Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Ok, I'll bite. What is the name of the good leaf lard place? I googled, and there are 2 options plus Amazon. The shipping seems awful, but it is really now worse that KAF TIA

Alina, I get mine here http://www.dietrichsmeats.com/Lard.html. That's who Amy steered me to years ago. Although they have the website, you need to call them to place the order. The shipping depends on how many pounds you get. And since it freezes really well for at least a year, it can't hurt to get a little more than you'll need right away. You just might not need 15 pounds at a time

And one thing I've learned is that lard never gets as hard as butter (similar to shortening) so although I keep a pound in the fridge, I always put it in the freezer before I'm going to use it in a crust. And it requires a little more time under pie weights or whatever when blind baking a crust.

It's also great when you need a fat in other recipes, although of course not all. Often I sub some for butter in savory things like pot pies when I'm sauteing the vegetables, for example. And I've got my "lard speech" down pat. Whenever anyone asks how my crusts or biscuits are so flakey, I tell them it's because of the lard, and then I ignore their astonished expression and immediately proceed with the fact that lard is actually healthier than butter, albeit it a bit higher in calories.

Emilie

Alina, I also get my leaf lard from Dietrich's; the quality is wonderful. Just close your eyes and don't think about the shipping. BTW, this is a good time to get it as there's no concern about hot temperatures during shipping.
Emilie's advice is right on, I use my lard in the same ways and it vastly improves the quality of my baked goods. In fact, I gave a couple pounds to a friend who makes fabulous pies for a farmers' market and her customers said those were the best she'd ever made.

Emilie, I chuckled when you mentioned you had a "lard speech". A local bbq place has this tshirt. Hope the link works.

http://smuqb.aymhg.servertrust.com/v/vs ... e20-2T.jpg

That link worked and that shirt is flat-out fabulous, Empty Nester.

Thanks!

Emilie

p.s. I'm going to order one the next time I have a weak online shopping moment: http://smuqb.aymhg.servertrust.com/Prod ... Code=Tee20

Emilie , do you prebake the crust for the onion tart? If so, how long? Also, could you explain the purpose of blanching the bacon?
I have purchased the rectangular tart pan and would like to make this soon.
Any tips for using a tart pan?
I have learned much from your comments. Thanks for your help.

Emilie, a couple more questions re tart. Do you slice or shred the cheese? Also is the salt measure table or kosher. Also is crust pre-baked? TIA.

Hey ladies, so sorry I'm just now seeing this. I need to change my settings so I get notified when there's a response to a post. Janet, I'm delighted I can be of help, although I think my contributions aren't much compared to many on this board who are way more intuitive/creative in their cooking than I am. I've got to have a recipe! Actually I was really tempted to make this tart yesterday to go with the Thanksgiving fare. (I ended up forgetting to get fennel so couldn't do the pearl onions and fennel recipe that Linda posted.) But in the end, I already had plenty of options that fed 13. Plus we were having 3 types of pie for dessert so we didn't really need something else with a crust.

So, I don't pre-bake the crust. I just make one using Kenji's Easy Pie Dough recipe (I usually double or triple the recipe so I'll have one in the freezer the next time I need crust). I roll it out and then gently roll it around the rolling pin and then place it over/fit it in the tart pan. As far as blanching the bacon, I'm no expert when it comes to the science behind things, but maybe it's because it keeps any grease from collecting on the top of the tart? Plus it gives it a jump start for cooking, since sometimes when baking things with raw bacon on top the bacon never gets all the way done. Actually though sometimes for this tart I just use bacon that I've already cooked but not to the point of being crispy. The recipe is pretty forgiving when it comes to that. And I just bake it until it doesn't shake in the middle, probably about 45 minutes. Oh, and I always use fresh nutmeg, if that makes any difference.

And as far as the tart pan, Janet, yours has a removable bottom, right? That's what I have and it works great. Be sure to bake the tart on a rimmed sheet pan, though, b/c it usually leaks a little. Then once it's done, I usually put a couple of skinny bottles (spice jars, or hot sauce) on the counter and then when I set the tart pan on top of them, the outside of the pan falls down (sometimes it takes a little nudging) and then I can easily slide the tart onto a cutting board to slice into rectangles.

I shred the cheese and use table salt, Alina. And I keep the heat fairly low when I'm sauteeing the onions because otherwise it's really easy for them to get brown. But I'm famous for getting distracted when I'm doing things like toasting nuts or coconut or browning something that doesn't require constant attention, and then once I remember, those nuts are a smokin'

That's all I can think of at the moment, except that now I'm really craving onion tart.

Emilie

Emilie, many thanks for your tips and info!

I made the tart and thought it was delicious!
Not having used a rectangular tart pan, I managed to fit the pastry in fairly well and attempted prebaking with parchment and dried beans as weights. Next time I will skip that step.

I will try your method of getting the sides to drop down. "My" method was rather awkward...but...somehow it worked. Hopefully, I will be wiser next time around(lol)!

I certainly appreciate your reply.

Happy baking,
Janet