Lard.. Plain old-fashioned lard..

[lemondog]

Lard is usually sold by buckets here...in almost every grocery store. Could be because I am in the south, lol! It's in the same section as the Crisco...usually on the lower shelves.

 

[C.Ann]

Lard is usually sold by buckets here...in almost every grocery store. Could be because I am in the south, lol! It's in the same section as the Crisco...usually on the lower shelves.

Does it have to be refrigerated after opening it? Is that what they use in the south to do all of their deep-fat frying?

 

[HunnyPots]

It is readily available in all our grocery stores and sold right next to the Crisco. It comes in 1lb tubs or 5lb tubs and no refrigeration is needed. The only time I've used it was when making tamales because around here that's what all the Mexican grandmas, including my MIL, say to use. Let us know how your recipe turns out!

 

[Carl Fredricksen]

Does it have to be refrigerated after opening it? Is that what they use in the south to do all of their deep-fat frying?

As others mentioned, it is readily available just about anywhere. Sometimes it is marked Manteca, which is the same thing. It is derived from animal fats, and while not the healthiest thing in the world, it makes a huge difference in taste on recipes that call for it. You can find some smaller tubs for about $3 around here. Sometimes it is available in sticks also. I never refrigerated it, just keep the lid on it and leave it at room temperature.


I have started using more lard in some stuff I cook, because Crisco has been shown to be even worse health-wise than regular lard. I know they've got plenty of vegetable oils out there, but most studies show that they aren't much better either, except the expensive ones like safflower, etc. Canola is okay, but it makes crummy cookies and pie crusts, so sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and use butter or lard, which is why I keep them around. I figure as long as it is in moderation, the family will be fine. I also got a grease can with a strainer and started saving my bacon grease to reuse instead of oil in my cast iron pans. Never tasted better eggs than those cooked with a little bacon grease in 'em.

 

[sjs314]

Lard most definately gives whatever it is added to or used for a very different taste than crisco.
I still remember the great tasteing fried potatoes my aunt use to make using lard to fry them up in.

 

[Uncleromulus]

I used to watch my Grandmother frying bacon--in lard.
Talk about high fat content!
But it sure tasted good.

 

[TinklednPants]

I see tons of lard everytime I go to Disney

 

[eliza61]

I used to watch my Grandmother frying bacon--in lard.
Talk about high fat content!
But it sure tasted good.

LOL. You must be my long lost cousin, my grandmother did the same thing. Actually she made just about every thing in lard. She would first fry the bacon in it and then make the eggs in the leftover drippings. I'm sure it is a cardiologist's nightmare but definitely yummy.

Lard is easily found in the shoprites around here.

Anyone fry chicken with it? I heard it makes the chicken crispier than crisco.

 

[Brocktoon]

In the northeast, where Utz potato chips are available, they have a product line called 'Grandma Utz'. They're kettle cooked chips in pure lard. It definately makes a world of difference taste wise.

 

[Jennasis]

Lard is sold in huge buckets in every grocery store in a 20 mile radius here.

 

[apirateslifeforme]

If the grocery stores/Wal-Mart don't pan out, do you have a butcher shop nearby? We have an "Arnold's Meats" here, and I see small packages of lard there all the time - about the size of a package of 4 sticks of butter.

 

[Pooh67_68]

25 pounds in a bucket though????? I wonder who would buy that much - and for what????????[/B]

You definitly want lard for the recipes to taste the best.
As for the 25 lb. bucket, the dinner where my sister is head baker buys it this way, the pie crust recipe calls for lard.


One of the manny things of my daddy I miss - when he would make breakfast as he used lard.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Eliza: Oh yes--she would fry the eggs in the lard/bacon fat mixture as well. Then she'd empty the frying pan "grease" into a coffee can and put that in the fridge. To be used later for more frying.
To add by way of nostalgia that she always used ESSKAY lard!! Don't even know if they still make it?

 

[Mickey's Minion]

I am about to order several used Amish cookbooks on half.com and I know that many of their older recipes call for lard.. Can you still buy something actually called "lard" in the supermarket - or would plain Crisco be the same?

