second what she says about being able to use other fats in the place of caul fat and still have a very nice, authentic terrine. Most people, especially for restaurant service, will pull the caul fat away when cleaning up the pate. There is typically a lot of sloppy and loose gelatin intermingled with the fat. Taking it off makes it more attractive, and I think more palatable.

[A Patric]

Alright,

I guess what I'm going to do, then, is to use thin sheets of back fat to surround the terrine top, sides, and bottom, and I will poke holes in the fat on the top so that steam can escape, and so that, when it is done, I can pour in the duck fat, as is called for by Bourdain's recipe, into the terrine. I have seen another recipe call for simply one hole in the middle of the fat through which to pour in some butter, but I think that one might get a more even spread of the fat addition throughout the pâté if there are multiple holes in the top. Does that sound reasonable? In terms of the thickness of the fat, is 1/8 of an inch a good thickness, or should I go even thinner if possible?

Thanks to everyone for the help and clarification.

Sincerely,

Alan

[adegiulio]

Slice it as thin as you can get it. If you have a deli slicer, use it...

[FistFullaRoux]

It's also called crepinette or crépinettes in French, but it also refers to a dish made with the caul fat.

Anatomically, it refers to the membrane enclosing the paunch of the animal, not necessarily the whole abdomen. Maybe Docsconz can weigh in with the better explanation.

It is rendered as part of the lard making process, usually. It seems to be the innermost, textured layer of the belly fat. How it is separated, I'm not sure. Maybe you could just show him a picture? Because it is exceedingly thin and delicate, unless the processors are searching it out, they may not have even noticed it.

[therese]

Okay, imagine the abdominal cavity. Now imagine that you've made an incision in the abdominal wall, and through this incision you blow a bubble, a really large bubble of something like bubble gum except that it's actually a very thin, filmy layer of connective tissue. The bubble reaches into all the nooks and crannies of the abdominal cavity, covering the pancreas and blood vessels in the back, wrapping around the liver on the right and the spleen on the right, draping around the large and small intestine and the blood vessels that supply the intestines (forming the mesentery). Finally imagine that there's some extra bubble that folds back on itself and hangs down like a curtain in the front of the abdominal cavity (forming the omentum). Anywhere that the bubble has folded back on itself will tend to accumulate fat between the two layers, and fat accumulation is particularly prominent in the omentum. Because the omentum is also relativly avascular (compared to the mesentery) it works especially nicely as a wrapping for terrines, etc.

Okay, everybody clear on this?

[therese]

And it looks like "leaf lard" is fat rendered from the fat that accumulates in the abdominal cavity (around the kidneys, in the mesentery, and in the omentum), but it's rendered, so is no longer associated with the connective tissue and so won't work to "bundle" or wrap your dish.

[budrichard]

Caul fat is the unrendered membrane surrounding the abdominal cavity. It looks like lace and is transparent with globs of lacy fat. It is useful for terrines but thin fatback or bacon can be substituted. When used to wrap a mousse around a chop or other wrap, it provides a bit of pork fat , great flavor and keeps the package together. Nothing can really be substituted for caul fat once you use it.

Find another butcher. -Dick

[HeatherM]

You can find photos of it online if you do a google image search for "caul fat". Here are a couple that I found...

Scroll 2/3 of the way down THIS page.

Photo & definition HERE

[A Patric]

Caul fat is the unrendered membrane surrounding the abdominal cavity. It looks like lace and is transparent with globs of lacy fat. It is  useful for  terrines but thin fatback or bacon can be substituted. When used to wrap a mousse around a chop or other wrap, it provides a bit of pork fat , great flavor and keeps the package together. Nothing can really be substituted for caul fat once you use it.

Find another butcher. -Dick

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Where I live there is no butcher. I have to drive about 35-40 minutes just to get to this one.

Alan

[A Patric]

You can find photos of it online if you do a google image search for "caul fat".  Here are a couple that I found...

Scroll 2/3 of the way down THIS page.

Photo & definition HERE

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Thanks.

[maher]

i would agree that for a terrine very thinly sliced fatback makes sense. ive found caul fat most useful when used almost as sort of a basting element. since it dissolves in sort of thin ribbons as it cooks it bastes any type of roast beautifully.

[M.X.Hassett]

Looks like Niman Ranch carries caul fat.

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I highly endorse the Niman product it comes frozen in I beleive 1 pound units. As of late I have been playing with wrapping a semi-cooked steak in potatoes and then caul and then quickly pan searing the steak.

