Lard can be a touchy subject for many cooks who have or have not cooked with lard over the past 50 years, especially if you have not brought yourself up to speed with the new way pigs today are being raised on sustainable farms — such as Flying Pigs Farm in upstate New York.
In the prewar days when grandma had her bacon fat drippings in a coffee can on the back of her stove and a can of Crisco to be used in piecrusts, we all ate chicken fried in those drippings and pies and cookies made with that Crisco.
Then World War II happened, and all of the bacon fat drippings were taken to a local designated butcher to be collected by the military and used in the manufacturing of explosives. True lard was no longer available to the public.
Along came one-pound packets of margarine with the “little gold pill” in its center. We were told that margarine was better for us than butter and vegetable oil was better for us than shortening or lard, when, in fact, these vegetable fats are turned into solid forms by a process called hydrogenation.
Thus, we should avoid those solid shortenings sold in most markets.
This method creates transfatty acids, which we now know increase total cholesterol, raises LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and lowers HDL (“good”) cholesterol.
The Harvard Medical School has an article which explains the truth about fats — both good and bad — available online at: www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/Truth-about-fats.shtml
When I tell other cooks that today, I use “leaf lard” in my baking and frying, I get the same reaction that I would if I had just used a four-letter word.
But today, “leaf lard” has won the health debate; this is the lard from around the kidneys of a hog and is mostly monounsaturated, which is healthier than saturated fat and even has a neutral effect on blood cholesterol.
Lard also has a higher cooking temperature, which allows foods such as chicken, fish and potatoes to absorb less grease when fried in it. A bonus is that leaf lard has no pig smell associated with it and is of a pure white color.
Lard has a higher smoking point than other fats; this results in foods that are fried in lard absorbing less grease.
Baking with leaf lard results in the flakiest pie crusts. Frying in lard gives the chicken batter a crispness that vegetable oils cannot, and if Mario Batali says it’s the best, then we all should listen
I purchase my leaf lard from El Salchecharo Sausage on the west side of Santa Cruz, or at the Santa Cruz, Live Oak and the Scotts Valley farmer’s markets. This sausage company renders its own lard, which sells for $13 a pint. Refrigerated, it will hold well for six months, and will hold indefinitely when frozen.
Masa for authentic tamales must be made with lard which has been whipped (10 minutes or so) until a teaspoonful of dough will float to the top in a glass of cold water. This results in a light and flavorful dough. Corn tortillas will not be as dense if a dollop of this lard is added to the masa.
Join me in celebrating the return of good old-fashioned lard; Leaf Lard that is.
RECIPE
Tamales: The Mexican Way
Pork in Red Chili (filling for tamales)
5-6 pound pork shoulder roast cut into 2 inch strips.
10 dried ancho chilies stemmed seeded and soaked ½ hr. in 2 cups hot water.
2 cups diced onions and 4 cloves garlic lightly sautéed in 2 tbsp. vegetable oil.
2 tsp. oregano.
2 tsp. cumin.
S/P to taste
Blend together chili, chili water. onion, garlic and spices.
Cook in slow cooker or 225 deg. oven 5-6 hrs. until meat falls apart. Chop meat and mix with some of its juices.
.Basic Tamal Dough (26 tamales)
18-oz. package dried corn husks presoaked in hot water for 2 hrs.
In mixing bowl add:
1 1/3 cups Leaf Lard
2 tsp. salt
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
In separate bowl mix together:
3 ½ cups Maseca brand corn masa
2 ¼ cups hot water. Reserve.
Beat lard mixture 3 minutes and slowly add masa mixture. Reduce speed and add
1 1/2 cups chicken broth. Reserve ½ cup.
Beat until ½ tsp. of dough floats in one cup of cold water (1-3 minutes). Beat in enough reserved chicken broth until mixture will spread easily. Rest 1 hour before assembling tamales.
(For excellent photos on how to assemble tamales: www.chow.com/food-news how to form a tamale).
