Buying Lard?

[big brown horse]

I second the tamales. Your mouth won't know what hit it. In a good way. Not like a baseball. (I'm done now).

 

[ORChick]

Cut it up small to render it - I find a meat grinder is an easy way to do this. And then toss it in a slow cooker on LO. Much easier than standing over the stove.

 

[Dace]

Ok BBH...you gonna share the recipe???? My 18 yr old DD will be forever grateful!

 

[Dace]

Cut it up small to render it - I find a meat grinder is an easy way to do this. And then toss it in a slow cooker on LO. Much easier than standing over the stove.

It is already rendered....it is lard not fat I just have never seen it sold like this, a big ol' hunk o'lard wrapped in plastic

 

[big brown horse]

Ok BBH...you gonna share the recipe???? My 18 yr old DD will be forever grateful!

Sure, let me dig it up. It took me about 2 hours to do 35 of them. I made them nice and big too so two would be a good serving. Of course the left over pulled pork I used (thanks to OFG for the slow cooker recipe) was made a few days before. There are still some in the freezer and my DD loves to eat them as a snack after school. Just steam them frozen for 20 minutes and presto, they are perfect and moist.

BRB!

 

[GardenWeasel]

I would buy bunches and stick it in the freezer. Homemade tamales, my word. I got the Rick Bayless book Mexico One Plate at a Time for Christmas last year. Once you get the directions understood, they are easy and fun and delicious. Great book. No good lard found in my area yet.

 

[prairiegirl]

Good lard makes wonderful biscuits, tender flaky pie crusts and yummy sugar cookies. I've also tried substituting it for shortening in a couple of cake recipes. The coffee cake recipe turned out well.

I also use it to grease the bowl that the bread dough rises in and the pizza pans.

My Dad uses it to softened his dried cracked hands.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

I don't think I have ever had a tamale. Should I admit that?

 

[Ldychef2k]

If you ever get a chance to buy fresh lard from a store that makes their own chicarrones (pork rinds) do NOT pass it up. My ex was hispanic and we lived in a heavily hispanic area in a beach town. The closest Mexican store to the beach served the ag workers there, and they cooked huge sheets of chicharrone in gigantic copper kettles. If you brought in a non melty container, you could buy the hot rendered lard and by the time you got home you could add it to the freshly ground masa that you also bought there, with a little baking powder and some salt, and make the best tamales EVER. And for easy tamales, try filling with an index finger sized piece of cheese and a generous strip of roasted Anaheim pepper. (Ortega brand is good.) Steam for about an hour. A chille relleno tamale. SO good, espectially with Ranchero sauce.