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Lard. Anyone use it?

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hornhonk
hornhonk Posts: 3,841
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I've been reading up on lard. It's said to have high amounts of the good fat. I'd like to do some chicken fried steak tomorrow. Any good or bad experiences with it? The lard, that is.
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  • Morro Bay Rich
    Morro Bay Rich Posts: 2,227
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    Can't make real tamales without it.
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  • hornhonk
    hornhonk Posts: 3,841
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    That's true. I've never made any, but I can eat a dozen easily :cheer: We have great tamale places everywhere around here. ;)
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  • Hoss
    Hoss Posts: 14,600
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    Pure,white,rendered lard....It was good enough for several generations before us.Yes I use it in several applications!!! ;) Best gravy and roux you ever ate!!! ;) To fry in,can't be beat!
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  • hornhonk
    hornhonk Posts: 3,841
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    That's good enough for me, Hoss. I'm going to a local Mexican market in the morning and picking up a tub. ;)
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  • Little Chef
    Little Chef Posts: 4,725
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    Hornhonk...As much as I hate to admit it, it's really no worse for you than butter, and we go through a LOT of butter in this house! :blush: Still though, I would do a shallow fry. Bottom line, it's not 'good' for us....but we only live once. ;):whistle:
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  • hornhonk
    hornhonk Posts: 3,841
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    Hi, Little Chef! I picked up some very nice cubed steaks today for Chicken Fried Steak. It will be a shallow fry. From what I understand, frying them in lard is the authentic way of cooking them. My wife goes bananas for a good CFS. I hope mine will a-peel to her :lol:
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  • Gator Bait
    Gator Bait Posts: 5,244
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    For a pie crust that will literally melt in your mouth use a combination of lard and butter. One third to one half lard to the balance of butter and do not over mix it.

    Gator
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  • Jeffersonian
    Jeffersonian Posts: 4,244
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    Can't make frijoles refritos without it, either. We had a chain Mexican restaurant here once that sniffed they would never use lard in their refried beans...I never even considered going there after that.

    When I lived in Brazil, I used it on a number of Brazilian/Portuguese dishes, but I haven't lately aside from the beans.
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  • Little Chef
    Little Chef Posts: 4,725
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    It's one of my comfort food faves as well! Don't forget the white gravy!! :woohoo: Enjoy! Don't post pics, or I will be very jealous, and may make the drive up there for leftovers! :laugh: :silly: :whistle:
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  • Jeffersonian
    Jeffersonian Posts: 4,244
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    I remember reading somewhere that it was good for barding fowl. Have you used it for that at all?
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  • Mr. & Mrs Potatohead
    Mr. & Mrs Potatohead Posts: 2,037
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    I have to admit that I only use it to season my CI and to make pie crusts... ;)
    But I do have a question for LC.
    You say:
    "it's really no worse for you than butter"
    I think I read somewhere that it actually has less saturated fat then butter.
    Wouldn't that make it better for you then butter :ohmy: ?
    Just a thought....Or food for thought
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  • Little Chef
    Little Chef Posts: 4,725
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    Can't bard something in what will quickly become a liquid when heated. So no, never tried. Bacon or Caul fat however, yes.
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  • Jeffersonian
    Jeffersonian Posts: 4,244
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    I need to break out my old Joy of Cooking...thanks, LC.
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  • Little Chef
    Little Chef Posts: 4,725
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    Food for thought for sure!! :huh: Based on initial research I have done here (and lets face it, we can all do a quick google search) you are correct. It appears on inital research that lard not only has less saturated fat than butter, but also contains less cholesterol. Frankly, I am surprised by these initial findings, but from one who saves every ounce of duck fat I render, at the same time, I am pleased! I must admit I played the 'ostrich' on this topic. I will do a whole lot more research now, and post it. Fair?
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  • Hungry in Lilburn
    Hungry in Lilburn Posts: 756
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    Many years ago and before 4 college degrees I use to be the manager of a chain of Wendy's. The secret to our french fries that everyone loved more than Micky D's? We cooked them in lard! We had 4 vats in every store and they ran all the time. People would come in the afternoon and order a coke and an order of fries. We served them in little paper trays (does anyone remember this?). Well, do to the chicken sandwich introduction (which I helped pioneer for Wendy's) we started using a low chol oil to fry chicken in but because it was cheaper and made the chicken appear less greasy if it sat in the pan for over 30 min. We switched to the SuperFry and immediately our french fry sales plummeted. We begged the owner of the franchise to go back to lard. He refused. Superfry was cheaper than lard! And Wendy's french fries sunk into oblivion.

    The moral of the story is that "Lard is Good Eats!" Don't tell my wife but the country fried steak I make for her is cooked in lard. And she loves it!
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  • NoVA Bill
    NoVA Bill Posts: 3,005
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    Personally there isn't much better to use on a chicken fried steak. When we were butchering hogs we'd render the fat into lard and make fry-down bacon while using the lard to pack the bacon in. Nothing but lard would work and impart the taste on fresh bacon.

    Good luck!
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  • Village Idiot
    Village Idiot Posts: 6,959
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    Interesting thread. Thanks for posting !

    I've only used lard to season my CI pots, but I'm going to use it in my next roux ... maybe more.
    __________________________________________

    Dripping Springs, Texas.
    Just west of Austintatious


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  • Desert Oasis Woman
    Desert Oasis Woman Posts: 5,604
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    Now Steve, are you sure you want to go up against those Chicken Fried Steak Gurus at AL's :pinch:
    That was the best cfs I've had in many, many years! :woohoo: Maybe you should offer to "help" them and find out their secrets :evil:
    Hope they make it again at the Plano Outlaw Fest this year :silly:
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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,757
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    my favorite hot dog stand fries hotdogs in lard, great stuff. it works great for some things, can be a little heavey tasting on lighter foods but great on the steak. kick all weightwatcher police out of the kitchen when melting the lard as i know a few that wouldnt touch it if they saw me use it :laugh:
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • Jeffersonian
    Jeffersonian Posts: 4,244
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    I found it, and I had misremembered...I would have sworn the old JoC used lard to bard birds, but it was salt pork, not lard.
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  • brain-game
    brain-game Posts: 59
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    As posted, it is a staple in authentic Mexican cuisine. You just can't reproduce the proper flavors without it. The tamales post was actually my first thought.

    We had a baby nurse for a couple of months who also was a cook at a hunting camp. When she came to work for us she told me to get two things, in bulk, for the kitchen......Lard and Accent (MSG)! Can't remember having better meals cooked for us in my kitchen. Of course, in 2 months I gained almost 10lbs.....
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  • hornhonk
    hornhonk Posts: 3,841
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    Kari, I'll tell Opal how much you liked her CFS.She's famous around here for them. She's also my barber :woohoo: Don't worry, she's a regular at Al's. She'll be there :P
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  • emilluca
    emilluca Posts: 673
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    Moderation. I use 1/2 lard 1/2 crisco vegetable shorting.
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  • Mr. & Mrs Potatohead
    Mr. & Mrs Potatohead Posts: 2,037
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    Just for the record...
    Chrisco (hydrogenated fats)are worse for you then either butter or lard.
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  • SmokinParrotHead
    SmokinParrotHead Posts: 532
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    I use it to deep fry wings! YUMMY!!
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