Pat Tanner

By: centraljersey.com
When I attended Slow Food’s Salone del Gusto in Turin, Italy, back in 2000, I tasted many gustatory wonders at the multi-day presentation and celebration of traditional artisanal foods and wines. But no sight was more astonishing than the long lines that formed each day at one particular stand – the longest line among row after row, aisle after aisle of specialties. It turned out that attendees, mostly Italian, waited patiently to buy lard. Lard! I could hardly believe it.
Of course, it wasn’t just any lard, which is typically fatback of a hog. This was the famed Lardo di Colonnata – pure white lard (from the same breeds of pigs that give us prosciutto di Parma and di San Daniele) that is seasoned with salt, herbs, and spices, put into white marble tubs from the marble-mining town of Colonnata (near Carrara), and left to cure for six months. The result, I was told, is a creamy, rich but delicate fat that is customarily smeared on crostini like butter or even foie gras. At the time, I demurred to wait on line for hours to taste something as unhealthy as pork fat. My mistake.
I wouldn’t get the opportunity again until 2009, when Scott Anderson, chef and co-owner of Elements restaurant in Princeton, mounted a nine-course tasting menu centered on the porcine products of a heritage breed of pig, the Mangalitsa, originally from Hungary. The pigs were and are raised at Mosefund Farm in Sussex County. I did not attend the special dinner, but when I dined at Elements a week later, the salumi platter included many cured Mangalitsa tidbits – including lardo. That’s when I knew what I had missed in Turin. Mangalitsa pork has since become the darling of leading chefs everywhere and, if you look hard enough, its lardo is available to consumers.
I recently convinced a friend to go in with me on buying the smallest slab I could find – still upwards of two pounds – at debragga.com. It’s hard to describe how wonderful it tastes or how appealing its silky texture is, but for me lardo ranks not only with foie gras, but with things like truffle butter and duck or goose fat (although those last two are for cooking, not eating straight). As for health issues, it turns out that all-natural lard is a healthy source of saturated fat, unlike industrially-produced lard, which is partially hydrogenated and creates unhealthy trans-fats. (The latter also contains bleaching agents, emulsifiers, BHT, and other questionable substances.)
After reading up on lard and lardo, I remembered that my maternal grandmother had used lard to make the best pie crusts I have ever eaten. She probably used leaf lard – considered the high grade of lard, collected from around the kidneys. It was (and is) used for baking, because it is neutral in flavor – unlike lardo, which has a distinctly porky undertone. Sources for all-natual leaf lard from heritage breeds that are raised responsibly are listed below. Regular all-natural lard (more widely available and less expensive) is unsurpassed for frying chicken, since all lard has a low smoking point, and regular lard’s meaty flavor notes are welcome.
About the recipe for lardo-wrapped shrimp, below: The full recipe includes pouring the honey drippings over crisped, thinly sliced raw vegetables, including celery, fennel, carrot, red bell pepper, and zucchini. For the complete recipe visit lacucinaitalianamagazine.com.
SOURCES
– Mangalitsa lardo: Via the Internet at debragga.comLeaf lard: Oak Grove Plantation, Franklin Township, Hunterdon County. At the farm by appointment only: Phone 908-782-9618, or at Union Square Greenmarket, New York City. Via the Internet at prairiepridepork.comUSING LARDO
Lay one very thin slice of lardo over one slice of toasted baguette. Optional: drizzle with honey and chopped toasted walnuts.
Lay one very thin slice of lardo over one slice of warm toasted baguette and sprinkle with coarse sea salt or fleur de sel.
Rub a toasted baguette slice with the cut side of a tomato cut in half. Lay a very thin slice of lardo on top. (Alternatively, top each baguette slice with a thin slice of tomato and then the slice of lardo.)
Lay very thin slices of lardo over hot boiled new or fingerling potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
Substitute melted lardo for olive oil in your favorite focaccia recipe (using a 1-to-1 ratio). LARDO-WRAPPED SHRIMP Abridged from La Cucina Magazine
20 thin slices lardo (about 3 ounces)
20 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Extra-virgin olive oil
Fine sea salt
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and cook, turning once, until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer cooked shrimp to plates with vegetables but leave the skillet as is; do not wipe it out. Return skillet to heat; add honey and cook over low heat just until honey is warmed through and viscous. Drizzle honey over shrimp. Garnish with chives.
Serves 4.
LEAF LARD PIE CRUST Adapted from Prairie Pride entry at
localharvest.org
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup leaf lard
1/4 cup water
Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Cut in lard with pastry blender until small pea-size particles are obtained. Sprinkle with water a little at a time. Mix with fork until flour is most. Press into a flattened ball. (If making a two-crust pie, divide in half and make two flattened balls.) Wrap ball in wax paper and refrigerate one hour. Roll out and bake as called for in your favorite pie recipe.
Makes enough dough for one 9-inch double crust pie or two single crust pies.