Lard. What is it even for?

[bibbitybobbityyhat]

I am so repulsed and yet I love meat, including all things pork.

I bought some to make pastry with this Christmas. Omg it is ranker than a rank thing on a very rank day! Shall I bin the rest of it? Could I make fat balls for the garden birds and if so does anyone have a simple recipe?

When I was little you would have bread and dripping. A slice of white (highly processed) bread with a 3mm thick layer of usually beef dripping with a hefty sprinkling of salt.

Our chip pan when growing up was full of lard. I loved our home cook chips

Lardy cake! You need to make lardy cake!

we buy if to make fat balls. (I always tell check out person)

its essential for gluten free pastry and yorkshire puddings.

American biscuits, southern style. My grandmother made the best ones, and she always used lard.

Use lard to fry bubble and squeak or corned beef hash. And yes to pastry and roast potatoes.

I love the title of this thread

I buy half coconut shells for the birds (2 for £1 at B&M ) Once they've been emptied I refill with a mix of different seeds and oatmeal. Melt lard in the microwave and pour into the filled shells. Set in the fridge overnight and hang back outside

From the RSPB:
"Make your own fat snacks by pouring melted fat (suet or lard) onto a mixture of ingredients such as seeds, nuts, dried fruit, oatmeal, cheese and cake".

safe foods for garden birds

Never use other melted fats as it can muck up their feathers.

I hate the smell of lard and have to hold my breath during the melting process

Coincidentally this just came up on my newsfeed.

www.chicagotribune.com/dining/sc-food-pork-pie-eskin-1228-story.html

‘Tis a thing of greatness

I use it in a chip pan. Best chips EVER

Lard has less saturated fat than butter. True fact.

Delia uses it for her mince pie pastry.
It's quite a delicacy here. On the posh deli counter with an absurd price tag and my foodie dp will go "ooooh look" and I go "yes, it's lard, my nan fried everything in it"
(OP- it's Drank here btw, good to see you)

An I the only person who makes pastry with just butter?? Lard is gross! All butter pastry is lush!

Savoury pastry for pies is better with half lard. I would use a sweet pastry for mince pies though with all butter not lard.
Lard is good for roast potatoes too and much cheaper than duck fat.
Hot water crust pastry is better with lard for raised pies.

Another vote for Lardy cake. So wrong (so much fat and sugar) but soooo right. I love a dripper and used to break my vegetarianism for one on trips back home Now worked out how to make it with coconut oil but lard is still the best.

@motortroll all butter apart from hot water pastry which needs lard!

Ama never going to see me making a hot water crust pie, and I really need to lay off chips and roast potatoes for a week year or two, so fat balls for the birds it's going to have to be! Alright dranky?

@reetgood yes of course. I've never made hot water crust though. In fact I only make pastry for mince pies!

Put in the fridge to set. Store in a sealed tub or bag in the fridge.

Making sure they are very well labelled. You don't want your DH eating them thinking they were some artisan snack......

Lardy cake!!!! I haven't had any of that in sooo long, I need to make a trip back home.

Hahaha the artisan fat balls...Still one of the funniest threads ever.

I use it for roasties and Yorkshire puds. It’s great.

I think the English put it on pieces.