Where Can I Buy Lard In Thailand

[mpdkorat]

I'm trying to make authentic pork pies, but need pork lard to get the right taste. Anyone know where I can buy lard in Thailand. All I have been able to find so far is 'shortening' made from Palm oil.

[griser]

They do sell Crisco, Im not exactly sure what its made of, but It made to be used in baking recipes

Greg

[Phil Conners]

Lard is sold as a German delicacy under the name "Schmalz" in both Friendship and Best supermarkets in Pattaya.

[mpdkorat]

They do sell Crisco, Im not exactly sure what its made of, but It made to be used in baking recipes

Greg

I have been told about Crisco it's a well know US brand name, but I believe it is made from vegetable oil and is indeed a shortening. It might work with pork pies, but I would like to at least try to get Lard first.

Is Crisco easy to obtain in Thailand?

[mpdkorat]

Lard is sold as a German delicacy under the name "Schmalz" in both Friendship and Best supermarkets in Pattaya.

Thanks PC that good news, just need to get someone to run the guantlet to Pattaya to get it.

[Phil Conners]

Lard is sold as a German delicacy under the name "Schmalz" in both Friendship and Best supermarkets in Pattaya.

Thanks PC that good news, just need to get someone to run the guantlet to Pattaya to get it.

I'm sure you can find it in any supermarket catering to Germans.

[Tywais]

Is Crisco easy to obtain in Thailand?

I picked up some at Tesco Lotus. Not cheap though.

[sheepshank]

Mpdkorat; as you so rightly say in the title of this thread, lard is rendered pork fat. So why don't you render your own pork fat? I've been rendering (or more correctly, my wife has been rendering) locally purchased pork fat for years. Not only do I use it, soley, when making hot water crust pastry for raised pork pies but I also use it hasip/hasip with butter when making short crust pastry for pies/pasties and savoury flans.

Most locally-raised pork is sold minus the skin/ fat which is sold separately at approx 20baht per kg and is readily available. Cut up the skin/fat into small cubes, tip it into a wok and fry it slowly (stirring occasionally) until you are left with a pool of clear yellow liquid in the bottom. Drain off the liquid into a heat proof container, let it cool and then pour it into a plastic container (I use ice cream cartons). You can then leave it in the deep freeze compartment of your fridge to solidify. Once it has hardened you have "lard". What is left in the wok is known as "pork scratchings" to the British pub-goer.

When you make hot water crust pastry, cut off a lump of rendered pork fat (aka "lard") from your stash, bring it to the boil with the required amount of water and quickly pour it on to your flour and start stirring rapidly with a wooden spoon. It works every time, believe me.

I'm not a professional pastry chef, but a they say "(k)need is the mother of invention"!

[mpdkorat]

Thanks Sheepshank for the great post.

I have been looking into making my own lard but keep coming across leaf lard, the fat surrounding the internal organs. In your experience do you think that making lard from fat from any part of the pig makes much difference.

Mpdkorat; as you so rightly say in the title of this thread, lard is rendered pork fat. So why don't you render your own pork fat? I've been rendering (or more correctly, my wife has been rendering) locally purchased pork fat for years. Not only do I use it, soley, when making hot water crust pastry for raised pork pies but I also use it hasip/hasip with butter when making short crust pastry for pies/pasties and savoury flans.

[sheepshank]

Mpdkorat, glad to be of assistance. With respect to leaf lard; that sounds to me like the porcine equivilent of bovine suet (the fat which surrounds the kidneys). I would love like to get hold of some proper suet because I desparately want to make a beef steak and kidney pudding just like wot mum used to make, but that's another story.

So far as the pork fat is concerned, we only use the fat which covers the animals' muscles, usually loin, belly or leg, and I have no experience of fat covering internal organs. I hope you give my method a try. The results are worth the effort and you get the added bonus of a pile of pork scratchings to enjoy with your next can of Chang. Cheers!

[mpdkorat]

Mpdkorat, glad to be of assistance. With respect to leaf lard; that sounds to me like the porcine equivilent of bovine suet (the fat which surrounds the kidneys). I would love like to get hold of some proper suet because I desparately want to make a beef steak and kidney pudding just like wot mum used to make, but that's another story.

