Every Friday, Cara Nicolettiof The Meat Hookhelps us get to know our favorite cuts of meat a little bit better – and introduces us to a few new ones, too. Read on, study up, then hightail it to your nearest butcher.
Today:Why you should be baking -- and cooking -- with lard, plus a recipe for flaky, soft, rich biscuits you should makethis weekend.
Poor lard. No other fat in history has gotten quite so much flak. The use of lard in cooking and baking has a long and tumultuous history in the US -- to me, its rise and fall (and recent revival) is one of the most interesting food stories we have. It used to be that everyone used lard without question; it was a stable and inexpensive fat that was abundant thanks to country’s the booming pork industry.
One of the main contributors to lard’s fall in popularity was a scene in Upton Sinclair’s 1906 novel The Junglein which workers at a meat-packing plant fall into boiling vats of rendering lard. It was so effective in turning people away from lard, in fact, that an entire pro-lard ad campaign was launched to undo its damage. Full-page ads of smiling, healthy couples with the words: “They’re young. They’re in love. They eat lard,” ran in every paper. The truth is, while lard can by absolutely no means be called “healthy,” it has less cholesterol and saturated fat than butter, and unlike most vegetable shortening, it does not contain trans fats. In moderation, and in combination with regular butter, it truly does make the tastiest pie crusts and biscuits.
So what is lard? Lard is the fat of a pig, either in its rendered or un-rendered form (above). While any pork fat can be considered lard, not all lard is created equal. That hydrogenated lard you see in the supermarket? Not the same thing. Don’t buy that. The very best lard for baking is leaf lard (pictured above), which is the hard white fat surrounding the pig’s kidneys. Rendered down, it has a (close to) neutral flavor and scent and adds both richness and lightness to your pastries (richness and lightness don’t have to be mutually exclusive, says lard).
More:Use your lard to make these Welsh Griddle Cakes for a weekend breakfast.
Crusts and biscuits made with lard are flakier because they lack structure. Lard and shortening work by coating the flour particles and gluten strands in your doughs (literally “shortening” the strands, which is where the term comes from), thus preventing them from forming a strong bond. The stronger the bond, the tougher the crust and vice versa. Lard also has a higher melting point than butter, melting between 109 and 118° F while butter melts somewhere between 90 and 95° F. A slower render means more air and steam-release, which means more leavening and flakiness. The fat crystals in lard are also larger than those in butter, which means there is more empty space left behind when the fat renders out -- more space also means more layers and flakes.
A few things to note:
- First thing’s first: Buy lard from well-raised pigs. Most of an animal’s toxins are stored in fatty tissue -- if your pig didn’t live a good life, you don’t want its kidney fat in your pie crust.
- If you want to render your own lard, you'll need to grind it first. If you don’t have a grinder at home, ask your butcher to grind your unrendered leaf lard for you -- this will help it to render more evenly. If you don’t have a butcher (sad!), just cut your unrendered lard into small cubes.
- To render your own: Cover the bottom of a heavy pot with about 1/2 inch of water -- this just helps to keep the lard from scalding while it’s rendering. Add your ground or cubed lardover medium-low heat and cook it, stirring occasionally, until the fat is completely liquid, and the cracklings (the bits of meat left behind) are deeply golden brown and have sunk to the bottom of the pot. This should take about an hour. (Warning: Turn on your fan and open a window; this part is stinky.) Strain the lard through cheesecloth into a mason jar (something that can withstand high heat) and let it cool in the refrigerator until it is solid. The liquid fat will look yellowish and have a strong smell, but once it’s cooled, it will be creamy white and have barely any smell at all.
Lard Biscuits
Makes 10 to 12 biscuits
1 cup pastry flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (4 ounces) rendered leaf lard
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 to 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 egg
1 tablespoon heavy cream
See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.
Photos by James Ransom
FAQs
Lard is used as a fat in baking to create “short,” or tender pastry like that used in pie crusts and for biscuits and cookies. Leaf lard, which has a neutral flavor and smooth texture, is excellent for baking. It's particularly prized for making flaky pie crust.
