Guest guest Posted June 27, 2010 Report Share Posted June 27, 2010 How long do you reuse lard for frying? I have done french fries and veggies and when I'm done I strain the fat through a container with a liner to catch the food particles. But, I fried chicken wings and am wondering is it safe to strain like usual and reuse it again? I worry because it is a meat and chicken at that. I just want to be sure I'm doing safe food handling. TIA!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 27, 2010 Report Share Posted June 27, 2010 If there is any specific data on the " rules " of reusing any cooking oil, including lard, I don't think I'd trust them. What I do trust is the odor of the oil as well as the color and consistency of the oil, especially once it's cooled back down. I would also trust the opinion of some of our TF local chefs in town like (or head chef at Brasa, Mark) how long they use their cooking oil and how they tell when to toss it. Obviously, you are way ahead of your oxidized friends who are still frying in vegetable oils! My own " Rules of Thumb " for home frying oils: 1) Unless you run a restaurant, I wouldn't get too carried away with serving fried food! No matter what your source materials may be, you are introducing some trans fats, some free radicles and some oxidized oils into your body. Hard going for your liver. As Pollan advises, fry something occasionally, but do it yourself, use the best ingredients, and do it right. 2) Never OVER-FRY your meat! The most common violation is " crispy bacon " . You just ruined the flavor, the texture and, most importantly, the healthfulness of it. Now your great pork is " junk food " . Same with any meat, actually. If you are using " safe " meats you don't need to over-cook it for health reasons. Scairdy-cat cooks who are deathly afraid of undercooked meats, destroy their health by zapping all the vitamins, enzymes and nutrients in the food, not to mention denaturing the protein and fat! The exception to over-cooking might be food from a " bad " restaurant, but, why are you doing sitting there eating bad meat, anyway? 2) I think a one-time use rule for animal fats is for the best. However, if I have bacon grease or fat from cooking pork or beef, I will save it and use it one more time. For many of us, biscuits made with fresh bacon grease is awesome! 3) More importantly, I think, is how you store these fats. Since the lard and tallow I use is neither hydrogenated, nor preserved with nitrites, tons of salt, BHA, BHT or Ethoxiquin, it will go RANCID quickly at room temperature and in just a week or two if left in the refrigerator. This is true of ALL bacon, ham or other pork that does nto have nitrates added. FREEZE lard until you are ready to use it, then use up the refrigerator container within a week or two, or refreeze it. Rancid lard smells bad and should never be eaten. 4) The DARK SIDE of eating food without preservatives, nitrites, or hydrogenation means you can't store it forever in the refrigerator. 5) Read MARY ENIG's fabulous KNOW YOUR FATS, as well as SMART FATS, and FATS AND OILS, all great books. NOURISHING TRADITIONS goes into this as well. Will Winter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.