Chef’s Corner-Bits and Bites, by Chef Michael Hutchings
Lard, Friend or Foe?

Lard, the very mention makes vegan chlorophyll curdle. It does, however, make the best pie crusts, superior fried chicken and great French fries. There are three grades of fat that is the source of lard: the kidney fat, back fat and basically everything else. Is has been used like butter in the past and for general sauteing of foods. Lard has gone out of favor because it was thought to a villain of heart health. The fact is, in its pure form there is less saturated fat than butter.

There is the American lard that is rendered as opposed to what the Europeans call lard. In the European case, it is raw or cured but not rendered. My Chef friend, James Sly (Soon to open Sly's in Carpinteria) related an Italian dish to me. The Italians have what is currently a fashionable dish called Lardo di Collinato. It is cured pork fat served up like a prosciutto. The Lardo is made from back fat strips that are layered with salt, herbs and spices then cured for 6-8 months. It is eaten with toast, olives, tomatoes and a drizzle of olive oil much like a fine Parma ham.

There is an old culinary method called larding whereby strips of back fat are cut into ribbons, seasoned and marinated in cognac, then laced into large cuts of meat. It is a way of introducing richness and flavor that is missing in some cuts of meat. The fat back is also classically used in making pates and terrines both as part of the stuffing and in lining the terrines.

In London at Le Gavroche restaurant we used the raw form of lard called the caul fat. It is used to line some pates as well as making little parcels of food wrapped in this thin fat layer. Famed chef Freddy Girardet of Crissier, Switzerland, did a lamb loin stuffed with spinach and wild mushrooms, wrapped in caul fat and then roasted.

There is another great classic called a Rillette de Porc. It is pork meat cooked slowly in rendered fat then shredded and packed into a terrine with some of the cooking fat and flavorings such as wine, cognac and peppercorns. It is absolutely delicious with cornichons, Dijon mustard and crusty French bread,

I would say, though, you want to render your own lard to be sure it is fresh and free of additives or industrial processing. It is a simple matter to chop in finely, cover it with water, place it on a medium flame and cook it until the fat “renders" out and the water has evaporated then strained. It should be stored in the refrigerator at that point to keep it from getting rancid or can be frozen.

So, go ahead and fry those donuts in lard.

Tastefully yours,
Chef Michael Hutchings

Michael’s Catering
www.michaelscateringsb.com