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I am convinced, Lard is the best cooking oil

fletcherfam
fletcherfam Posts: 935
in Off Topic
So in my continued pursuit of cooking experiments I bought some backfat from a local butcher ($1.09/lb). I rendered it in the crockpot over night (super easy). We have been cooking with it in our cast iron pans since then and it has made the best non-stick surface. It has a real high temp smoking temperature. It makes amazing refried beans, and it is dirt cheap.

My next adventure is to make some pie crust from the leaf lard I made in my second batch.

#Lardrules!

JT
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Comments

  • Skiddymarker
    Skiddymarker Posts: 8,528
    Makes a lot of sense doesn’t it. Home rendered lard was probably one of the few oils around when everyone cooked on a wood stove and all the “pots and pans” were CI. They were made for each other. Lately have found a source for pastured pork, must ask them for some fat. How did sourcing the fat for the leaf lard go? 
    Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
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  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,109
    Different oils/fats are best for different purposes  Lard would be a little weird in salad dressing, but I appreciate your point - it tastes delicious.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
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  • DoubleEgger
    DoubleEgger Posts: 19,176
    A southern staple.....
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  • Mickey
    Mickey Posts: 19,768
    Sure as hell worked for out parents and theirs and theirs etc.  
    Salado TX & 30A  FL: Egg Family: 3 Large and a very well used Mini, added a Mini Max when they came out (I'm good for now). Just given a Mini to add to the herd. 

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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 34,597
    nolaegghead said:
    Different oils/fats are best for different purposes  Lard would be a little weird in salad dressing, but I appreciate your point - it tastes delicious.
    bacon fat vinaigrette is delicous, just have to choose your lard wisely just like any cooking oil =)
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • Zmokin
    Zmokin Posts: 1,938
    Is lard, more or less the same thing as bacon fat?  I save my bacon fat from frying bacon and it is one of my "go to" cooking oils.  another one I like a lot is peanut oil, which is my "go to" oil for stir frying.
    Large BGE in a Sole' Gourmet Table
    Using the Black Cast Iron grill, Plate Setter,
     and a BBQ Guru temp controller.

    Medium BGE in custom modified off-road nest.
    Black Cast Iron grill, Plate Setter, and a Party-Q temp controller.

    Location: somewhere West of the Mason-Dixon Line
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  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,109
    fishlessman said:
    nolaegghead said:
    Different oils/fats are best for different purposes  Lard would be a little weird in salad dressing, but I appreciate your point - it tastes delicious.
    bacon fat vinaigrette is delicous, just have to choose your lard wisely just like any cooking oil =)
    Yes, we do a German version of that and it's delicious

    Zmokin said:
    Is lard, more or less the same thing as bacon fat?  I save my bacon fat from frying bacon and it is one of my "go to" cooking oils.  another one I like a lot is peanut oil, which is my "go to" oil for stir frying.
    My understanding is lard is animal fat.

    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
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  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,109
    After looking it up, it's pig fat.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
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  • DoubleEgger
    DoubleEgger Posts: 19,176
    Duck fat is the hot thing right now. Give it a try
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  • tarheelmatt
    tarheelmatt Posts: 9,867
    edited March 2015
    Zmokin said:
    Is lard, more or less the same thing as bacon fat?  I save my bacon fat from frying bacon and it is one of my "go to" cooking oils.  another one I like a lot is peanut oil, which is my "go to" oil for stir frying.
    Yes and no.  Lard is un-processed fat.  Bacon has been cured/smoked, etc.  

    Edit: Just noticed Nola answered.  Whoops
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  • GATraveller
    GATraveller Posts: 8,207
    Fries cooked in duck fat..........yummmmmm!!!

    "Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community [...] but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots."
                                                                                  -Umberto Eco

    2 Large
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  • blind99
    blind99 Posts: 4,974
    the stuff in the supermarket is hydrogenated, bleached, etc to make it a nice consistent product.  kind of like pig crisco.

    leaf lard is made from the fat around the kidney.  it makes even better pie crusts than the regular supermarket lard, but definitely costs more.
    Chicago, IL - Large and Small BGE - Weber Gasser and Kettle
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  • Zmokin
    Zmokin Posts: 1,938
    tarheelmatt said:
    Zmokin said:
    Is lard, more or less the same thing as bacon fat?  I save my bacon fat from frying bacon and it is one of my "go to" cooking oils.  another one I like a lot is peanut oil, which is my "go to" oil for stir frying.
    Yes and no.  Lard is un-processed fat.  Bacon has been cured/smoked, etc.  

    Edit: Just noticed Nola answered.  Whoops
    OK, so I'm cooking with cured lard.  works for me
    Large BGE in a Sole' Gourmet Table
    Using the Black Cast Iron grill, Plate Setter,
     and a BBQ Guru temp controller.

