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Praise the Lard and Pass the Scrapple By Dan Gill,
Ethno-Gastronomist Now that the dietary
pendulum has swung back in favor of pig meat and lard, precious few of us are
left who remember the whys and wherefores of preparing some of the jewels of country
living. Cool weather conjures up thoughts of hog killin'
and scrapple makin'. Back before refrigeration,
hogs were killed in winter so that the meat could be cured and preserved
before it went bad. Larger parts, such as hams, shoulders, bacon, jowls and
loins were cured, mostly with salt. Meaty trimmings were ground or finely
chopped and mixed with salt, pepper and sage to make sausage, which was
either fried and packed in crocks, then sealed with hot lard; or it was
stuffed into muslin bags and hung in the smokehouse to acquire a tangy ŇagedÓ
flavor. Salt, pepper, sage and cold weather all discourage the growth of
harmful microbes, but encourage beneficials, which
enhance shelf life by increasing acidity. Acid, in the form of vinegar, was
also used to pickle pigs feet and to make souse. Excess fat
was preserved by rendering it into lard. Lard There is a growing
awareness among enlightened cooks and consumers that the health risks
popularly associated with animal fats have been grossly overstated – if
they exist at all. Long-term use of processed vegetable oils and the
reduction of animal fats in diets have been implicated in many chronic health
problems including obesity, depression, asthma, coronary disease, ParkinsonŐs
disease, cancer, diabetes, sexual dysfunction, increased blood cholesterol,
and dysfunction of the immune system. Recent research confirms that animal
fats are much safer than commonly used vegetable fats for cooking, especially
for frying. Beyond trans-fats resulting from hydrogenation, it is now known
that mono- and poly-unsaturated vegetable oils break down under conditions of
prolonged or repeated heating, as in deep fat fryers, to create potent
carcinogens and toxic compounds, notably HNE: Naturally saturated animal fats
do not readily break down under normal use. As a result of these findings, we
switched back to traditional beef tallow for our fryers at ŇSomething
DifferentÓ over a year ago. The arena of lipid and health research is
confusing, rife with controversy and conflicting conclusions, which are often
dependent upon who is interpreting the data. Consumers really donŐt know who to believe. I am not qualified to make dietary
recommendations, but I am convinced that animal fats, butter and eggs do not
need to be avoided by healthy people who wish to remain healthy. We now use either turkey fat (which we
render ourselves), butter or lard in our recipes – in moderation, of
course. The best animal fat for
frying and baking is good old lard rendered from pig fat. The problem is,
most lard available commercially has been partially hydrogenated and treated
with potentially toxic anti-oxidants to make it shelf-stable; thereby
negating health advantages. Good lard can sometimes be found in farmersŐ
markets or purchased from custom processors, but it is relatively easy to
render your own all-natural and healthful animal fats and get to know your
food. Though backfat and trimmings are often used,
the best lard is made from the Ňleaf fatÓ surrounding the kidneys and
internal organs of pigs (preferably pasture raised). Leaf lard is white,
smooth and mild tasting, and makes the best piecrusts, biscuits and fried
chicken. We have a limited quantity of leaf lard from my own pastured pigs
for sale at the store – but when itŐs gone, itŐs gone. This is how you can render
just about any animal fat: Trim off any meat, glands or blood; then grind or
cut fat into small pieces, and heat slowly in a good heavy pot. A little
water and occasional stirring will keep the fat from scorching before it starts
to render. As the fat melts, cook uncovered over medium heat and stir
occasionally. Use a good thermometer. The temperature will stay around 212ˇF
until most of the water is evaporated, then slowly rise
as residual moisture is lost. Take it to about 350ˇF to keep it from getting
rancid during storage. As the fat cooks, the cracklins
will rise to the surface and then sink as it gets done. Strain and save the cracklins for cornbread. Keep lard and other rendered
animal fats in a cool, dark place, or refrigerate. It will last indefinitely
in the freezer. If you did everything right, leaf lard should be a clear
brown while still hot, but snow white after cooling.
