Lard lovers, we now carry local lard in our meat section. The lard comes from The Naked Pig Meat Co. in Oakboro, North Carolina.
The company’s owners, the Hatley family, have been in North Carolina since 1720 and on their farm, Cambridgeshire, for four generations. The lard is aggregated from hogs of the NC Natural Hog Growers Association, of which the Hatleys are members. They raise Berkshire, Chester White, and Duroc hogs on pasture, and like the other members of the association, they supplement the hogs’ diet with only non-GMO feed, and follow humane, Animal Welfare Approved practices for slaughter.
The lard, or “leaf fat” comes from the fat surrounding the pigs’ internal organs, and is prized by chefs and bakers for cooking and baking. It is kettle rendered and triple filtered. It does not have a “porky” taste or smell like lard rendered from back fat. Naked Pig lard has been featured in Garden and Gun magazine. Try it in recipes like biscuits and pie crust in place of the butter or shortening.
Visit the Naked Pig online at https://www.thenakedpig.com.