Dumplings, butter or suet?

[LoveBeingGetAGrip]

So which is better ?

I've never even thought of using butter, I use vegetable suet for mine, but I think they would probably taste even better with butter - every thing does

You can use butter instead of suet?! Really?? That would be amazing!

suet, didn't know you can make them with butter

I'm doing a Jamie stew and his ministry of food dumplings which are made with butter!

Either is good.
DM used to pop a few cooked ones in with the roast spuds. I'd forgotten that...

Suet. But I suppose any fat (almost) would do.

Can't say dumplings are my favourite thing, so haven't experimented much.

this one

Can use either x

Butter

I prefer suet, but will use butter if I haven't got any in.
However, don't do what DH did last week, and weigh out the flour, and then tip in the whole box of suet. If you put in 4x too much suet, they collapse, and the stew turns a bit oily....

Addicted that sounds gross

I've just made dumplings using butter as I'd ran out of suet, looked it up on net and found you could just substitute butter/marge for suet as long as it's half the weight of the flour (self raising and had in oven for 30 mins)

They looked ok, not 'cloud' fluffy or as big as suet ones and were a definite shade of yellow! The did taste buttery, they were still fluffy inside but I admit the taste didn't seem 'right' to me - like as if I'd added mint (I'd only added a bit salt, pepper and parsley)? Asked DH and he agreed he preferred the suet dumplings.

Am wondering if it would be the same made with lard/part lard? Or would that be revolting?

I've never heard of them being made with anything but suet before. Isn't the texture wrong if you don't have discernible lumps of fat in the mix?

The best bit about making dumplings for me is that using suet, you don't have to rub the fat in, you just stir together .

Although I suppose you could try grating butter and/or lard and then just stirring? I think lard would work - it does for pastry. It seems a bit mad also that butter is actually cheaper than suet, based on what I paid when I bought some last week.

I may be cast asunder but aunt Bessie's frozen dumplings really are top notch. I fooled my very discerning DF with them!

Kato

(Will remember that next time, and to be fair I would normally get a packet mix )

They were lovely!