Hacker News Reader

Comment by tropo | Hacker News Reader

A good pie crust has both butter and lard, as separate bits that are not mixed. They melt at different temperatures.

The best lard comes from near the kidneys. Good luck finding some, or even just lard that isn't adulterated in some way. The lard I can find has been hydrogenated or has added TBHQ or BHT.

View on HN

I was obsessed with "leaf lard", the stuff near the kidneys for a while. I was told that it makes a superior pie crust so finally my wife gave me a jar for my birthday. It's very expensive and, in my opinion, totally not worth it. I can make a better tasting crust that's just as flaky with plain old butter.

Which isn't to say lard isn't great, I render it out when making slow-cooker pork and use it for tamales or as a frying oil. I just don't like it in pastry.

Hydrogenating lard is such a depressing concept-- the entire point would be as a more healthful alternative to hydrogenated and highly processed oils, but I guess processing is a hammer to which everything is a nail...

Perhaps surprisingly, natural lard is mostly unsaturated fat. It's only about 40% saturated, which means it has poor shelf life without hydrogenation to increase the saturated fat percent.

If you really care about pie crusts, finding a good source of leaf lard is the #1 requirement. I tried a few pre-rendered brands, and it was all expensive, not particularly fresh, and tastes weird... Eventually I found a farmer who sells unrendered leaf lard, and after a few false starts at rendering it (too hot, and it'll taste too meaty), I've started making essentially perfect pie crusts.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com