Substitute for Lard?

Mark0525

I know lard is basically fat can it be substituted with something else when making refried beans. If not where do you buy lard?

fishlessman

might try bacon grease. i find lard near the butter but it doesnt need refridgeration, could be near the crisco in some stores. i would go with bacon grease if i didnt have lard

hornhonk

I buy it at any grocery store, It's usually by the crisco.

Unknown

Like in "Crisco"?

hornhonk

Like in "yup".

Mr. & Mrs Potatohead

Lard is on the shelf at our local market.
Most any oil will work in the beans, however the lard seems to give a flavor that is traditional.

Mark0525

Thanks Guys

Boilermaker Ben

If it isn't by the crisco, check the enthnic food aisle, in the Mexican food section. It's sometimes more prominantly labelled as Manteca. The brand most available by us comes in a green and white tub.

OR you can make it yourself, and it will be much tastier and healthier. It's just rendered pork fat, and most of us see a lot of pork fat throughout the year, what with all the pork butts. I'm storing up a bunch of pork fat in the freezer, to try making lard sometime. Haven't tried it yet. But there's nothing that says you can't make small batches, either. To be honest, I should just go ahead and make it with what I've already go in the freezer. I don't use so much of it that I would need a big batch. Looks like it's going to be a rainy weekend...maybe I just found my project for the weekend.

Store-bought lard is almost always hydrogenized, to make it more shelf stable. Even so, it should be stored in the fridge or freezer, to prevent spoilage. Homemade (non-hydrogenized) lard would be more prone to going rancid, and should probably be frozen, unless it's going to be used right away.

Mark0525

Great info Ben, Thanks. I will probably try and get the Manteca to make it more authentic and then try not to think about what I'm eating. So that's what makes refried beans so fattening. People think they are healthy because there are beans

fishlessman

i find the manteca in the plastic tubs on the shelf next to the velveeta and both arent refridgerated here, then the Morrell Snow Cap Lard boxed like landolakes butter in the butter section. my grandmother just made hers with rendered bacon fat, never refridgerated it, sat in a container on the back of the stove, must have had enough salt from the bacon not to go bad

fishlessman

if you compare the labels to butter, you may find its better for you, its pretty close health wise

Boilermaker Ben

It also could be that she used it faster than it could go bad. I don't go through that much...biscuits, pie crusts, that's practically it. For most savory applications, i usually have bacon drippings to use instead, instead of more neutrally flavored lard.

hornhonk

Lard is great for Chicken Fried Steaks. My wife keeps bacon fat in a jar on the stove, but we mainly use it to fry eggs and make cream gravy. Southern women...gotta love 'em!

gdenby

Standard way for saving sausages over winter used to be stashing them in a crock filled with lard. No oxygen to let bacteria grow, and fats are mildly acidic, so also limits spoilage. Only problem was that towards the end of winter, some of the lard might be a little rancid.

And, yes, it appears that if the lard is made from fatback, it beats butter and margarine nutrition-wise.

Unknown

Yep, you dang got it!

fishlessman

those margarine guys really screwed up our sense of nutrition, no problems frying chicken in lard for me anymore :laugh: still wont be able to get it past the weight watchers in the family unless i kick them out of the kitchen when cooking

Mark0525

My arteries are clogging as I read this, who started this anyways

fishlessman

if you want to reduce your cholesterol use the lard, its less than half of what butter has

Mr. & Mrs Potatohead

Fishlessman wrote:
"unless i kick them out of the kitchen when cooking"
Hey, that's what you have to do!!!
My brother being a great example here! If he knew, he would eat at my house. Yet, it's alway really great and he's a happy camper!

Hungry Celeste

As someone mentioned up-thread, the shelf-stable lard in buckets is hydrogenated, making it the most unhealthy fat you can possibly eat: fully hydrogenated (full of trans-fats, in other words) AND stuffed with saturated fat. Good, honest fresh lard (found in the cold section, or render it yourself) is NOT hydrogenated. Don't bother with bucket lard; use butter instead, or render your own pork fat & store in the freezer.

Mr. & Mrs Potatohead

That is 100% correct, Hungry Celeste!
Watch out for ANYTHING hydrogenated!!! It's bad stuff and we most likely don't even know the all of it yet!

Mark0525

See, I learn something new everyday Thanks

fishlessman

even the stuff i see refrigerated has the hydrogenated fat, i think it just makes sense to make your own. i use so little i don't think its much of a problem

Hungry Celeste

In some parts of the deep south, you can still find high-quality leaf lard (not hydrogenated, processed junk) in supermarket freezer cases or at butcher shops. Rendering your own is pretty easy, though...

Hungry in Lilburn

Substitute for Lard?! No such thing!! We southerners embrace our Mexican friends for allowing us to hide our lard demands in the aisle of ethinc food. I personally fry my Jimmy Dean Sage Sausage in a nice thin layer of Armour Lard. Kind of redundant but oh so tasty! Has not seemed to affect my health at all....accckkkkk!!!!....(thud)