Prog Chefs Unite!!!

^ Goose is often served with Red Current Jelly, so Cranberry would be fine I would imagine. I've always considered bread sauce to be an abomination, but each to their own

Mmmmm - potatoes/parsnips roasted in goose fat

Vicky and I are having duck this year; the fat's not quite as tasty as goose, but still makes excellent roasties!

All the above is fine talk coming from someone who was vegetarian for over 10 years

I know, but it's nasty pre-rendered stuff by comparison; no - I'll cook the duck on Christmas eve & use nice fresh fat for the roasties.

I am sorry to rain on your parade, but the idea of cooking things in animal fat really makes me shudder... Yes, I've read about that in cookbooks, but I've always had an aversion to animal fat and fatty meat (I always take the fat off my prosciutto, for instance, and the skin off chicken) - however tasty they may be.

I remember last summer in the US, when I bought refrigerated pie crust in order to make peach pie for the man of my dreams , I found out it contained lard - and when baking it smelled like sausages as well! The taste was nothing to write home about either... I only use butter for baking, and extra-virgin olive oil for cooking (sometimes for baking too), though lard is used in traditional baking in most regions of Italy.

Edited by Ghost Rider - December 13 2007 at 07:43

Extra-virgin Olive Oil is a little too overpowering for roast potatoes (and burns too easily IMO giving it a nasty bitter taste instead of the normally nice bitter taste of E-virgin), though other forms of vegitable oil are okay, I guess, at a push, just.

The British Lard Marketing board...Jim, that ad had me falling over laughing.  Absolutely priceless. 

If I fry up some bacon and cook some eggs in the drippins', I have to pour the majority of it out or else the eggs are just swimming in the stuff.

Man, now I'm hungry for a big breakfast. Favorite meal of the day.

E

E-Dub wrote: If I fry up some bacon and cook some eggs in the drippins', I have to pour the majority of it out or else the eggs are just swimming in the stuff.

Eggs need to be fried in a fair amount of fat (lard for preference, sorry Raff ), which is almost smoking hot initially, then turned down so the underneath doesn't burn; also remember to use a long handled spoon to 'baste' the top of the egg while they're frying; this way, you're guaranteed a well cooked egg with a liquid yolk - putting the cooked egg onto a piece of paper towel gets rid of most of the fat as well - fried eggs should not be fatty.

The same goes for bacon; if the fat's not hot enough, the meat will absorb it, if it's at the right temperature, it will seal the meat almost immediately, preventing fat from being absorbed.

This is the great thing about lard - it cooks at a much higher temperature & unlike a lot of processed, so called 'healthy' fats/oils, it's completely natural, so your body knows how to deal with it.

Bottom line - nothing wrong with a well-cooked fryup, so long as you don't live on the stuff.

Here endeth the lard lecture lesson.

Edited by Jim Garten - December 13 2007 at 12:37

I know Jim, I was veggie for 6 years,  Christmas was HELL, but it was actually one of E-dubs fry-ups that got me in the end.... I just NEEDED a bacon sandwich!

Jim Garten wrote: E-Dub wrote: If I fry up some bacon and cook some eggs in the drippins', I have to pour the majority of it out or else the eggs are just swimming in the stuff. Eggs need to be fried in a fair amount of fat (lard for preference, sorry Raff ), which is almost smoking hot initially, then turned down so the underneath doesn't burn; also remember to use a long handled spoon to 'baste' the top of the egg while they're frying; this way, you're guaranteed a well cooked egg with a liquid yolk - putting the cooked egg onto a piece of paper towel gets rid of most of the fat as well - fried eggs should not be fatty. The same goes for bacon; if the fat's not hot enough, the meat will absorb it, if it's at the right temperature, it will seal the meat almost immediately, preventing fat from being absorbed. This is the great thing about lard - it cooks at a much higher temperature & unlike a lot of processed, so called 'healthy' fats/oils, it's completely natural, so your body knows how to deal with it. Bottom line - nothing wrong with a well-cooked fryup, so long as you don't live on the stuff. Here endeth the lard lecture lesson.

Sometimes I cook eggs with maybe a pat of butter, but I've never gone overboard with it and it's been fine for me. Been doin' it like that for over 30 years and haven't had any complaints.

Sometimes I'll put bacon on a baking sheet and cook them in the oven at a high temperature. I find they don't curl up as much.

E