Tonight I am having a tamale party at our home. I have always loved tamales and so last year I decided to take a Tamale Making cooking class to learn how to make these savory treats. You can imagine my horror when the instructor brought out the bucket of lard and told us that the secret to "authentic" tamales was the lard. I have a hard enough time eating chewy red meat such as steaks and I always cut off any hint of fat on my meats so lard is something that isn't really in my vocabulary. To demonstrate the difference between "authentic" tamales and imitation tamales the instructor made 2 different masas, one using lard and the other using some sort of vegetable shortening. I have to say the lard tamales WERE better and I was sold.
A few weeks later my sister Carol and I had a little tamale making fest at her house. I made her purchase the lard and she bought Farmer John brand which is nicely processed into white bricks. It didn't look so bad.
Unfortunately, Carol is in Spain and cannot buy the nicely packaged lard this year and so I got stuck buying it. I went to the Mexican market to make all of my purchases and when looking for the lard I was directed to the "taqueria" section. There sitting on the shelf in all of its glory were buckets and buckets of "pure" fresh lard. I cringed, but took the plunge and bought it. I wasn't really sure what to do with it when I brought it home. Did it need to be refrigerated or could it simply stay out? I decided to put it in the deepest cavern of the refrigerator so I could forget about it until absolutely necessary.
Wish me luck. I hope the tamales turn out. (and yes my sense of smell did come back. Thank goodness)
7 comments:
I like to make some Chilean food that call for manteca. I have purchased it once and I really can't bring myself to do it again. Perhaps the empanadas I made with manteca tasted better than the ones that I made with shortening or vegetable oil, but I really couldn't bring myself to taste the creations that I had made with lard. I'm sure that I've eaten many things in my life that are made with animal fat (although I avoid it!), but something about seeing the huge brick of lard really grosses me out.
You are very brave, Aim.
p.s. I need to teach you how to rotate your photos. . .
Looking forward to lard 101!
I am glad your sense of smell is back. I have a friend with an over active sense of smell. She can smell kids stinky feet in primary on the other side of the room. I don't know which would be worse.
Does the Manteca smell?
Ah hmm, how would you like to have been the girl who didn't care what she was eating who was surrounded by all these friends in FSN 100 who would always say, " Do you what is in that food you are eating?"
I must admit, I'm a little more discriminating in my diet these days. Now that I'm an old lady. (RIght back at ya, sister!)
This is why I eat at Mexican restaurants instead of making it myself. Sometimes it is better not to see what the secret ingredient is!
I thought that picture was of the lard stuck to a door knob. Somebody please show Amy how to rotate her pictures! I get confused so easily...
First of all - once again i love the sideways picture!! Second - i have a hard time eating some foods once I experience making them. I realize why I like them soooo much - because they are loaded with BAD stuff. Oh well. We only live once right?
There is a town not to far from us called Manteca. Hmmm..
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