Lard used to be a huge part of American and Latin cooking, so lets discover where to buy read lard near you! First, we will dive into what lard is and how to use it. There is a long history with this key ingredient because there was plenty of it to go around.
Although we mainly use butter now, this does not mean we shouldn’t look into where to buy real lard. Once you start using this ingredient in your cooking, you will wonder why you hadn’t before!
What Is Lard?
So, before we can learn where to buy real lard near us, we should have a basic understanding of what this delicious miracle ingredient is. Lard is made from the fat and the grease of a pig. It is what is left over when you cook pork.
Have you ever baked pork in the oven and taken it out of the pan? After a few hours, you may notice that the liquid fat and grease thickens into an almost light white substance. This substance is the pork fat and grease that almost acts like butter.
It is safe to eat, use, and cook with! Although it is a fat that comes directly from pork, a form of red meat, this does not mean that it is unhealthy. Actually, contrary to popular belief, lard is healthier than butter. It does not cause heart disease because it is made up of HDL cholesterol.
Lard was used a lot by our parents and grandparents years ago because they did not have a choice! Meat was scarce and expensive depending on where they lived. Whenever our family members could cook pork, they would keep the grease and fat to cook with, using all parts of the pig.
How To Use Lard
There are many uses for lard. First, you can use lard to cook delicious meals and add flavor. Another way to use lard is as a base instead of oil or butter and other fats. This not only increases the flavor but also adds healthy fats to your diet naturally.
Using lard is easy and quick. It is one of my favorite ingredients to use when cooking fattier dishes with meat. I personally use lard instead of butter because it is cheaper too if you can find it!
Where To Buy Real Lard Near You
The hardest part about incorporating lard into your diet is finding places where to buy real lard near you. I recommend starting locally and then branching out! If you can, collect lard on your own!
1. General Grocery Store
Most grocery stores have a small selection of lard products. Although there is not a huge variety, there are still some to choose from. Since lard is pork fat, this is typically placed in a refrigerated area because it can go bad when left at room temperature.
Usually, when looking at where to buy real lard, grocery stores are overlooked! Go to your local store first and ask around. Lard products are likely in large tubs!
2. Latin American Grocery Store
Since most Latin American and Caribbean countries use lard in their cooking, you are likely to have a better time of finding where to buy real lard in Latin American grocery stores. These ethnic grocery stores often import products from other countries that are of higher quality. Keep in mind that these products can be pricey.
3. Farmers Market
You might even have better luck going to a local farmers market! These farmers’ markets allow for the sale of goods and services between farmers and consumers. In these farmer’s markets, local farmers and butchers often give their services and products at a discounted price.
I recommend looking around for the best true real lard your county has to offer. Sadly though, not all of us live in an area where going to a farmers market is possible. If this is the case, you might have better luck at a local butcher shop.
4. Local Butcher Shop
Is there a local butcher shop near you? Since these shops often process pork meat and other types of meat, this means they also collect grease and fat which is turned into lard. This might be a bit of a stretch though since not all butcher shops cook the meat you are purchasing!
However, if you are planning to make or collect your own lard, it is best to buy a large and juicy cut of pork that has a lot of grease and fat. This will make it easier to collect lots of meat as well as grease, also known as lard.
5. Make/Collect Your Own Lard
The best way to make or collect your own lard instead of searching tirelessly where to buy real lard is to cook the meat in the oven. However, before you place the meat in the oven, make sure that the pork is elevated. You can do this by looking for a double baking pan.
Underneath the elevated pork, place a pan to collect the leftover grease. Did you know that you can also do this if you are cooking and frying bacon? The best thing about cooking or frying pork bacon is that you do not have to add it to hot oil. Instead, the natural grease from the bacon cooks this delicious meat.
Placing these bacon slices onto a mat can make it easier to collect the lard. You can clean it out with a strainer and store it in the fridge.
Conclusion
All in all, it is important to know where to buy real lard. There are a lot of substitutes that often some people think are the same ingredient. For example, Crisco is used frequently as a substitute for lard, but it is actually a vegetable shortening full of chemicals and processing!
Now that we know where to buy real lard and how to clean and reuse our own, we can focus on using this delicious ingredient in our cooking when making rich-flavored dishes!
Did you learn anything new about where to buy real lard? Know anyone who wants to find real lard? Let us know in the comments and share away!
FAQs
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