Time was when dropping the L-bomb at mealtime was enough to send any "modern" cook screaming from the kitchen and the average dinner guest running from the table, clutching his heart with one hand and dialing his cardiologist on his cell phone with the other. But I'm here to tell you that lard has gotten a bad rap, and like any other good four letter word a dollop of it can add a little something special in any number of situations, culinary and otherwise.
Now I won't lie. It ain't health food, but it's not as bad for you as you may have been led to believe, and it may actually be better for you than some of the allegedly healthier fats you've been using instead. And let's face it, there are some things that are just plain better with lard. Pie pastry and fried chicken come to mind, (absolutely nothing gives pastry the tender, flaky texture that lard does and, trust me, if you ever eat chicken fried in lard, you'll never go back.), and since, in our house at least, these are treat foods that we don't eat very often, I say, go for it.
Let's consider the alternatives for pastry.
Like most cooks in the last century or so, my mother swore by Crisco, and it does make an altogether acceptable, even delicious, pie crust. The original Frankenfood, Crisco, strictly speaking, isn't food at all but rather a hydrogenated cottonseed oil concoction invented by Procter & Gamble and put on the market in 1911. It sort of looked like lard. It was odorless and tasteless, it didn't go rancid quickly, as lard was want to do, and it was a real boon for "our Jewish friends," (as a 1922 Crisco booklet pointed out), because it was Kosher! If anybody missed the richer, fuller flavor and delectable crumb of lard made pastry, they were loath to admit it, and within a generation most people had forgotten how it tasted anyway. Lard was off the table and Crisco was king.
Oh, and did I mention it was hydrogenated with trans fats? Well, sometime around the middle of the 20th century scientists discovered that trans fats, and therefore Crisco and the other hydrogenated vegetable shortening spin-offs, weren't very good for the human body, and were at least as bad for you as, if not worse than, solidified pig fat. (To be fair, Crisco recently introduced a zero trans fat shortening, in the green can. I haven't tried it so I can't comment on its' merits or not.)
Butter made pie pastry is melt in your mouth good, but, in my experience, often too tender and therefore difficult to handle, and will literally crumble if you breathe on it. Plus, with a whooping 60 percent saturated fat content, (compared with just 40 percent for lard), it's definitely not a healthier choice.
Because solid vegetable shortening is tasteless, some cooks have made a respectable pie crust by combining it with butter, again, probably worse for you than lard, but tasty if you like the butter flavor. As for oil made pastry? Forget about it. Seriously. If you really like pie, you won't like it.
I have seen some pie pastry recipes that use a combination of butter and lard, which sounds pretty good to me. Haven't tried it, but I will and when I do, I'll get back to you.
And that brings me back to LARD, our grandmother's gold standard, which I have rediscovered and embraced. Here's my recipe for basic pie pastry, lifted straight from the pages of Southern Cooking From Mary Mac's Tea Room. After you've made the pastry I can't think of anything better to do with it than make up a batch of one of my favorite guilty pleasures -- peach turnovers. Bake them if you want to cut down on the fat a bit, (I've actually come to prefer them this way), or stick with tradition and fry them up in hot peanut oil, (save the lard to fry chicken). You'll be glad you did.
NOTE: Some commercial supermarket lards have been hydrogenated to enhance shelf life. Read the label. If it's hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated, you do not want this lard. You want one that contains zero trans fats.
BASIC PIE PASTRY
1 cup lard (or other solid shortening, if you must)
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I swear by White Lily)
2/3 cup ice water, with crushed ice
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
Cream lard with salt and sugar in large bowl of electric mixer. Add one cup of the flour. When the mixture becomes stiff, add 1 tablespoon of the ice and water. Repeat process until all the flour and water is used. Mixture should be soft but not wet.
If making turnovers, roll the dough into 10 equal balls and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour. (This pastry can be kept for several weeks in a sealed plastic bag in fridge or frozen for up to a month.)
PEACH TURNOVERS
(Makes 10 pies - Baked or Fried)
12 ounces dried peaches
2 cups water
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup whiskey or bourbon (I use Jack Daniels -- optional)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
In a medium saucepan, bring peaches and water to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer until the peaches have reconstituted, are very tender and have absorbed most of the water. (About 2o minutes).
Mash peaches. Add sugar, whiskey, lemon juice, cinnamon and nutmeg. Simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes more, stirring frequently, until the peach mixture is thick like preserves. Cool.
On floured board with floured rolling pin, flatten dough balls into circles about 6-inches round and 1/8 inch thick. Place about 2 tablespoons of the peach mixture in the center of each circle. Brush edges with cold water, fold over and seal by pressing fork tines around edge. Trim excess dough.
TO FRY: Heat 2 1/2 cups peanut oil in a large skillet (cast iron if you have it) until the oil is very hot (about 375 degrees). Fry pies in batches, turning once, for about 2 minutes per side, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with sugar before serving if desired.
TO BAKE: Prick top of pies with fork several times to vent. Brush with melted butter or an egg wash, (1 egg lightly beaten with 2 tablespoons milk and a pinch of salt). Sprinkle with sugar if desired. Place on prepared baking sheet, (lightly greased, or, my preferred method, lined with a sheet of non-stick tin-foil). Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until lightly brown.
Either way, serve these puppies warm with a couple of big scoops of vanilla ice cream. Yum!
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