leaf lard queston

[the chorizo kid]

went to the local meatcutter for some pork backfat. he was generous and gave me 3# of fresh backfat from hogs slaughtered that morning. he suggested i can use leaf lard to add to the brat/sausage meat instead of backfat. he sells superb pork brats/sauages, so i assume he knows what he is talking about. any thoughts about using leaf lard instead of backfat in suasage making??

[wheels]

Personally, I wouldn't - although it's very good for pastry by all accounts:

http://www.culinate.com/books/collectio ... ard_pastry

I believe it has a lower melting point than back fat and is therefore likely to smear.

Phil

[the chorizo kid]

that was my thinking too. the overall wispiness is great for layering in pastry, which we have done, but it is not not firm and chunky for sausage/brats. i'll stick to back fat which has worked well in the past.

[wheels]

Yep, back fat's the biz!

[beardedwonder5]

The craft butchers around me all say that they don't have any back fat to spare. If they have any, they use it all up in their sausages. I guess they buy lean pigs. So if I need fat for bangers I have to buy belly, and adjust the amount of shoulder, etc.

[wheels]

I get some now I'm dry curing (and the pigs I buy are GOS crosses so have a bit more than the supermarket stuff). There's a nice supply to be had when air-drying Lomo/Lonzino from a whole loin.

Phil

[DanMcG]

Ok I have to ask.....What is leaf lard ? I'm not familiar with the term.

[Chuckwagon]

Hi Dan,

Leaf lard is taken from the rich fat buildup around the kidneys (called the “flare”) in a piggy. This fat is the best grade fat of the entire animal. Strangely enough, it does not have pork flavor and people in the past rendered it into lard used for baking. I remember my mother using it for baked goods throughout most of the 50’s but its popularity faded as people learned more about cholesterol. Leaf lard is even a higher grade than the backfat we all seek nowdays for making sausages. Backfat is subcutaneous - taken from between the skin (on the back) and the muscle of the piggy. The least valuable fat is usually rendered into lard and it is called “caul fat”. It is found enveloping the small intestines. Caul fat is sometimes used for wrapping lean meat before it is roasted (to keep the meat from becoming dry). Some caul fat is rendered into lard and I’ve even heard that some people use it in making their pate’s - not me! You can't keep trouble from visitin', but you don't have to offer it a chair.
Best Wishes, Chuckwagon