Frying in lard: what it is and how it's used in Mexican food

What is it?

Frying in pork lard is one of the most characteristic techniques of traditional Mexican cooking, where pork fat is used as a cooking medium to fry, brown, refry and caramelise practically all kinds of ingredients. It is essential to prepare Michoacán carnitas (pork cooked in its own fat until golden), tamales (where the dough is whipped with lard to make it fluffy), refried beans (which take their name precisely from refrying in lard), crisp tortillas (totopos, tostadas), pork crackling, gorditas, sopes, picadas and practically any fried treat. Lard provides a deep flavour, unctuousness, browns ingredients with a characteristic golden-shiny finish and withstands high temperatures without burning. It has been questioned in recent decades over cardiovascular health concerns, but it is being re-evaluated by modern nutritionists and chefs as a noble and traditional ingredient.

Origin and history

Pork lard reached Mexico with the Spanish conquest in 1521 along with the pig, an animal unknown in Mesoamerica before the conquest (the Mesoamericans cooked with duck, turkey or fish fat, or simply without fat when roasting). The pig adapted perfectly to the Mexican climate and bred prolifically on colonial haciendas and backyards, becoming the principal meat animal of mestizo cooking. According to Larousse Cocina, lard became popular in New Spain from the sixteenth century as the most practical means of preserving and making use of the pig: it is obtained by cooking the pork fat over a low heat until clarified, and it keeps for months without refrigeration. Michoacán carnitas developed especially in Quiroga (Michoacán) during the nineteenth century as a technique of cooking a whole pig in copper vats with its own lard, salt, orange and sometimes milk, until perfectly golden. México Desconocido documents that traditional tamales require lard to make the maize dough fluffy: the raw dough mixed with lard and whipped for 15-30 minutes traps air that makes it light when cooked. The cardiovascular concern of the 1970s-90s partly displaced lard in favour of vegetable oils in urban kitchens, but nutritionally lard has 40% saturated fat and 60% unsaturated fats, a more balanced proportion than palm or coconut oil.

Characteristic ingredients

Frying in lard has specific applications. For carnitas: large cubes of pork (shoulder, ribs, loin, belly, skin) are submerged in a vat of hot clean lard (ideally copper, per Larousse Cocina) and cooked over a low-medium heat for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally. The fat first boils owing to the water the pieces release; when it evaporates, the real frying begins that browns the surface. At the end, salt, garlic, orange, bay leaves and sometimes milk or cola are added to caramelise. For tortillas and tostadas: lard is heated in a pan to 170-180°C; the tortillas are fried for 30-60 seconds per side until golden and crisp. For refried beans: lard is heated in a pan; cooked beans with their broth are added and mashed while frying, until thickened and superficially caramelised. For tamales: the nixtamal dough is mixed with clarified lard in a 1:3 to 1:4 proportion (lard:dough) and whipped until it 'floats' (a ball of dough floats in water, a sign of correct aeration). For pork crackling: the pork skin with a little meat attached is first cooked in water, then fried in lard at 180-200°C until it puffs up and browns. For general frying (gorditas, sopes, empanadas): lard at 170-180°C for crisp frying without excessive absorption.

Cultural significance

Pork lard is a traditional ingredient of Mexican cooking and part of the UNESCO dossier of traditional Mexican cuisine inscribed in 2010. The recent nutritional re-evaluation, together with the slow-food movement and the recovery of traditional cooking, has rehabilitated lard as a noble fat, especially artisanal farm pork lard (not industrial). Recent studies show that the lard of pasture-raised pigs has a favourable nutritional profile, with a high content of vitamin D and monounsaturated fats similar to olive oil. Haute Mexican cuisine restaurants such as Pujol, Quintonil, Casa Oaxaca, Origen and others have reincorporated lard as a premium ingredient. Sunday carnitas are a deeply rooted tradition of central and western Mexico: Quiroga (Michoacán) receives thousands of visitors every weekend who come to eat carnitas in copper vats. Traditional rural and neighbourhood cooking never abandoned lard; markets, tianguis and eateries continue to use lard for beans, tortillas and stews. The conservation of the Mexican hairless pig or cerdo pelón (an endangered criollo breed) is an important contemporary cause. The price of artisanal lard in gourmet markets exceeds that of industrial vegetable oils, a sign of its revaluation.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between pork lard and vegetable oil?

Pork lard is an animal fat solid at room temperature, with a distinctive flavour and a high smoke point (190-200°C). It provides a deep flavour, a golden-reddish browning and a crisp texture. Vegetable oils (sunflower, canola, corn) are liquid, neutral in flavour and of plant origin. Lard withstands high temperatures better without oxidising, while vegetable oils oxidise more easily when reheated, generating potentially harmful free radicals.

Is pork lard healthy?

Nutritionally, lard has 40% saturated fat and 60% unsaturated fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated), a balanced proportion. It has natural vitamin D in pasture-raised pigs. The traditional cardiovascular concern has been qualified by recent studies that emphasise that the moderate consumption of natural saturated fats is not as harmful as was believed. Artisanal lard from healthy pigs is preferable to industrial hydrogenated lard.

Why are carnitas cooked in lard?

The technique of cooking pork in its own lard has several advantages: 1) Preservation: pork cooked and submerged in lard keeps for weeks without refrigeration. 2) Flavour: the caramelised fat gives a unique deep flavour. 3) Texture: the long cooking softens and then browns the surface. 4) Tradition: a technique inherited from the French confit and from Spanish convent cooking, adapted in Michoacán since the nineteenth century.

Where does frying in lard come from in Mexico?

Frying in lard arrived with the Spaniards after the conquest in 1521, along with the pig, an animal previously unknown in Mesoamerica. It became popular on colonial haciendas and in convents during the sixteenth-eighteenth centuries. Michoacán carnitas are a colonial-mestizo technique developed in Quiroga (Michoacán) in the nineteenth century. Today it is a fundamental technique of traditional Mexican cooking, especially in Michoacán, Oaxaca, Puebla, Mexico City and the whole of central Mexico.