So far as the pork fat is concerned, we only use the fat which covers the animals' muscles, usually loin, belly or leg, and I have no experience of fat covering internal organs. I hope you give my method a try. The results are worth the effort and you get the added bonus of a pile of pork scratchings to enjoy with your next can of Chang. Cheers!

I will certainly give your method a try and thanks again for your assistance.

[gennisis]

Mpdkorat, glad to be of assistance. With respect to leaf lard; that sounds to me like the porcine equivilent of bovine suet (the fat which surrounds the kidneys). I would love like to get hold of some proper suet because I desparately want to make a beef steak and kidney pudding just like wot mum used to make, but that's another story.

So far as the pork fat is concerned, we only use the fat which covers the animals' muscles, usually loin, belly or leg, and I have no experience of fat covering internal organs. I hope you give my method a try. The results are worth the effort and you get the added bonus of a pile of pork scratchings to enjoy with your next can of Chang. Cheers!

Any thoughts on Beef suet.In UK can by ATORA for making dumplings,suetcrust pastry etc but dont see it here.I can do the rabbit stew but without dumplings its not the same

[sheepshank]

Hi gennisis, if we could buy Atora Shredded Suet in the LoS all our problems would be over! But I've never seen anything resembling it here either; and I've never had the brass neck to ask family visitors to hide some in their hand baggage because it's probably banned by Thai customs (BSE, Foot and Mouth etc). I mean to say when the customs saw the PG Tips tea bags in my brother's baggage last year they thought he was smuggling hash (and I DON'T mean the kind you make with a 12oz tin of Fray Bentos corned beef!).

It's a crying shame, but there is just no substitute for beef suet if you want a light and smoothly textured pastry for dumplings, S&K pie, steamed puddings, need I go on, because butter and margerine shortening just doesn't "cut-the-mustard" IMO.

There may be a way around your problem however. If you know your local cattle slaughterer/beef butcher you may be able to persuade them to save you the two kidneys, c/w suet covering, the next time you are stocking up with fresh beef for your deep freeze. It might work, you never know, and you might find enough suet for one S&K pudding.

For my part, I own over 40 head of beef cattle; I've sold 10 for slaughter so far this year and I've never had so much as a sniff of any suet. As they say, life's a bitch and then you die.

[jazzbo]

Hello K. Sheep -- go to a market and ask 'nam maan moo mai (?)'

[sheepshank]

Hi jazzbo; Yes you are correct "pig oil". I see it regularly in my local market, hanging up in plastic bags at most stalls selling moo. They look like bags of p1ss and they retail at 10-20 baht per bag depending on the quantity. I was thinking about mentioning it in a previous post but as I have never used it I didn't feel qualified to comment.

Anyway, I have always preferred to take the fat from a freshly killed animal and render it down myself because you just don't know how long the stuff in the market has been hanging around for.

I've also taught myself to make pork sausages because I don't trust the quality of the produce in the local market. And before anybody asks, you can buy salted-down skins "sai moo"(?), for 250 baht per kg, if you ask nicely, at any stall which sells pork and/or sausages in your local market .

[jumnien]

I've been here 10 years in Thailand and I have it on good authority that foreigners are not allowed to own lard legally in their own name in Thailand. Many foreigners do own lard in their Thai spouse's name. Some form companies and then register the lard in their companies name although recently this has been frowned on by authorities. I suggest all foreigners seek legal counsel before buying any lard in Thailand. I hope this is helpful.

[sheepshank]

[gennisis]

Hi gennisis, if we could buy Atora Shredded Suet in the LoS all our problems would be over! But I've never seen anything resembling it here either; and I've never had the brass neck to ask family visitors to hide some in their hand baggage because it's probably banned by Thai customs (BSE, Foot and Mouth etc). I mean to say when the customs saw the PG Tips tea bags in my brother's baggage last year they thought he was smuggling hash (and I DON'T mean the kind you make with a 12oz tin of Fray Bentos corned beef!).

It's a crying shame, but there is just no substitute for beef suet if you want a light and smoothly textured pastry for dumplings, S&K pie, steamed puddings, need I go on, because butter and margerine shortening just doesn't "cut-the-mustard" IMO.

There may be a way around your problem however. If you know your local cattle slaughterer/beef butcher you may be able to persuade them to save you the two kidneys, c/w suet covering, the next time you are stocking up with fresh beef for your deep freeze. It might work, you never know, and you might find enough suet for one S&K pudding.

