Thread: Lard -vs- Crisco (et all)

Funny Timing that this thread comes back up today

I found a source of Fat to Render here, I am going to attempt making my own Real Lard

I found the Goya brand up here which is a little more "real" then the Armour brand but it is still "Hydrogenated" and has additives

The difference in the Biscuits cane together for me with three things

#1 Using actual "Self Rising Flour"
#2 Buying an actual Pasty Cutter / Dough Blender
#3 Using Lard even the so so Lard improved the outcome

The wife has now banned me from ever using Bisquick again for biscuits she and I officially like the homemade one better now which was my overall goal..

Will update once I try rendering my own Lard

Baking is a different story. For me, its butter....always butter.

I've went in on an organically raised hog with someone a few times. Half a hog filled up my freezer nicely. I asked for the lard and rendered it myself. Best way I found was to simmer in water over very low heat for a long time. Don't cook the stuff, just melt it. It worked well but.........even simmering in water over low heat the lard did have a porky flavor. Great for some recipes. Baking? Not so much. Not complimentary if making a pie crust for a fruit pie.

The best lard for baking or all around cooking is "leaf lard" which is comprised only of the lard which envelopes the hog's kidneys. That's the good stuff. Tasteless.

I forget the name, but on Etsy, there are a couple of sisters that render lard from organic hogs including leaf lard. I bought both plain rendered lard and leaf lard from them and froze the lard to last as long as I need it to. Excellent stuff, especially the leaf lard. The leaf lard makes for outstanding homemade flour tortillas.

Have fun!

ChrisL

Thought this info might be good :<0)

Lard Rendering:

There are several different kinds of fat on a pig.

Leaf lard or kidney fat: A thick layer of fat on the inside of the carcass, often completely enveloping the kidneys. This is extremely desirable lard, and should be rendered separately from the coarser grades.

Sowbelly or bacon: This is streaky fat with both hard and soft textured fat mixed in with muscle. It lies along the flanks of the pig, and is generally cured and eaten as bacon.

Fatback or hard fat: This can be salted or cured like bacon for keeping, rendered for good quality lard or used to line terrine pans or to tie around leaner roasts, especially game roasts, to keep them tender. You mostly find fatback (where else) on a pig's back, in great thick sheets next to the skin.

Soft or soapy fat: This is the trim, the scrapings, the gristly soft stuff in and around the muscle tissue. It isn't good for much, but you can melt it to make an inferior quality lard. Don't mix this fat in with any other kind of fat; it is not very good for sausage making either.

Caul fat: This is the lacy membrane surrounding the stomach and intestines. It makes poor lard, but it is very attractive as a covering for pates and terrines, to wrap around meat, or to make French country style gayette sausages.

Identify all the different types of fat you will be removing from the carcass, separate them, and use them appropriately.

Rendering lard is not a difficult task. You can start with soaking the fat in cold water overnight, which helps remove any blood or impurities, or you can cut the impurities out and discard them if you don't mind a little more waste. Chop or grind the fat coarsely. Place the fat (separating into different pans by type of fat) in a heavy cast iron pan with just enough water to keep it from burning, perhaps a quarter inch. Put the pan on a low, steady heat, stirring very occasionally, until melted. You can also render lard in pans in the oven at about 300 degrees.

Pour off the fat as it melts, and store it in clean, boiled glass jars. You can salt and eat the crackings left over, but don't let any salt get into your lard, or it will go rancid faster.

Couldn't find a good pig forum :<0) But I did find this site http://www.thepigsite.com/articles/6...-pig-for-meat/ in case you need to know more. Pigs are easy to raise and they aren't as messy as you think. IF you do it right. Give them mud and your asking for it.

Sorry back to the biscuits.

Picking up the "Fat" tomorrow morning

The Butcher down the road is holding it aside, going to render it and hopefully try the new Biscuits on Sunday

Just thought of something.....If you cover those biscuits with sausage and gravy you won't notice ANY pork flavor from the lard in the biscuits :<0) That would be another thread I think. Good luck with it. I mean as far as satisfying your OCD. I am sure the rendering will go fine and biscuits too.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Picking up the "Fat" tomorrow morning

The Butcher down the road is holding it aside, going to render it and hopefully try the new Biscuits on Sunday

Pictures, remember pictures!

ChrisL

Originally Posted by ChrisL

Pictures, remember pictures!

ChrisL

Samples too. We will be taste testers.

6 lbs of Leaf fat

Starting the process
Working slow and steady for my first attempt



After I paid for it, they told me they would have ground it if I wanted figures,,, but I got the whole experience of cutting it all hehehe


in the pot with water



Here we go


ps: Went and bought a new Wire Mesh Strainer at the $1 store, no excuse for the wife to yell

"Glen, why does my pantyhose smell like bacon?"