Questionable lard for deep frying

[bodwest]

Also consider reading this article on how often to change the oil: http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/09/ask-the-food-lab-how-many-times-can-i-reuse-fry-oil.html Kenji Lopez-Alt is is a total stud in the high end cook book arena (his book The Food Lab, is one of the best). The aforementioned article goes into the science but basically when your food is frying up soggy (I know harder to tell when you are low carb/keto) it’s time to change it out.

[Jacquie]

@Fiorella I’ve always seen this in the stores but never tried it. Always associated with SAD pie making which is very popular where I live. Have you tried it?

[Pilotbob]

I know there are places you can order the good stuff online, hopefully someone else will jump in with a few websites, Fatworks is one I know of. I think you can get small jars at places like Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s, but I’m not sure.
I render my own from pork fat I get from where I get meat processed. You might be able to check a local butcher or meat market if you want to try to make it yourself. There are a lot of instructions online on different ways to do it.
I’m really surprised they wouldn’t let you return it at the store.

Butter bob did a taste test of 4 types of fat from http://grasslandbeef.com/ because people complained to him about store bought lard being bad. (Stuff is not cheap, but it should last a good long time if you filter it every now and then.)

I know Thrive Market sells lard and tallow as well that’s not hydrogenated iirc.

[Fiorella]

Yes, I have. Use it to fry your next steak (like ribeye). Add a peeled garlic (don’t crush or slice it) to the pan…it will blister in the oil and release flavour. If you want add a fresh rosemary or thyme stem, too. While the steak is frying in a few table spoons of lard (and garlic) spoon hot lard over the steak, showering it with lardy fatty garlicky goodness!

I fry everything in it…eggs, meat, liver, fish, veg…etc. You can keep the remainder lard in a jar - I use recycled pickle and olive jars. Don’t throw the lard away, it will not go bad. And eventually gets used up (absorbed) by the food you fry.

I prefer using my homemade rendered lard from the leaf lard I buy from local farmers that free range their pigs…but, when I run out, I definitely turn to Tenderflake when in a pinch. No shame in that!

[Fiorella]

@jfricke, what?! You mean you don’t eat the the cracklings when you render fat? You give it all to your dog?

[Jacquie]

I live in a rural setting with lots of farms. One is a small local free range pig farm where I buy my fresh pork belly and other pork products. Thanks for the suggestion!

[Fiorella]

OMG @Jacquie…wow, you are surrounded by high valued lard sources!!

[jfricke]

You mean you don’t eat the the cracklings when you render fat? You give it all to your dog?

That’s not what I said.

What I said was:

The crispy bits that are left are tasty proteins that are good when warm or your doggy will love you forever.

I love my dog so I share.

[Fiorella]

Haha…I don’t blame you for sharing with your dog

[softail925]

We have one here in Australia called Superfry which is rendered beef drippings, but on it’s nutritional information it is called hydrogenated animal fat.

I suspect what happens is beef drippings aren’t particularly shelf stable because they have a mix of saturated, and unsaturated fatty acids. Cows are like us, our fat is mostly palmitic (saturated), and Oleic (mono-unsaturated) with a little polyunsaturated mixed in.

So maybe to make a shelf stable, solid at room temp in a Walmart they have hydrogenated the unsaturated fatty acids.

But the other thing this could be, is that saturated fatty acids are saturated with hydrogen, by definition they are fully hydrogenated - naturally. So THOSE hydrogenated fats aren’t bad at all.

The reason hydrogenation has such a bad rap is it’s a method for turning cheap plant oils (corn/soy oil) solid at room temperature by flattening polyunsaturated fatty acids so they stack - by making them into trans fats.

WIKI: Which fat is which

So, Richard are you saying then, that hydrogenated lard w/ 0 transfat would be an okay fat to fry foods in? (Sorry, Im a bit confused now)

[richard]

are you saying then, that hydrogenated lard w/ 0 transfat would be an okay fat to fry foods in? (Sorry, Im a bit confused now)

Sorry. Yes. That is what I am saying. That hydrogenated lard is a whole heck of a lot better for us than hydrogenated seed oils.