If they still do sell lard, would it be in the refrigerated section of the supermarket?

Thanks!

I use lard all the time in my pie crusts. In the supermarkets here, it is easily found. It is usually on one of the lower shelves by the crisco. It looks like a box of butter with the lard in butter-like quarters.

 

[kristilew]

Eliza: Oh yes--she would fry the eggs in the lard/bacon fat mixture as well. Then she'd empty the frying pan "grease" into a coffee can and put that in the fridge. To be used later for more frying.
To add by way of nostalgia that she always used ESSKAY lard!! Don't even know if they still make it?

LOL - I save all my frying pan grease in the fridge. I use the solid that forms to cut in with shortening when I make dumplings, pie crusts or biscuts. I'm sure we all have one working artery between us, but by golly it tastes good!

 

[TaraPA]

Lard lover here!! LOL!! Here in PA Dutch country you're odd if you don't have lard around somewhere! I don't keep it on hand, but buy the Esskay brand at the grocery store a few times a year for the family recipes that call for it. In my grocery store you can find it at the butcher/meat dept. or near the bacon. It does not have to be refridgerated. Lard MOST DEFINITELY gives the recipe a richer flavor than Crisco. I use it in pie crusts & family cookie recipes. If you want to make an Amish recipe, do not use Crisco!!

My grandparents were 100% PA Dutch (lived mixed amongst the Amish) & my grandmother also had buckets of lard from the farm. EVERYTHING was fried in lard, and I mean everything. She would boil her spaghetti noodles (the only pasta our PA Dutch family was ever exposed to) and then fry it up quickly in some lard before serving it. Potatoes, meats, eggs, dough, anything & everything. Neither of my grandparents were overweight & they lived to be 86 & 89. So it can't be all that horrid like some people make it out to be!

 

[AKL_Megs]

Come to Detroit... you can find lard at ANY grocery store... and maybe even more than one brand!

I think we are the fattest city in the World... no joke.

 

[C.Ann]

A new question that came to mind when someone mentioned "bacon grease" on this thread..

Several recipes I copied over recently (not Amish) had bacon grease listed as one of the ingredients.. I remember my mom saving bacon grease in a coffee can when I was a kid, but I can't remember if she kept it in the fridge.. I have some bacon here that I can fry up to use in some other recipes - and a container to put the grease in.. So - stored in the fridge or not? Also - how long is it good for?

Thanks for all of the replies.. You have all been very helpful..

 

[Carl Fredricksen]

A new question that came to mind when someone mentioned "bacon grease" on this thread..

Several recipes I copied over recently (not Amish) had bacon grease listed as one of the ingredients.. I remember my mom saving bacon grease in a coffee can when I was a kid, but I can't remember if she kept it in the fridge.. I have some bacon here that I can fry up to use in some other recipes - and a container to put the grease in.. So - stored in the fridge or not? Also - how long is it good for?

Thanks for all of the replies.. You have all been very helpful..

I keep mine in a grease strainer at room temperature. I have read that the shelf life is over 3 years, but I keep cycling it through so I never change it out.

FWIW, there is a restaurant in Tennesee (the name escapes me) that has been using the same bacon grease vat for 85 years and no one has ever complained about getting sick. As others have mentioned, grandma used to keep it in a can next to the sink, and never threw it out, so I'm sure I've ingested some pretty old lard/grease at some point.

As long as it is heated, I don't think it ever goes bad, but maybe someone with more knowledge of the chemistry can chime in.

 

[C.Ann]

FWIW, there is a restaurant in Tennesee (the name escapes me) that has been using the same bacon grease vat for 85 years and no one has ever complained about getting sick..

I've had several serious bouts of food poisoning - one of which required hospitalization for almost a week - and my late DH used to kid around and say that if the food was more than 5 minutes old I wouldn't eat it.. Granted - I am pretty picky now, but not quite that bad..

85 years????????? Wow!!!!!!!