[budrichard]

Looks like Niman Ranch carries caul fat.

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I highly endorse the Niman product it comes frozen in I beleive 1 pound units. As of late I have been playing with wrapping a semi-cooked steak in potatoes and then caul and then quickly pan searing the steak.

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How do you work with a 2.5# frozen block of caul fat? Mine comes fresh in sheets which we pack in folded flat sheets and freeze so we just have to thaw one large sheet each time we want to use it. -Dick

[A Patric]

Dear all,

I visited the butcher, of whom I spoke above, and though he didn't know the term "caul fat," as I pointed out, he did have the right stuff waiting for me; 5 lbs. of it, in fact, and only at $0.75/lb.

So, instead of paying $18.95 plus shipping for 2.5 lbs care of Niman Ranch, I only paid $3.75, plus about $3 in gas, for twice as much. Not bad! I have enough to use for my terrine and plenty left over to freeze for next time.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for all of the help.

Alan

[chezcherie]

what did he call it?

[therese]

what did he call it?

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Ditto my question.

There is, by the way, potential for confusion here, as there's something else that's described as a caul that has nothing whatsoever to do with the omentum or any other fatty tissue.

[A Patric]

He previously called it "leaf lard" but noted that after having talked to the owner of the company about it, he realized that he (the owner) was familiar with the term "caul fat" and had used it in sausage making to wrap certain types of sausages. I wasn't sure if by saying this that he was:

a) admitting that his terminology was incorrect, or that

b) he was admitting that he was thinking of another pork-fat product from the general belly area and didn't realize that the caul was useful for anything other than rendering down to lard, therefore meaning that he wouldn't have cared about its name.

At any rate, he knows now, and I even told him the scientific name "omentum." He seemed interested to know.

Alan

[therese]

At any rate, he knows now, and I even told him the scientific name "omentum."  He seemed interested to know.

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Cool.

Anybody else here familiar with the other type of caul?

[Milagai]

At any rate, he knows now, and I even told him the scientific name "omentum."  He seemed interested to know.

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Cool.

Anybody else here familiar with the other type of caul?

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I must admit the only "caul" I knew of was the "other" one....

Placenta......

Being a lit major, one picks up all kinds of odd trivia....

I got this one from David Copperfield (the Dickens book, not the magician).

Milagai

[TheFoodTutor]

I must admit the only "caul" I knew of was the "other" one....

Placenta......

Being a lit major, one picks up all kinds of odd trivia....

I got this one from David Copperfield (the Dickens book, not the magician).

Milagai

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Actually, the "caul" mentioned in reference to parturition is a piece of the amniotic sac that holds the amniotic fluid surrounding the pre-natal infant. There is a myth that if an infant is born with a piece of this membrane on his/her head, it will bring good luck to that child, particularly in preventing a death by drowning. Back when children were born in the home, some people chose to save that piece of tissue, as a sort of good luck "charm."

The placenta is actually a much more weighty piece of tissue. But this does bring up the fact that this is still a food-related discussion, since people do actually eat placenta, sometimes. Both the caul and the placenta are considered to be "medical waste," so I'm sure that many hospital employees would have a certain degree of discomfort letting people take them home, but I have heard that this sort of thing can be done. Therese would know, better than I would, about what the standard procedure would be for doing that sort of thing.

I also trust that she will correct me if I'm wrong in describing any of this. Of course, any recipes for placenta would probably be better suited for an already existing thread about eating human "parts."

Oh, and I'm not in the slightest bit interested in seeing those recipes, in case you were going to ask.

[therese]

FoodTutor is technically correct, the caul that's typically referenced in literature is the amnion, or amniotic membrane, and when an infant emerges from the birth canal with some of it over his face it's considered good luck, and sometimes specifically protection against drowning.

But Milagai's pretty close, as the amion actually covers the surface of the placenta (which is about the size and thickness of a large steak but a lot, um, spongier, and nothing I'm eager to eat no matter how it's prepared), and once the placenta's been delivered the amnion's pretty much just a filmy rim of tissue attached to the edge of the placenta.

Delivery of a child through the placenta is really bad thing, with high risk of hemorrhage and death all around.

That omentum and amnion are both called "caul" has to do with the fact that they are both filmy sorts of drapery or shawls. They are otherwise entirely unrelated from an anatomy point of view.