Jamie Bissonnette's Pork Butter 3 Ways

Have you ever had one of those moments where you realize that you live in a bubble?  A strange, wonderful, delicious and healthy bubble, but a bubble none-the-less?  We've had a couple of those moments over the last few years as we've gotten deeper into the real/local/slow food scene.  Most recently at a local Westin A. Price Foundation meeting we shared our truffled pork butter, spread on toasted baguette, drizzled with honey and sprinkled with sea salt with the group.  I've never seen people so universally accept and appreciate spreadable, seasoned lard - a product I imagine many would shudder to consider eating.  

It made me think that we could really make some money selling products like this in our shop once it finally opens, but then I stepped back and questioned - is this for real?  Would other people be as into this product?  Or are we in a bubble?!  For those of you that are intrigued (and even those of you who are shuddering) Check out how we make it and give it a try if you're so inclined.  Taste it if you dare, and tell us what you think!  Or, serve it to unsuspecting family and friends without telling them what it is - I can't wait to hear if they like it.

The Process

Start with lots of pork fat.  Yes, lots and lots of pork fat.  Like five pounds of pork fat.  This is a great recipe to try if you ever buy a whole hog from a farmer.  You'll probably end up with more fat than you know what to do with - and voila - you've already got a pork butter recipe!

We chop the fat into reasonably sized chunks, then grind them in our meat grinder.  If you don't have a huge, over-sized grinder like we do, you can use a KitchenAid grinder attachment or even a food processor to grind the fat.  If you don't have any of those tools you can just dice the fat as small as you can do safely.  Fat is easier to chop when it's really cold, so keep that in mind if you go that route.

 

Throw your ground meat and the seasonings (wine, water, herbs and garlic) into a pot or crockpot and let it all simmer away on low for 2-4 hours.  The speed the fat renders at depends greatly on how finely you chopped or ground it, but it's crucial that you keep the heat low so that you don't burn the cracklings and give the pork butter a chicharones kind of flavor.  After an hour or so a lot of fat will be fully rendered and liquid.  As the rendering continues, the little bits that haven't rendered will start to turn golden brown.  As soon as these bits even start remotely browning we strain off all the delicious liquid setting the cracklings aside.  If you're into eating cracklings (I haven't really found the best way to eat them yet - I'm waiting to be converted, though!) throw them back on the stove and let them simmer until they are nicely browned to your liking.  I don't have the secret sauce here.  

Strain the rendered lard into a container that you can let it cool in.  We strain through a fine mesh strainer, then do a second strain through cheesecloth so that we get rid of any little bits.  For this recipe you need to let the lard fully harden in the refrigerator before whipping and adding the final seasonings. 

 So, here's where it gets good.  If you make enough of the base lard you can try all of these flavors to see which you prefer.  We started with five pounds of lard and were able to get six cups of rendered lard from that batch - which allowed us to do a 2 cup recipe of each flavor.  If you don't start with ground fat you might not have as high of a yield, so you'll have to pick your poison as far as the seasonings go.  There's the "Pepperoni Pizza" Pork Butter that wants to be slathered on focaccia and sprinkled with finely chopped basil.  And, there's the tried and true "Black Truffle Honey" Pork Butter that just needs a sprinkle of sea salt on a baguette or the "Salty/Savory/Sweet" flavor that smells like a Thai restaurant in the best possible way.  I want to sautee green beans in it.  Oh, and it's good straight out of the jar...

The final step of the process is to put two cups of the cooled rendered lard into the mixer with the paddle attachment, mix in the seasonings on a low speed, then whip it up for a minute or so until the texture is light and airy like a whipped butter!

 Scrape it all down, don't waste a drop, and package it up.  You could roll it in parchment paper to make a cube of "butter" or you could pack it in little mason jars.  We like to use the 4 oz mason jars that are so cute.  They make great gifts if you have the kind of friends and family that wants healthy yet decadent little treats like this!

Recipe

Ok.  The recipe is as follows - adapted from Jamie Bissonnette's "The New Charcuterie."

Rendered Lard Base

Ingredients

5 lb (2kg) pork fat (any type, hard or soft)
1 cup (237 ml) dry white wine
1 cup (237 ml) water
5 cloves garlic
1 fresh bay leaf
3 sprigs fresh thyme

Directions

Grind the pork fat or dice into small cubes.  Use a crockpot or a very heavy-bottomed Dutch oven with a lid.  Put everything in the pot.

If using a crockpot, cook 1 hour on high, then 1-2 hours on low.  If using a Dutch oven cook on low 2-3 hours, stirring every 10-15 minutes.  These times are shorter than in the original recipe.  If you grind the fat it will render much faster.

Once the pork fat is cooked, strain it through a fine-mesh sieve.  Place it in a bowl or casserole dish and let cool until it's firm like butter.

Salty/Savory/Sweet Version

Ingredients

1 tbsp (15g) green curry
1 tbsp (15g) sugar
1 tbsp (15ml) lime juice
1 tsp (5g) chopped garlic
2 tbsp (30ml) fish sauce
1 tsp (5g) course sea salt or fleur de sel

Directions

Once the rendered lard base is firm, put 2 cups (473ml) in an electric mixer with a paddle attachment and add green curry, sugar, lime juice, garlic and fish sauce.  Cream until it resembles whipped butter then transfer to a dish for serving, or storing.

Black Truffle Honey Butter

Ingredients

1 tbsp (15g) chopped rosemary
1 tbsp (15ml) honey
1/4 tsp (1.5ml) truffle oil (feel free to substitute real truffle if you have the money and inclination!  2 tbsp (30f) fresh, chopped black truffles will do the trick

Directions

Once the rendered lard base is firm, put 2 cups (473ml) in an electric mixer with a paddle attachment and add the rosemary, honey and truffle oil (or by all means add those real truffles!!)  Cream until its the consistency of whipped butter then transfer to a dish for serving, or storing.

Pepperoni Pizza Flavored Lardo

Ingredients

1 tsp (15g) paprika
1 tsp (5g) red chili flakes
1 tsp (5g) granulated garlic
1 tsp (5g) ground black pepper
1tsp (15ml) olive oil
1 tsp (5g) sea salt

Directions

Once the rendered lard base is firm, put 2 cups (473ml) in an electric mixer with a paddle attachment and add the paprika, red chili flakes, granulated garlic, ground black pepper, olive oil and sea salt.  Cream until its the consistency of whipped butter then transfer to a dish for serving, or storing.