I recently saw a segment on the CTV evening news detailing a resurgence in the use of lard as a cooking product. People have become weary of the transfattiness of Crisco vegetable shortening and hard margarine, and butter is pretty expensive and precious as a flavouring agent. So they have turned to lard. Hell, before the 1950’s, lard was a staple in the western diet. It offered cheap cooking oil for the poor, and high flavour for the wealthy and well-off. In the late 19th century lard was even thought of as a treat in Europe if it was spread on a piece of toast and sprinkled with a little sugar and cinnamon. People have been chewing the fat on this topic for a while now, so to speak. If it was good enough for your grandmother, it should be good enough for you.
Why lard?
You might assume that because lard is pure fat–animal fat, in fact–that it is probably inherently worse for you than a vegetable or dairy-based product. First of all, most vegetable oils are hydrogenated. As a result, they contain transfats. Transfats are not essential fats, have been linked to heart disease and raise the levels of “bad” cholesterol, while simultaneously lowering “good” cholesterol. Hard margarines also contain transfats.
Butter is delicious, and it is also better for you, since it doesn’t contain transfats. However, you’ll notice that butter at the supermarket (especially organic butter) is very expensive to use as a cooking product. Plus, why waste your butter on cooking where you won’t taste it, rather than making a nice garlic butter or for frying your eggs?
Lard at the grocery store is dirt cheap–some of it even at 99 cents for a one-pound block. It is by far the cheapest alternative. However, some lard can be hydrogenated to increase the shelf life. Not only that, but I highly distrust the ethical standards of the pork producers that supply that lard. It’s pretty much a factory farm byproduct.
The solution: make your own
Ethical lard is pretty hard to come by. I’ve never seen organic lard in the grocery store and I’m yet to see it at all in places like Community Natural Foods. Community Natural Foods tends to have expensive soy or canola derived vegan alternatives–which is okay for some. So, you’ve got to go right to the farmer or your local butcher shop and buy yourself some locally raised animal fat. If you can, make sure you get leaf lard (the fat from around the kidneys), but if you’re just using it as a baking ingredient it doesn’t really matter. I got mine from TK Ranch when I ordered a bunch of meat, but I’m sure if you ask a farmer or a meat shop they can easily supply you. It’s easier than it sounds. I’ve only made this with hog fat thus far, but feel free to use beef or sheep tallow as a substitute instead.
All you need is a good sized casserole dish, a strainer (though, a reusable coffee filter worked excellently for me) and something you can use as a mold to set the lard in. I use a breadpan. A warning about rendering lard: lard can smell really bad. I’ve found that cooking the fat at a low temperature minimizes this smell, but be prepared with an open window. Somehow we ended up with a portable convection oven, so we set it up outside on the deck and do all the prep work there.
There are only a few ingredients, and a few steps:
2 pounds hog fat (or beef, sheep tallow)
1/8-1/4 cup water
Lay out the fat on a cutting board. It usually comes in blocks, or block-shaped folds. Cut the block into 1 inch cubes and place the cubes into the casserole dish (see right). Alternately, you can run the lard through a meat grinder or food processor so it melts better. I prefer to cut it into cubes because lard is a pain to get off of plastic, and some of the remnants from the rendering process can be reused as bacon-style bits or dog treats.
Pour the water into the casserole dish, leaving about 1/4 of an inch at the bottom. The water will ensure that the fat doesn’t begin to cook or brown on the edges. It will eventually evaporate. If it doesn’t, it’s not a big deal.
Preheat the oven to 225 Fahrenheit. When it’s preheated, place the casserole dish inside, covered with the lid. Let it cook for a couple of hours, stirring the fat once or twice with a metal spoon. You’ll notice that the blocks you’ve cut up have gradually melted into liquid.
If it looks like there’s a lot of leftover water, crank up the heat to 350 (once again, lard smells worse as it gets hotter), and uncover it for ten minutes. Next, set up your mold. Pour the hot fat into the mold through the strainer or filter, picking out the bits of gristle that end up in the strainer as you pour. Next, let the lard cool on the counter for about 10 minutes then put it in the fridge. This will allow it to harden quickly so you can cut it (see below left).
If you leave it for about an hour it should be completely hard. If there’s leftover water in it, pour it out in the sink–this isn’t a big deal unless you’re going for aesthetics. Next, flip your mold over on a clean surface. I prefer the cutting board so I don’t have to wipe the fat off the counter; lard is a pretty sticky substance. Next, cut it into desired sizes. You can either wrap them in tinfoil/parchment, or just put the blocks into reusable plastic bags. Another trick is to pour the hot fat into a jar, leaving an inch and a half at the top of air so you can spoon it out from there.
All you’ve got to do now is freeze the stuff you aren’t using immediately and refrigerate the rest. It can last for a long time in the freezer, and up to a month in the refrigerator.
Now what?
That leftover gristle you picked out doesn’t have to be thrown away. While it’s fatty, and seems gross now, you can reuse it as a salad additive or dog treat. Just place it in a frying pan and cook the pieces until they are brown and crispy. Then you can add it to salad as bacon bits. My dog goes mildly crazy over them, too.
Lard can be used for many different things. Use it in bread instead of using butter, or use it in tortillas. It works very well in tortillas, and leaves them nice and soft after they’re cooked. You can even use it as a cooking oil. Lard burns at a much higher temperature than most oils, making it useful in deep-frying and pan-fried foods.
It may sound hyperbollic, but the sky is the limit where lard is concerned. What innovative use have you found for this traditional ingredient?
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Mmmm, lard. I’ve been making your torilla recipe with breadflour and butter; I imagine they would be even more scrumptious made with lard!
There once was an advocate of lard
Who found cooking with butter too hard
So he put on his hat,
Found himself some pig fat,
And rendered it in his backyard.
I render lard without the water so that it browns a little, skip the straining and molding and use it directly to make goose confit. I save to goose fat for cooking omlettes and potatoes.
Only, only use pig fat for making pie pastry! If not using it right away, put in freezer. Try the expeller pressed organic coconut oil for fryiing.
Only, only use pig fat for making pie pastry! If not using it right away, put in freezer. Try the expeller pressed organic coconut oil for fryiing.