Why is lard important in baking? ›
Lard is used as a fat in baking to create “short,” or tender pastry like that used in pie crusts and for biscuits and cookies. Leaf lard, which has a neutral flavor and smooth texture, is excellent for baking. It's particularly prized for making flaky pie crust.
Is it better to bake with butter or lard? ›
Fats in lard remain intact and soft after melting, but butter separates into oil and milk solids. Butter may wind up making recipes seem a bit oilier and also harder once they cool down, while lard tends to keep them soft. (Cookies are so soft and chewy and they don't flatten out and spread when baking.)
Why do people still use lard? ›
Pure lard is especially useful for cooking since it produces little smoke when heated and has a distinct flavor when combined with other foods. Many chefs and bakers prize lard over other types of shortening because of its flavor and range of applications.
Can lard replace butter in baking? ›
Because butter contains slightly less fat than lard, you may need to use a bit more to achieve the same results. For each cup (205 grams) of lard, you should use approximately 1 1/4 cups (284 grams) of butter.
What is the main purpose of fat in baking? ›
Fat can blend flavors of ingredients together or enhance the flavor, such as butter. In baked goods, fat also contributes to the tenderness of a product as it prevents flour from absorbing water. Muffins or biscuits with reduced fat are often tougher because the gluten is more developed.
Is lard more unhealthy than butter? ›
Lard contains more monounsaturated fat than butter, and nearly 2x more oleic acid, an essential fatty acid that helps lower your "bad" cholesterol levels. If you're concerned about your saturated fat consumption, there's good news here as well: lard has less saturated fat than butter.
What is the point of lard? ›
Like butter or shortening, lard is a cooking fat that can be used for baking, sauteing, grilling, or frying. For any recipe that you don't want to have a lingering pork flavor, be sure to use rendered leaf lard or processed lard.
What is the healthiest fat for cooking? ›
Oils with more monounsaturated fats, such as rapeseed and olive, are also less susceptible to heat. Rapeseed oil (often sold as generic vegetable oil) and inexpensive olive oil are therefore the best choices for cooking.
Which is better in baking lard or Crisco? ›
Choosing between shortening and lard comes down to personal preference. Both create a flaky, tender crust, are semi-solid, and are 100% fat. Swap one for the other in recipes. If you want to add additional flavor to the dish, lard is the right choice.
Cakes: Butter and oils (coconut or other vegetable oils) are the best choices for cakes where a tender and moist crumb are prized. Cookies: Butter tends to perform best when it comes to producing the ideal flavor/texture combination in cookies.
Does lard expire? ›
Lard typically lasts six months at room temperature and up to a year when refrigerated, but it's essential to adhere to the dates provided by the manufacturer to avoid the risks of using spoiled fat.
What are the advantages of using lard in baking? ›
The melting point of lard is lower than butter, which means that more air and steam are released during bake times. This results in greater leavening and a flakier texture in baked goods. Lard also has larger fat crystals that leave open spaces as they melt, creating more layers than you would achieve with butter.
Why is lard bad? ›
Lard also has cholesterol, she notes, as do all animal fats. And that 45 percent fat can still be a lot, depending on how much you eat. Add to this that lard sold in supermarkets is often hydrogenated, to make it shelf stable, and you've got a product with cholesterol, trans fats, and saturated fat, too.
Why was lard banned? ›
In the 1950s, scientists piled on, saying that saturated fats in lard caused heart disease. Restaurants and food manufacturers started to shun lard.
Why do people think lard is unhealthy? ›
Cons: Not squeal-worthy
Lard has about half as much saturated fat as butter, but about double the saturated fat found in olive oil. Saturated fat raises LDLs, the bad cholesterol, and lowers HDLs, the good cholesterol.
Is lard healthier than butter? ›
Lard contains more monounsaturated fat than butter, and nearly 2x more oleic acid, an essential fatty acid that helps lower your "bad" cholesterol levels. If you're concerned about your saturated fat consumption, there's good news here as well: lard has less saturated fat than butter.
