In defense of Lard

I have finally come out of the closet and can publicly say, "I LOVE LARD!" In this day and age, talking about lard is simply not politically correct!!!  Several months ago, I was in a grocery store here in Americus, known for displaying & selling pig heads and other traditional Southern delicacies -- and looking for some lard to buy to make a pie. -- Surely I would find lard here, right? Anyway, as I was hunting around looking in what I thought were the logical lard places, I ran into a friend, who happens to be a true redneck, Georgia boy.  I told him I was looking for lard and all I could find was 5 gal buckets of it over there.  I asked him if he had ever seen lard in other places in this store.  He looked at me with a horrified look and said, "Man, I thought that stuff was outlawed years ago, right along with crack!"  So there you go -- out of the mouth of a Georgia boy, raised up on fried chicken, fried pig's skin, & collard greens and looking at me like I was in league with the devil! Lard is simply not PC! If you are a foodie & health nut like me, you are not supposed to even let such unholy thoughts of even thinking about lard into your brain. (BTW -- I finally found lard in our most upscale store -- Winn Dixie!)

Last month I made my own lard for the first time and I can honestly say that home rendered lard is a world's away from the stuff you see in the store.  I grew up on home-rendered lard and have always known that if you want the flakiest, lightest, and most flavorful pie crust on earth, then you have to use lard.  If you use home-rendered lard, it's even better!  But the best thing about lard is that it’s not bad for you. It has less saturated fat (the bad fat) than butter, while it also has more than twice as much monounsaturated fat (the good fat) than butter. And it has none of those pesky trans fats—that is, if it hasn’t been hydrogenated to prolong its shelf life -- which almost all lard that you find in the store has been. Rendering your own lard produces a wonderful product that is not "bad" for you. It is not the same thing at all as that brick of nasty white stuff you see on the grocery shelf. That stuff is hydrogenated, contains a lot of trans fats, and tastes like plastic to me. Fresh lard is a different product altogether. You have to refrigerate it or you can freeze it. It keeps forever that way. 
Epicurious Senior Editor Megan Steintrager confirms that lard is making a comeback as a trendy new ingredient among foodies.

Here are a few facts (all of which can be found on NutritionData.com) that might surprise you:
1. Butter contains about 20% less fat and calories per ounce than lard or saturated vegetable fat, because it contains some water. (When substituting butter for other fats, adjust quantities accordingly.)
2. All of these products contain a mixture of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats. Lard actually contains the least amount of saturated fat (11g per ounce) while coconut oil contains the most (24g per ounce).
3. Animal fats (lard and butter) contain more monounsaturated fat than palm kernel and coconut oil. In fact, lard contains more monounsaturated fats (13mg per ounce) than saturated fats (11g per ounce).
4. Butter contains twice as much cholesterol (60mg per ounce) as lard (27mg per ounce). Vegetable shortenings contain no cholesterol.
5. Lard contains 280mg of omega-3 fatty acids per ounce; butter has 88mg per ounce. (Palm kernel and coconut oil contain little or no omega-3s).
6. Butter contains a fair amount of vitamin A (700mg per ounce) whereas palm kernel oil contains a good helping of vitamin K (7mcg per ounce).
7. Both palm kernel and coconut oils contain natural phytosterols, which can help to reduce cholesterol levels by blocking the cellular uptake of cholesterol.
The only fat you should avoid completely are shortenings made with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (old-style Crisco) or a mixture of fully hydrogenated and non-hydrogenated vegetable oils (new-style Crisco).

But rather than regurgitate all of the details of how to make your own lard, I have included a link where you can check it out yourself.

http://notwithoutsalt.com/2009/08/17/rendering-lard/

 

I started with some pork fatback from the pig that was butchered and I bought in to get a half of a half

Then I cut it into pieces and slowly cooked it down in a stainless steel pot.

                      
                                              
                   
                                              Voila! Strained, liquid lard!