Biscuits
Okay, so. Lard.
It’s a thing (it’s a really good thing), but I fear that many people are turned off by it. I’d go so far as to wager it’s because we have negative associations with the word. To most, it’s not so much a food product as it is a mean insult. How these words get skewed is beyond me (“Stupid cow” is apparently also a cheap shot but I’ve always thought cows to be lovely things, albeit a bit day-dreamy.)
Name-calling aside, lard – essentially, pork fat – is a really wonderful ingredient to cook with. It’s milky white, creamy and incorporates beautifully into everything from doughs to sauteed vegetables. I find it lends a bit of heft and integrity that’s right on par with the types of flavors Americans tend to like best: rich, full and faintly sweet without being overly funky or earthy.
I think it has a much quieter personality than, say, duck fat, but all of the same gorgeous mouth-coating qualities. If you place a small bit of lard on your tongue (go ahead, try it,) it will pause for just a moment before it melts into your very being, leaving your mouth feeling pleasantly slick. Butter doesn’t do that, at least not as well.
So I do find it thrilling to come across good quality lard. This weekend while in Ithaca, I stumbled across The Piggery, a farm-to-table butcher and deli that specializes in, well, just about everything having to do with pigs. Customers can buy all sorts of sausages, pates, tenderloins and chops – bacon, too, of course – but what tickled my fancy was a pint-sized takeout container of lard. My eyes glazed over: for only $4, I could create all sorts of delicious things: sauteed chard, roasted potatoes flecked with dill, biscuits. Oh, the biscuits!
You can be fussy about biscuits if you want (but please call them scones, and don’t bother coming to any brunch I host), though I think they’re best when made with a few honest ingredients and dropped directly onto a baking sheet with a spoon and a devil-may-care attitude. That’s the first thing I did with the lard I purchased. What comes next is still a mystery, but I do know one thing for sure: whatever it goes into will be deserving of only the very nicest of names.
Pepper and Cheese Biscuits
Makes 12
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 scant teaspoon salt
- Heaping 1/3 cup lard
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
- 1/4 cup shredded farm-style cheese
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Grease two baking sheets or else line with parchment paper, and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the lard and use a pastry cutter to work the dough until it looks chunky, like large pebbles. Add the milk and mix to combine. Alternately, you may do this in a food processor: simply whirr together the dry ingredients, then add the lard and pulse a few times before streaming in the milk. Either way, be careful not to overwork the dough. It will be very sticky.
Drop rounded spoonfuls of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, being sure to leave a bit of room to allow for spreading. Sprinkle the pepper and cheese over the tops of each biscuit and bake for 20 minutes, until risen and fragrant. Eat warm and, if you really feel like gilding the lily, with butter.