Lard Have Mercy! Bring on the Animal Fat

No Comments | Written on August 16, 2012 at 1:00 pm, by Lesley Kennedy

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Get your cardiologist on speed dial: Lard may just be the newest food trend.

Consuming rendered animal fat may make your nutritionist or trainer cringe, but it’s got plenty of other mouths watering, from chefs to diners alike, reports the Associated Press.

What’s new: “high-quality versions of the fat have become available from artisan producers,” according to the AP. And chefs like Chris Cosentino from Incanto in San Francisco are even making their own lard, taking that whole sustainable, farm-to-table deal another step further (or is that hoof?).

“When we’re getting a very beautiful hog, we try to use every bit of it,” Cosentino tells the AP. “I think to do so is just the right thing.”

That includes using lard in ice cream, pastries, desserts, breakfast food and making popcorn in pork fat, which Cosentino calls “amazing.” No doubt. (We’re guessing we’d at least skip the butter, though.)

There’s also a new book from Grit magazine called Lard: The Lost Art of Cooking with Your Grandmother’s Secret Ingredient, bursting with recipes for artery-clogging faves including fried chicken, biscuits and pie crust.

And, as Grit editor Hank Will tells the news service, while lard may not be a health food, it does contain a smaller amount of saturated fat than your basic butter.

“It’s like any fat, you don’t want it to be a huge proportion of your diet, but there’s nothing wrong in getting at least part of your fat dose in lard,” he tells the AP.

No need to sell us. We’re ready to pig out.