Primitive sausage mill found and probably made on a farm in the Appalachian mountains of Virginia. The nails and hardware are handmade, the seals are leather and the blades are broken straight razors. There was a conical shaft with iron pins arranged in a spiral to cut and auger the meat as it turned. Photo by Dan Gill Scrapple After the hams and bacon
have been put down in cure and the sausage is all ground and the lard
rendered and the feets pickled and the snouts
soused, you take what's left, mostly the head, and make scrapple. Now, I have
seen a lot of modern recipes for making scrapple. Most say to start with a
shoulder or some such good piece of meat. Blasphemy! Everybody knows there
are better ways to use a shoulder. Such wanton waste would not have been
tolerated back when times were tight and folks had to make the most of what
they had. Besides, head meats have unique tastes and textures, as anyone who
has tasted barbacoa de cabeza can attest, and definitely makes the best
scrapple. If you have to use store-bought meat, look for shoulders. You will
need some skin and cartilage for gelatin; therefore, the picnic end will work
better than the Boston butt. You could also include a few feet for the same
reason. Here's how we used to make
scrapple back when I was young. Nothing was ever
measured – it was made by feel and taste. Ingredients: 1 Grandmother to make sure
everything is done "just so" 1 Mother to do most of the
preparation. Overseen by ingredient #1 2 Children, big enough to
stir the pot but not smart enough to be elsewhere HogsŐ heads (number
depending upon how many hogs were killed) Hearts and about ¼
of the livers Various and sundry scraps
not used to make other delicacies Salt, pepper, sage and
maybe a little celery salt to highlight the flavors (optional) Cornmeal (not self-rising),
preferably stone ground white but plain yellow works fine The feature attraction is
the cleaned head. Remove the eyeballs (the brains were removed on killing day
and scrambled with eggs the next morning). Break the head(s) into manageable
pieces with a cleaver, and cook them down in a kettle of boiling water until
the meat is easily pulled and the gelatin is released from the skin and
connective tissue. Skim most of the fat from the stock and save. Pull all of
the meat from the heads and chop up the chunks. Cook the liver and heart and
whatever else wasn't used in other delicacies and grind them separately. Get
a tote-sack full of corn meal and keep it handy. Put the meat, heart, and
other scraps (except liver) back into the simmering kettle of stock. Add
liver until you can taste it but the liver flavor does not predominate. Add
salt and celery salt - the cornmeal will take a lot of salt so you get this
mixture fairly salty. Stir. Taste. Add sage and pepper to taste - not too
much, now. Stir. Taste. Pass the spoon around so everybody can pass judgment.
When it's right, you should taste salt first, then liver (but not too
strong), rich pork meat flavor and a hint of sage. When everybody, especially
Ingredient #1, agrees that it couldn't possibly be better, bring out the
cornmeal and kids. Now comes the hard part!
Slowly stir in the cornmeal with a long wooden spoon - not too much at a
time, now. Keep stirring. Add cornmeal. Add some fat. Keep stirring. Add
cornmeal. Add some fat. Keep stirring as the mixture starts to get thick.
Keep stirring. Not thick enough yet. Add a little more corn meal. Keep
stirring. A little more fat until there is a slight sheen to the surface but
no visible oil. Keep stirring. "Just where do you
think you're going? Get back here and stir that pot!!" As the mixture thickens and
you fine-tune the ratio of fat to cornmeal, it will start to separate from
the sides of the kettle – a sure sign that it is done and will set
properly. This is a good thing 'cause the kids are about tuckered. Ladle it
into lightly greased, shallow, rectangular or square tin pans to a thickness
of about 2 ½ inches. Be careful - it's still hot! Start slapping it
down with the palm of your hand. Slap it like you mean it! SLAP IT! If you
are doing it right, your hand should be beet red, sore and covered with a
light coat of pig oil. Good. Now let the pans cool, cover with waxed paper
and put them in the Frigidaire or cool pantry. Next morning, remove
scrapple from the pan and slice about 3/8" thick. Lightly flour both
sides. Heat about ¼" of bacon grease or lard in an iron skillet
until it just starts to smoke. Fry until the outside starts to crisp but the
inside is still soft. Drain briefly on a paper towel. Serve with syrup and
eggs. There's nothing else like
it in this world!! Back to:
Published in Pleasant Living magazine January - February 2008 Previous: Storied
Desserts |
