Animal Fats

Fats have disappeared from American dinner plates as a result of the war on fat waged over the past several decades and replaced by artificial products such as margarine and highly processed vegetable oils.

This move away from saturated fats did not provide the results that the experts promised it would – in fact, since we removed saturated fats from our diets rates of obesity and coronary heart disease have increased more rapidly than ever! After decades of declining national health we are now beginning to realize the role that high quality, nutrient dense animal fats play in a healthy human diet. However, while the desire to reintroduce fat to our plates is there, much of the knowledge of how to procure, handle and cook with these fats has been lost.

This class will teach participants how to acquire, process and prepare healthy fats from a variety of sources, the different qualities/attributes of fats from different animals and even different parts of the same animal, and will illustrate how to incorporate these fats into a number of different flavor and nutrient packed recipes. Class participants will process and render fats, learn about the flavor profiles and qualities of various fats, and prepare a variety of dishes that rely upon high quality, nutrient dense fats including Fermented Butter, healthy mayonnaise, roasted marrow bones, and lardo.

Students will learn about the:

1. Attributes of fats from various animals and from different cuts of the same animal,
2. How to render and process them and
3. How to incorporate them into a number of flavorful, nutritious recipes. 

Participants will:

1. Make butter,
2. Prepare pig fat,
3. Render lard, and
4. Make the best tasting, healthiest French fries they have ever tasted!
5. Roast marrow bones,
6. Produce marrow butter,
7. Prepare goose confit, and
8. Prepare lardo (a type of salumi)