Butcher shop for ...kidneys!

[valpal]

Hey chowhounds! I'm planning to make steak and kidney pudding for my Brit boyfriend. Anyone know where I can get lamb/beef kidneys and suet?
Not my usual grocery list...below 42nd street is preferred.

Thanks!

[jenniebnyc]

Simchick's on 54th and 1st

[MMRuth]

Is that the name of the butcher that used to be next to Ideal Cheese - saw on Friday that they'd moved, and then couldn't remember the name.

[jenniebnyc]

That's the one :)

[kobetobiko]

I went to Ottomanelli's today and they had veal kidneys and suet. And since MMRuth asked about what other exotic ingredients they had, there is a list of what I saw there:

- fresh lamb sausage - ok, this sounds nothing exotic but I have to tell you how hard it is these days to find lamb sausage! Everywhere has italian, pork, duck, chicken, chicken, and more chicken sausage. So for those who like lamb sausage, Ottomanelli's has some.
- veal sweetbread - a lot!
- white and black breakfast pudding
- whole smoked tongue; if you want fresh one they can get it for you but you must buy the whole tongue
- ostrich, vension, etc. which they always have in the freezer

In addition to those, they of course have their usual beef (black angus as well but the marbling did not impress me), black berkshire pork, poussins, squabs, etc.

[MMRuth]

Thank you so much - I'll have to consider cooking some veal sweetbreads for my husband.

[kobetobiko]

I love sweetbread too~ I considered buying the sweetbread as I loved them, but they came in very big pieces, and my mom doesn't eat sweetbread. So in the fear of not able to finish them, (actually more fear of not being able to cook them properly), I finally gave up with sadness.

Anyway, I recalled that the sweetbread was only $8.99 or 9.99 per lb, and I think Citarella sells them for double that price! So definitely get some!

I wish I have the culinary skills like you, MMRuth! Your husband is one lucky man!

[MMRuth]

He he - you should read about my fiasco last night - http://www.chowhound.com/topics/44375... . Thanks though! Cooking them isn't hard, though I wonder if Ottomanelli would clean them - that's the tricky part - don't like them myself. I'll have to call and check about the cleaning this week - and will report back.

[jasmurph]

Lamb kidneys--3 corner fields at the Union Square farmer's market on Saturday. They're great.

Suet--Ottamanelli's on Bleeker. Waste time nowhere else. I need it every year for the Xmas pud, and have asked at tons of butchers. It's embarrassing how few even know what it is. Ottamanelli's always delivers the goods, except the one time I went in and they had sold 70 lbs of suet to somebody who was celebrating his massive weight loss by displaying the equivalent amount of fat he had lost. Boy, to have been at that party . . .

[kobetobiko]

Hi jasmurph,

Thanks for your great info and tip. Just wondering if it is ok to just "walk in" to Ottamanelli's and ask for the suet. Do I need to call ahead? Same for lamb kidneys (do Otta carry them?)?

Sorry for kidnapping this thread, but I want to ask if you have any tips on how to render the suet. I have never done this before but what to give it a try!

Thanks ahead!

[MMRuth]

I'd suggest calling ahead unless you live nearby - though that may just be me. Reminds me that I need to call Di Palo's about those truffles!

[RGR]

kobe,

I'm sure if you post your question about rendering suet on the Home Cooking board, some Hound(s) will have an answer. (I haven't a clue.)

[valpal]

Thanks so much! I'll swing by Ottamanelli's on the way home tonight.
Reminds me of an article I read about how it is impossible to find leaf lard these days.

[MMRuth]

Do let us know if you spot any other interesting "exotic" or interesting looking items at Ottomanelli's!

[valpal]

Wow! They close at six. :( I'll go tomorrow and report back on the wild world of chops and chitlin'!
My Aussie coworker told me that if the pud goes over well, she'd like to place an order.
Talk about a cottage "pie" industry.
Sorry. I couldn't help myself.

[jasmurph]

Leaf lard--flying pigs every saturday.

If you don't need too much, you'll proabably be able to just walk into Ottamanelli's and get suet any old time. On two occasions they've simply trimmed it off a steak.

As for the kidneys, they were from 3 Corner Fields Farm, and, yes, they're always available.

i'll shut up now, as i'm beginning to feel self-conscious about my knowledge of where to acquire animal fat.

[valpal]

Ha! Ha!! I'm the daughter of a wholesale meat distributor and the descendant of a long line of old-school NY butchers! The things I've seen! It's good to know there are others who know too much about such things.

What's flying pigs?

[jasmurph]

Sorry for the vagueness--Flying Pigs Farm is in Union Square (and Brooklyn) on Saturdays. Everything pork, including the whitest leaf lard I've ever seen, plus some chickens and eggs.