Cooking with Lard, Should You?

Cooking with lard. It wasn’t butter or canola oil. And definitely not extra virgin olive oil. Lard, (rendered pork fat) was what people used when they needed to make pastry or when dinner needed frying. Here’s why you should cook with lard.

I bought some lard yesterday. Ok, pipe down everyone and don’t have a heart attack (pun intended). It’s not like I”m going to be frying up vats of flour-dredged deep fat fried food everyday, I just happen to like lard for certain things. And you should too.

Here are reasons you should cook with Lard:

• It’s great for cooking at high heat. It doesn’t smoke, and it browns things beautifully
• I’m not afraid of butter, but Lard has 20% less saturated fat than butter. it’s higher in monounsaturated fats which are said to lower LDL cholesterol; and it has none of the trans fat that shortening does.  Chew on that.
• It doesn’t give food a pork flavor. It’s not bacon, it’s rendered fat. It makes everything crispy without leaving flavor.
• As much as we all love olive oil roasted veggies, sometimes they can turn out a little soggy. Try using lard next time and tell me what you think.
• I learned the importance of using every bit of the hog in Culinary School. Lard guarantees that you’ll feel “sustainable”.
• Biscuits – nuff said.
• Add a scoop to your dried beans in the crockpot, like I do for my Cowboy Beans. They’ll turn out creamier than ever.

Just look at that fluffy scoop of Morrell Lard. Seems like there should be a little skier swishing down that pristine slope. We see now why Morrell has so suitably named their product Snow Cap.

And you bet, there was no shortage of lard at Lowe’s.

Yesterday we set out across town on a Foodie Field Trip. Our destination was Lowe’s Market, Mexican grocery store on South Federal.

My main mission, I recently complained about our lack of  Chipolte Peppers in Adobo Sauce selection here on the South side of town. Yes, I picked up some Chipolte Peppers in Adobo along with some other loot.  Goya black beans, and some Tapatio Hot Sauce.  Move over Tabasco, I’m broadening my horizons.

I loved this market, brimming full of items not found here in Highlands Ranch. Fabulous selection of peppers, beans, rice, hot sauces and too many other items to list.

Looking for Mexican Spices? Now that’s an ample selection.

Lots of Goya products were available. I picked up this Adobo with Bitter Orange flavor. I have absolutely no idea what I’m going to do with it, but it sounded so exotic. Not pairing up for a culinary event, I just thought this made a pretty picture next to bits of orange bell peppers I chopped up for country-style potatoes for breakfast.

Lowes has a fabulous selection of Mexican Cheese and at a fraction of the cost when I buy them in Highlands Ranch. I picked up some crumbling cheese and some Manchego.  I use Manchego for my Spanish Ham and Manchego Sandwich.

I love pork chops for breakfast, so I bought these very thin sliced pork sirloin chops which I flash-fried in my cast iron skillet. You guessed it, frying with lard made these beautifully yummy.

With my pork chops, brunch was a sunny side up egg, country-style potatoes sautéed in lard with orange bell peppers and green onions and pork chops. Look at those pork chops, they’re just barely thicker than the fried egg white.  And darn it Larry (Big Dude Eclectic Ramblings) there weren’t enough pan drippings from these lean pork chops to make some of that delicious cream gravy you’ve been slathering all over everything in sight.

So with all of that said, we’ve got a spring-like day here in Denver, so I’m off to walk the dogs a couple of miles. Afterall, I don’t want to turn into a lard-ass!  🙂

If you don’t have a good Mexican Market near, I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience.

Why Cook With Lard? Because it makes everything better.