    Medium BGE in custom modified off-road nest.
    Black Cast Iron grill, Plate Setter, and a Party-Q temp controller.

    Location: somewhere West of the Mason-Dixon Line
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  • fletcherfam
    fletcherfam Posts: 935
    @nolaegghead, yea I agree with you on it's uses. Overall though, frying, cooking in general it has been great. Cheaper than almost any other good cooking oil.

    Lard = rendered pig fat
    Tallow = rendered cow fat.
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  • fletcherfam
    fletcherfam Posts: 935
    Carnitas cooked in lard from "Tacolicious" cook book = amazing.
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  • njl
    njl Posts: 1,123
    I've been saving and cooking with my bacon fat for years. More recently it occurred to me, bacon is the cheapest way to light the egg. I.e. When I cook bacon, I put it on a paper towel to absorb some of the excess fat. I now save those paper towels in a ziplock in the fridge as egg lighters.  
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  • thegooddocta
    thegooddocta Posts: 264
    My go to fat is ghee (since I'm one of the poor souls cursed with severe lactose intolerance) - love that unadulterated butter taste! There's a great RI ghee producer called Farmers Gold that I pick up 32oz jars from. If I get to 250 posts in time, I'll see if I can get a jar into the sauce and rub swap. It's an egging and cooking in general essential for me!
    Mike - (1)LBGE, HeaterMeter v4.2.4
    Little Rhody Egger - East Greenwich, RI
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  • Roadpuke0
    Roadpuke0 Posts: 531
    Nothing like breaded rabbit or squirrel deep fried in lard. Just does something different to it.
    Plumbers local 130 chicago.     Why do today what you can do tomorrow

    weapons: XL, Minie, old gasser, weber, v10 Bradley smoker and sometimes talent!

    Bristol, Wisconsin 
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  • MunchkinRedux
    MunchkinRedux Posts: 35
    Roadpuke0 said:
    Nothing like breaded rabbit or squirrel deep fried in lard. Just does something different to it.
    I was gonna say:  try adding some lard to your fried chicken cooking oil - delicious results!
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  • ChillyWillis
    ChillyWillis Posts: 893
    edited March 2015
    thegooddocta said:
    My go to fat is ghee (since I'm one of the poor souls cursed with severe lactose intolerance) - love that unadulterated butter taste! There's a great RI ghee producer called Farmers Gold that I pick up 32oz jars from. If I get to 250 posts in time, I'll see if I can get a jar into the sauce and rub swap. It's an egging and cooking in general essential for me!
    I live in southern MA but all of my family is from RI and we spend a ton of time down there (in Charlestown specifically). Where can I pick up some of this Farmers gold Ghee? I've never heard of the company but always am interested in checking out high quality local goods. 
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  • thegooddocta
    thegooddocta Posts: 264
    @ChillyWillis - whoops it's actually "Farm to Gold". Here's their Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/FarmtoGold?refsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FFarmtoGold . They sell it at a number of farmers markets (I usually pick it up on the weekends in North Kingstown) and they announce where they're going to be on their FB page, but they'll also ship it if you message them on FB. Nice to see that there's another relatively local egghead!
    Mike - (1)LBGE, HeaterMeter v4.2.4
    Little Rhody Egger - East Greenwich, RI
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  • travisstrick
    travisstrick Posts: 5,002
    http://youtu.be/Rdtx4LTs10M
    Be careful, man! I've got a beverage here.
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  • paqman
    paqman Posts: 4,924
    thegooddocta said:
    My go to fat is ghee (since I'm one of the poor souls cursed with severe lactose intolerance) - love that unadulterated butter taste! There's a great RI ghee producer called Farmers Gold that I pick up 32oz jars from. If I get to 250 posts in time, I'll see if I can get a jar into the sauce and rub swap. It's an egging and cooking in general essential for me!
    +1

    It is commercially available here as "beurre de cuisson".  Clarified butter/cooking butter.  It is easy to make your own.

    To me, that's one of the secrets of good cooking.  For those who don't know, you can cook hot and for long with it and it won't become dark like regular butter does.

    ____________________
    Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage. •Niccolo Machiavelli
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  • Botch
    Botch Posts: 17,377
    njl said:
    I've been saving and cooking with my bacon fat for years. More recently it occurred to me, bacon is the cheapest way to light the egg. I.e. When I cook bacon, I put it on a paper towel to absorb some of the excess fat. I now save those paper towels in a ziplock in the fridge as egg lighters.  
    What a great idea!  
    I too cook with saved bacon fat a lot, it makes fantastic red chile enchiladas.  
    Now I'm hungry again.  

    "Dumplings are just noodles that have already eaten"   - Jon Kung

    Ogden, UT, USA


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