On Tuesday, November 13th, I transported three hogs to the processing plant for paying customers. As this was my first venture in raising hogs for others, since all of these customers were family and friends, and as this was to be a practice run for the real, Berkshire run scheduled for the winter of 2013-2014, the three hogs were sold at cost.
The only compensation I received was those parts of the hogs that the other would have thrown away: head, fat and feet. I kept the fat and the feet and gave the heads away. I intend to learn how to make "hog-head cheese" one day but one thing at a time for what I have on the plate for today is cooking out the lard.
Youngblood rents the hunting rights to a bunch of Cajuns who are in camp today. One of those cajuns is reputedly a master at cooking out lard. I spoke with him last night and he agreed to help me render the lard today. I'll report back the results at the end of the day.
The reason I want the lard is mostly to make biscuits. Also, lard makes a the best pie crust I've ever eaten but as awesome as that pie crust is, I adore the qualities that lard and buttermilk impart to sourdough biscuits.
Here's the recipe:
2 slightly mounded cups of plain flour
1 Tbsp Sodium Free Baking Powder
1 cup Sourdough Starter
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup of lard
Mix baking powder and flour, cut in lard until mixture resembles the texture of coarse corn meal, add sour dough starter then buttermilk. Mix until a gooey mess. Pour into a dough-bowl with two more cups plain flour mixed with a 1 Tbsp of Sodium free baking powder. Knead the dough until it forms a stiff dough ball. Pinch dough into biscuit sized portions and, with well-floured hands, form into the desired shape. Bake in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 14 minutes then, without removing the biscuits from the oven, broil on high for an additional 2 minutes. Remove from oven, place on a cooling rack and paint tops and bottoms with melted butter.
Thank me later cause these ain't just no little bit better than any other biscuit I ever et. They WAY YONDER the best biscuits I've ever shoveled down my pie-hole.
Makes 8-12 biscuits depending on the size biscuit you like.