Rendering fat and then cooking the protein in its own fat - do other people do this?

[theamusedbouche]

I'm wondering if other people do this too - when I get a cut of meat that has a good deal of fat, like a chuck steak or shoulder steak or a leg of lamb, I often cut off the fat and render it and then brown the protein in that fat instead of olive oil etc.

Usually, the end product is a braised dish of some kind - like a lamb stew - and I feel like whats the point of cutting off the fat, throwing it away, and then adding olive oil or some other fat in order to brown the chucks of meat?

I think this gives the dish a more rich taste too - the lamb ends up tasting more lambie etc.

What do other people do? Is there a downside to this method?

[HeyDeliciousBlog]

I think that's an awesome idea. Why waste good fat? That's why confit is so popular (and tasty).

[mimolette]

I often cut off a piece of fat then let it melt in some other cooking oil before adding the meat to brown.

[John E.]

This is quite common, at least in our household. The downside is more saturated fat in the final dish. Some people like to trim most of the fat and then use olive oil because it's better for you.

[Joebob]

+1