For my part, I own over 40 head of beef cattle; I've sold 10 for slaughter so far this year and I've never had so much as a sniff of any suet. As they say, life's a bitch and then you die.

I dont believe that Suet,Atora if you like comes only from the fat arround the kidneys,when I say I dont believe this its simply because there arent enough kidneys to keep Atora supplied are there???

So,I saw at Rimping last week some very fatty brisket.If rendered down I would get what I would call :dripping". Would be great for proper chips ..ala ..Harry Ramsdens.. but.what about being able to use it as Suet for pastry??? any thoughts.

Reminds me as a kid at the end of WW2 eating dripping on bread with pepper and salt....thought it was delicious in those days.

[sheepshank]

Maybe Wikipedia could help you in your quest for more information about beef suet because I'm by no means an expert on the subject.

For my part I have, within the last 30 mins, purchased a 250gm pack of pukkha Original Atora Shredded Suet at a specialist purveyor of Fine Farang Foods (pies, sausages, black pudding, bacon etc) in Khon Kaen called Donna's Farang Foods.

I'm off to make me a steak and kidney pudding now. First one in five years. Oh joy!!!!!!!!

[mpdkorat]

Hi jazzbo; Yes you are correct "pig oil". I see it regularly in my local market, hanging up in plastic bags at most stalls selling moo. They look like bags of p1ss and they retail at 10-20 baht per bag depending on the quantity. I was thinking about mentioning it in a previous post but as I have never used it I didn't feel qualified to comment.

Anyway, I have always preferred to take the fat from a freshly killed animal and render it down myself because you just don't know how long the stuff in the market has been hanging around for.

I've also taught myself to make pork sausages because I don't trust the quality of the produce in the local market. And before anybody asks, you can buy salted-down skins "sai moo"(?), for 250 baht per kg, if you ask nicely, at any stall which sells pork and/or sausages in your local market .

Made the lard yesterday as per your instructions, worked out very well. I was assisted by the mother in law. When she saw what I was doing she said you can get that in the market for 15 baht (Pig Oil) She then took me to the market and there it was a bag of pig oil hanging there. I will try that next time. With regards to the 'Sai Moo' thats my next project making sausages.

[jazzbo]

K. Korat -- I have making some sausage meat lately -- haven't bothered with the casings -- based on the spices available locally I make a Chorizo-style -- everything but paprika a Thai-grown product.

[JR Texas]

K. Korat -- I have making some sausage meat lately -- haven't bothered with the casings -- based on the spices available locally I make a Chorizo-style -- everything but paprika a Thai-grown product.

JR Texas: Pig Oil.......is that the yellow-looking stuff they sell in the plastic bags? Also, I used to cook bacon back in the USA. Of course, when you cook bacon (if you are from Britain I think you call this something else) you get fat drippings. I would put those drippings (hot) in a coffee can. Then after it cooled down, I would put in in the refrigerator. Later, it would form two layers......on top was a "cap" that looked very greasy and gray. Below that was a "jelly-like" substance. Of these two, which is LARD? Thanks.

[gennisis]

K. Korat -- I have making some sausage meat lately -- haven't bothered with the casings -- based on the spices available locally I make a Chorizo-style -- everything but paprika a Thai-grown product.

JR Texas: Pig Oil.......is that the yellow-looking stuff they sell in the plastic bags? Also, I used to cook bacon back in the USA. Of course, when you cook bacon (if you are from Britain I think you call this something else) you get fat drippings. I would put those drippings (hot) in a coffee can. Then after it cooled down, I would put in in the refrigerator. Later, it would form two layers......on top was a "cap" that looked very greasy and gray. Below that was a "jelly-like" substance. Of these two, which is LARD? Thanks.

The lard will be the fat layer ontop of the jelly.....tasty on toast

[sheepshank]

Hey Gennisis,

I've just seen some very fatty brisket too, at Makro in Khon Kaen this morning, when I was there to buy a leg of lamb for tonight's dinner (yum yum). And, do you know what? It looks hard enough, and I think it'll do the same job for dumplings, S&K pudding etc as Atora (which is 85% fat and 15% flour) or the fat around ox kidneys, so why don't you give it a try with brisket fat.

