dripping

Dripping, also known as beef or pork dripping, is an animal fat produced from the fatty or otherwise unusable parts of cow or pig carcasses. It is similar to lard and tallow.

It is used for cooking, especially in British cuisine, though towards the end of the 20th century dripping had fallen out of favour, due to its being regarded as less healthy than vegetable oils such as olive and sunflower oil. It is also known to cook far crispier and tastier roast potatoes if used with King Edwards, which should be placed at the top of the oven and NOT moved to the bottom.

Traditionally, fish and chips were fried in beef dripping, and this practice does continue rarely in some places particularly in the North of England, however many such shops now use more healthy oils. Notable exceptions are many fast food restaurants which use hydrogenated fats.

Pork dripping is served cold to be spread on bread (bread and dripping), particularly for breakfast. In parts of Yorkshire, this is known as a "mucky fat" sandwich. It is also served on toast with salt, also mainly for breakfast.