Ideally, if you want the best possible option, you would slow cook pork fat and render the lard off yourself then you would end up with a product that is slightly more liquid than commercial hydrogenated lard.

But if we are talking about a yardstick from bad at -100 points, neutral at 0 points, and good at 100 pts, hydrogenated seed oil is probably -90, hydrogenated lard or tallow is probably 90, and home rendered lard or tallow is probably 95, and home rendered lard or tallow from grass fed animals is 100.

[Fiorella]

@richard, I think there is a difference in the shelf life and stability of pork lard and beef tallow. I’ve noticed that I can leave out lard from the fridge and it is quite stable (stays solid and doesn’t go bad). Beef tallow is not as stable and can go bad. I render the fats, so my observation is on homemade stuff. I’d have to dig into the science to figure out why I am observing this. I cannot provide an explanation.

[valdivia.marc]

If you live in the U.S. you can find a place near you where you can get lard or tallow from grass fed/pastured animals.

http://www.eatwild.com/products/index.html

[Ernest]

For economic reasons, I deep fry with refined coconut oil.A gallon of Nutiva organic refined coconut oil is less than 20 bucks. I find that I can heat it to 400 degrees without a wisp of smoke. I keep lard and tallow for other forms of cooking.
Real lard and tallow is not cheap when buying already rendered.

[VLC.MD]

Leaf Lard. Never heard of it.

Leaf lard is the highest grade of lard. All lard is rendered pork fat; the term is usually used to refer to rendered pork fat suitable for cooking. Leaf lard specifically comes from the visceral, or soft, fat from around the kidneys and loin of the pig. As such, it has a very soft, super spreadable consistency at room temperature.

The lard sold in blocks in most stores, by contrast, is rendered from fat from all over the pig and is treated in a variety of ways, including hydrogenation, to make the lard shelf-stable, deodorized, and keep it solid at room temperature.

How to Use Leaf Lard
Like all types of lard, leaf lard has a high smoking point, making it an excellent choice for frying, pan-searing, and even grilling.

Also, while leaf lard doesn’t have the porky flavor of caul fat, it does have a gentle back-note of subtle, gentle meatiness that hydrogenated lard lacks. So it’s a good choice when you want that high smoking point, but you don’t want the final product to taste like pork.

Leaf Lard: What It Is and How to Use It

[Bendy22]

Since I can’t keep enough bacon grease around for all my cooking, I have been using Armour brand lard that is hydrogenated. Here is what they say about this fact from their website:

Armour lard is fully hydrogenated and contains zero trans fats. Fully hydrogenated lard is different than partially hydrogenated oils, which are chemically altered and contain trans fatty acids. Trans fats are harmful because they lower HDL (good) cholesterol and raise LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, increasing the risk of coronary heart disease.

http://www.armourlard.com/why-lard

Taking our the trans fat sounds like a great thing to me!

I really appreciate @richard’s response which helps make it simple. I will keep using this in my cooking with reckless abandon.

[smsherbert]

So glad you posted this as that’s the same brand I use. I’ve been hearing the hydrogenated lard is bad for you argument, but I just bought two big ol’ buckets of this stuff and I’ll be damned if I’m going to throw them away!

[Reid_Smith]

How many times a month are you going to have fries? If you’re talking every day, maybe you would might have a problem. If you are talking 3 or so times a month, relax. It is a choice: tasty or not.

[JCHoffman]

I was worried about trashing mine as well!

[beckyjoy]

What do you think of these lards @richard ? I was curious about them as I remember @carl mentioned using lard from a medical grocery in his fryer and that’s where these are form. Yay or nay? (edit: pics are out of order upon uploading - note that the colors go together - green/green, etc to see the front and back nutrition info for each brand-there’s a red one, blue one and green one!)