BTW, you don't have to render the fat down, same same lard, when you use it to make suet crust pastry. Chop up the required quantity of fat very, very finely with a sharp knife and add it to the sifted flour before mixing it up into a dough with water and rolling it out.

This'll tickle you. My wife bought a few kg of (very) freshly killed beef in our village last weekend. She came away with a couple of kidneys for a S&K pudding and, do you know what? There was no fat covering those <deleted> p1ss strainers. When I asked her why no fat? She said: "Oh, he cut fat off and threw it in bin because he think you no want". My wife has been re-briefed!

[slapout]

If you are in Chiang Mai you can purchase lard in most of the Thai shops selling flour etc. for bakery's. The Wife calls it white butter and buys it in 1 kilo. packages. I would think it would be avaliable in most of the larger cities where they have bakerys which need supplies.

[JR Texas]

K. Korat -- I have making some sausage meat lately -- haven't bothered with the casings -- based on the spices available locally I make a Chorizo-style -- everything but paprika a Thai-grown product.

JR Texas: Pig Oil.......is that the yellow-looking stuff they sell in the plastic bags? Also, I used to cook bacon back in the USA. Of course, when you cook bacon (if you are from Britain I think you call this something else) you get fat drippings. I would put those drippings (hot) in a coffee can. Then after it cooled down, I would put in in the refrigerator. Later, it would form two layers......on top was a "cap" that looked very greasy and gray. Below that was a "jelly-like" substance. Of these two, which is LARD? Thanks.

The lard will be the fat layer ontop of the jelly.....tasty on toast

JRTexas: The white stuff at the top is actually LARD? It is tasty on toast? It looks like something you use to grease the car! Oh well.........I will give it a try. Thanks for the info.

[mpdkorat]

Hi jazzbo; Yes you are correct "pig oil". I see it regularly in my local market, hanging up in plastic bags at most stalls selling moo. They look like bags of p1ss and they retail at 10-20 baht per bag depending on the quantity. I was thinking about mentioning it in a previous post but as I have never used it I didn't feel qualified to comment.

Anyway, I have always preferred to take the fat from a freshly killed animal and render it down myself because you just don't know how long the stuff in the market has been hanging around for.

I've also taught myself to make pork sausages because I don't trust the quality of the produce in the local market. And before anybody asks, you can buy salted-down skins "sai moo"(?), for 250 baht per kg, if you ask nicely, at any stall which sells pork and/or sausages in your local market .

Made the lard yesterday as per your instructions, worked out very well. I was assisted by the mother in law. When she saw what I was doing she said you can get that in the market for 15 baht (Pig Oil) She then took me to the market and there it was a bag of pig oil hanging there. I will try that next time. With regards to the 'Sai Moo' thats my next project making sausages.

Now made the sausages and the pork pies. Turned out quite well for a first try.

[mickTowers]

Hi,

In Bangkok, lard is readily available at Villa Markets at a price it's easy enough to render pork fat to make your own as has been mentioned. With the temperature in Thai and the humidity it becomes very soft for pastry making (other than Hot Crust ) and nixing 2 parts of rendered lard with 1 part coconut oil, available in just about any market produces a much firmer "lard" a much better product for this country.

Suet is only obtained in any quantity from around the kidney of beef or lamb, usually needs to be ordered from your beef supplier. It can be shaved or grated and used as "Atora" but you have the slight problem of the stringy membrain running through it. A better way is to render it gently, pour off, and when cold and solidified, either grate or if you have access to a mincer then mince it. it's what British housewives did before the war when most didn't go out to work. The reason that suet is used is because it melts at a higher temperature than other cookin fats, allowing steamed puddings etc. to rise to their wonderful fluffy state before the fat melts and "sets" the puddings.Hope this helps.

Regards

Mick Towers

Edited July 6, 2007 by Buckwheat
Email address removed, please see Forum Rules

[jazzbo]

Hello Sheepshank -- Where is Donna's Farang Foods in Khon Kaen??

...and to M. Khorat I found this interesting XLS spreadsheet on sausage making spice proportions ... 'hope the attachment works.

sausage.xls

[mpdkorat]

Hello Sheepshank -- Where is Donna's Farang Foods in Khon Kaen??

...and to M. Khorat I found this interesting XLS spreadsheet on sausage making spice proportions ... 'hope the attachment works.

http://www.donnasfoods.com/

And thanks for the spread sheet