My local meat market has kidney suet throughout the year . You buy it by the pound, this year it's $2.49 a pound. It keeps going up! Three to four pounds will do you for a year.... I am using this suet for two reasons. The suet is going into a mincemeat batch I'll be canning for Christmas pies. The rest will be melted down, filtered and will become lard for baking. I'll use my old Lodge cast iron dutch oven. It's only a 4 quart but it does the job.
How to make Leaf Lard (also known as kidney lard)
Chop the leaf lard into 1-inch cubes.
Put into a large pot, preferably a cast iron pot.
Set pot over low heat and simmer 1-2 hours until the cubes of lard have melted into liquid gold.
Strain through a wire mesh to catch the crunchy bits ( you can eat these!)
Once cool, store in a glass jar in the refrigerator. It’ll keep for a year. It also freezes.
From the
King Arthur website:
" The best lard is known as "leaf" lard which comes from the fat around
the kidneys of a pig (like suet which comes from the equivalent place in
a cow or sheep). But most lard is rendered (melted and clarified) from
pork trimmings. This is likely the kind you'll find at the grocery. It
tends to be milder in flavor and more homogenous in texture. Both are
100% fat and are softer and oilier than other solid fats. Because of its
large crystalline structure, it works exceptionally well in biscuits
and pie crusts, but won't create as fine a grain in cakes as butter,
margarine or shortening. And you can't find anything better for frying
doughnuts. (If you fry doughnuts correctly, they'll only absorb about a
teaspoon of lard each; and they'll have that flavor that your taste buds
will immediately identify as DOUGHNUT!)"
Grandma's Homemade Biscuits Recipe
10/30/2012 4:24:00 PM
By the Editors of GRIT Magazine
These homemade biscuits are as authentic as they come, from a
time when lard from the family’s hog and milk from the backyard cow
were common fare. The dough can be rolled and cut with a biscuit cutter
or dropped from a wooden spoon. Make these for a big family supper, as
biscuits are best when eaten fresh from the oven.
Ingredients:
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon lard, cold and coarsely chopped, plus more for greasing the pan
2 1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon salted butter, melted (optional)
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a baking sheet with lard and set aside.
Place 2 cups of flour, the baking powder and the salt in a large
mixing bowl; whisk together. Using a pastry blender, work the lard into
the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add the milk and
stir.
On a sheet of wax paper, sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of flour.
Turn the dough mixture onto the wax paper and knead for 5 minutes. Roll
out the dough to a 1-inch thickness and cut with a biscuit cutter;
alternatively, drop the dough using a large spoon and pat down onto the
prepared baking sheet spaced 1 inch apart. For color, brush the biscuits
with melted butter, if desired. Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops
are golden brown.
Makes 1 dozen biscuits.
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