Making Lard Episode Page

You will need:

Put it together:

Preheat oven to 225 degrees F.
Cut leaf lard into 1-2 inch cubes
Arrange on broiler pan so the cubes of lard will stay on top and liquid will drip into the pan below
Cook for 3-4 hours
Use a metal strainer/colander lined with two layers of cheesecloth to strain the liquid fat collected in the bottom of the pan into a glass bowl
Chill immediately
Wrap the chilled lard very well so that it does not absorb odors and keep in the refrigerator for about three months or the freezer for about a year

You will need:

Put it together:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Mix flour, baking powder and salt with whisk in large bowl.
Cut in lard: massage flour into the lard with your fingers until crumbly.
Mix in egg and all but a couple tablespoons of rice milk with a fork.
Add in the rest of the rice milk a tablespoon at a time until the dough is wet but not sticky.
Turn out dough onto the counter and barely kneed a couple of turns. Be careful not to over work.
Roll ½ inch thick and cut 2 ¾ inch circles with biscuit cutter (if you use a glass, the edges will pinch and biscuits will not rise properly – no twisting either).
Pat the dough scraps together, roll and cut more biscuits.
Put biscuits onto a baking stone or parchment lined cookie sheet either with edges touching (if you want soft edges) or not (if you want crispy edges).
Bake 10-12 minutes until lightly golden brown.

Tip:

To make this recipe with cow’s milk, use only ¼ cup lard and substitute rice milk for whole milk.

You will need:

1-2 quarts Building Blocks Show Lard
1-3 lbs sweet potatoes
Seasoning: You can use a paprika or brown sugar based meat or taco seasoning or make up your own with ingredients like salt and paprika or brown sugar and cinnamon
Special tools: large soup pot, cooking thermometer, wire strainer (aka Asian strainer or spider) or metal slotted spoon, mandoline (optional)

Put it together:

Scrub sweet potatoes, cut in half and put into a large pot.
Cover with cold water and bring to a boil.
Boil for 7-10 minutes. This step is very important because softening the potatoes brings out the flavor. The more you boil the better the flavor, but you need to balance that with a good French fry texture and keeping the skin on. The more you boil, the easier the skin comes off.
Take potatoes out of the hot water and let cool until you can handle them easily. Slice potatoes slightly larger than the fries you want as they will shrink slightly while frying. I recommend a 7mm julienne. A mandoline can be extremely useful for making conformed fries.
Put lard in a heavy soup pot and heat slowly on med-low heat until 300 degrees F.
Fry potatoes a handful at a time for 3 minutes and drain immediately onto paper towels. This is the first frying.
Let the potatoes sit for at least ten minutes (but up to a couple hours okay).
While the fries are resting, turn the heat up just slightly, so that it is closer to 350 degrees F. Make sure that the lard is not smoking. This is very important for both safety and tastiness.
Fry the potatoes for 1-3 minutes depending on how brown and crispy you want the fries. This second frying is what gives the fries their characteristic texture.
Remove the fries with an Asian strainer or metal slotted spoon and season immediately.

Tip:

Crispiness: It seems counter intuitive, but to make crispier fries, you turn down the heat. This allows the fries to lose more of their moisture before burning.
Lard may be re-used once or twice if filtered first. Filter the lard while it’s still in a liquid state (but not burning hot) by straining it through a fine mesh sieve lined with a couple layers of cheesecloth or a coffee filter.