Forum: Author Hangout

Need more info. Maybe a little expansion and/or explanation of the quoted comment? I am intimately familiar with pork and beef fat and the smell associated with rendering it into lard. If I never smell it again it will be too soon.

1. I like sausage. No desire to see it made, physically or metaphysically!

2. If Mr. Shagrin is correct, raccoons are hotter than cats? Or is it the other way around?

3. Here's the whole quote:

"It does exactly what it advertises to do. However, raccoons are just too smart. Works on my cats though.
Published 3 months ago by Amazon Customer"

Here's the product: http://www.amazon.com/Leaf-Lard-Non-hydrogenated-16-Oz/dp/B00N09XSRK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1453846195&sr=8-2&keywords=leaf+lard

4. Did French fries the other night in lard. I am a believer.

Cheers,
bb

The place with the best fries in my neck of the woods uses peanut oil.

The major factors in cooking fries:

1. How they're cut,

2. How they're kept between cooking and cutting,

3. How soon after cutting you cook them,

4. Do you wash the excess carbs off before cooking, and do you add anything before cooking,

5. How long you cook them,

6. What you cook them in,

7. How hot the cooking medium is during cooking,

8. How long after cooking are they served to be eaten.

...................

My grandfather on my mother's side, had a chain of Fish & Chip shops across Sydney, NSW, Australia and my father ended up working for the business after they got married. I spent a lot of time after school and during school holidays with dad getting the chips ready for the shops. Even spent a lot of time cooking them when I was in my teens, and have cooked and eaten a lot for myself as well.

...........

Based on all the other factors being equal the best chips are obtained by cooking them in Pure Lard or Beef Dripping, Virgin Olive OIl is next best, but dump in after 4 uses (this makes it way to expensive to use in a commercial situation), then any oil except engine oil - strongly recommend against using engine oil, ruins the taste and your whole day (yes, I saw some idiot try it).

The length of time and initial temperature varies with the cross-sections of the chips cut.

Giving the chips a good wash after cutting makes them cook and taste better, regardless of what you cook in (except engine oil). If storing fresh cut chips put them in a glass or steel container and fill with water until covered, they'll last a long time that way. Pre-cut frozen chips never taste as good as fresh-cut chips, but if all else is done well they can be good. Often you can tell the difference between fresh-cut and pre-cut frozen on the first bite.

Let the fresh cut chips dry for a few minutes before cooking them.

Have the cooking medium up to temperature before adding the chips, never fill the cooking pot more than two thirds full of cooking medium, in small pots half full is often best. Always slowly lower the chip cage in or drop the chips in in small groups because a large quantity going in at once will cause the fat to boil and might overflow the container. - This is due to the last of the water on the chip surface.

Some places coat the chips with sugar water or water tinted with herbs before cooking to give them a slightly different taste.

He's referring to using the lard to bait a live trap to catch raccoons so that they can be relocated (probably out of his yard.) Clearly, he has outdoor cats and he keeps catching the cats rather than the raccoons.

Ah, got it. Dumb cats.

bb