First, the bad news: Global warming is coming. The bees are disappearing. And now your 401(k) is battling the Dow in a financial limbo contest. How low can you go?
But now, the good news: FAT IS BACK!
That’s right, friends. Good ol’ animal fat: well-marbled beef, pork belly, potatoes fried in duck fat. All those things we’ve been avoiding like the plague for the sake of our hearts and our waistlines are suddenly becoming fashionable again. What gives?
Jennifer McLagan has an idea. “The best computer projections generated by fat researchers reveal that a low-fat diet may add a mere two weeks to our life,” she writes in the introduction to her new book, unselfconsciously titled “Fat” (Ten Speed Press, $32.50).
“Is it worth it?” she wonders. “I don’t think so, though an existence without flavorful fat would seem very long indeed.”
The problem, according to McLagan, is that even though we need fat in our diet, we’ve been scared off of animal fats because of their high concentration of saturated fats.
“Even people who like food have an alarm going off in their head,” she said in a recent interview. “But, the more research I did, the more I found that fat is really good for you, in moderation.”
Ah, the “M” word.
Moderation: The notion that nothing is bad for you in and of itself. Rather, it is overindulgence that causes problems.
If we can moderate our appetites, we can enjoy all things.
New York University’s Marion Nestle agreed. “Is fat evil?” she asked. “No. Can you eat animal fat? Of course. You can eat just about anything you want as long as you don’t overeat.”
And there lies the problem.
“Everybody overeats,” said Nestle, a professor in the university’s department of food studies, nutrition and public health, “and it’s not that Americans overeat by 50 calories a day, but by hundreds and hundreds of calories a day and the body cannot compensate.”
McLagan believes this epidemic of overconsumption is largely related to our culture of eating for the wrong reasons at the wrong times.
“People eat because they’re bored or just walking down the street,” McLagan said. “They’re not sitting down and eating a meal in moderation and then not snacking in between.”
McLagan further believes that including good-quality animal fat in that meal will start us down the road to wellness. “Because fat is digested slowly,” she writes, “eating it leaves us feeling sated, and we’re less likely to snack between meals. Eat the right fats and you’ll probably lose weight.”
Indeed, much has been made of the so-called “French Paradox,” the observation that even though people in France have a diet rich in animal fats, they tend to be thinner and have a lower incidence of coronary disease than their American counterparts. McLagan suggests that this phenomenon may reflect not so much the presence of fat in European diets as it does the absence of processed food.
“We have reduced our intake of animal fats, but at the same time the total amount of fat in our diet has increased,” she writes. “We have replaced animal fats with man-made hydrogenated fats, which are full of trans fats.”
It’s no wonder, then, that many American chefs have continued to use animal fats despite their bad rap. “I’ve always worked for chefs that strive for European flavors and tradition,” said Paul Virant, chef/owner of Vie in Western Springs. “And now we buy all whole animals, beef, pork and lamb, so we usually have suet, beef fat or tallow, lard, and we have schmaltz a lot.”
At times, Virant’s menu reads like a love letter to fat: potato gnocchi with pork confit, house-made pastrami with creme fraiche, seared scallops with a house-made lardo vinaigrette. “I’ve always done what tastes good, and I’m a big advocate of moderation too,” Virant said. “I mean, you don’t have to eat cracklings every day of your life.
“Fat” is divided into four sections: butter, pork fat, poultry fat, and beef and lamb fats. Each section begins with a discussion of the various subcategories of fat involved along with information regarding its chemical makeup and various health risks and benefits.
The bulk of the book, however, is made up of recipes. Some are standards like roast beef and Yorkshire pudding or spaghetti carbonara. Others, like miso and orange-roasted pork belly, bacon mayonnaise or bone marrow crostini, are more reflective of modern restaurant cooking. But what they all have in common is fat.
“What works better with beef than beef fat?” McLagan asked. “And what works better with lamb than lamb fat?”
For Brian Huston, the executive chef of The Publican in Chicago, using animal fat is as much about frugality as is about flavor.
“For us, it’s really about using the whole animal, utilizing every part that you can, whether it’s the feet or the skin,” said Huston, whose menu includes house-made chicharrons (deep-fried pork skin).
Frugality is an old-fashioned concept, from the days before supermarkets stocked shelves with individually wrapped animal parts, before city-sponsored garbage trucks carted off our waste to unseen places. But it’s a simple concept: Make use of everything and don’t let anything go to waste. And now that concept is coming back.
“I feel like people are embracing more traditional flavors and preparations,” Virant said, “and I think it’s because of farmers markets and supporting local farms and producers and restaurants like us, and it’s about going back to the old ways.”
And this, perhaps, is the most profound idea behind McLagan’s book, the notion that a return to the consumption of animal fats is part and parcel of the return to a more natural–and therefore more healthful–existence.
“To share and pass on the knowledge of food means being active participants, not passively watching celebrity chefs and then ordering takeout food,” she writes. “It requires understanding where our food comes from, respecting the animals we kill, and being able to cook them–all of them, including the fat.”
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The lowdown on fat
Fats are lipids, a group of substances found in plants and animals that will not dissolve in water. (Cholesterol is another lipid.) Fats are made up of fatty acids, which are chains of carbon atoms that have a pair of hydrogen atoms at every link. If all the pairs are present, we say the chain is fully saturated with hydrogen, hence, “saturated fats.” Chains with one pair missing are called “monounsaturated,” and chains with two or more pairs missing are called “polyunsaturated.”
Trans fatty acids are found naturally in butter and some animal fats, but they are more commonly the result of adding hydrogen atoms to polyunsaturated fats to make them solid at room temperature
All fats contain both saturated and unsaturated fats, and the percentages determine the character of the fat. The higher percentage of saturated fat, the more solid the fat is and the more stable it is. Thus, animal fats such as butter and lard, which have a high saturated-fat content, are solid at room temperature.
For health, aim for fats with a higher percentage of mono- and polyunsaturated fats.
Different types of fat from different animals have specific names. Here’s a brief rundown:
*Caul fat: Resembling a white shawl, this fatty membrane surrounds an animal’s internal organs.
*Fatback: The fat just below the skin on the back of the pig.
*Lard: Rendered, clarified pork fat. Leaf lard is found around the pig’s kidneys.
*Schmaltz: Generally refers to rendered chicken fat, though in its German origin it can be used to cover any type of rendered fat.
*Suet: The fat found around a cow’s or sheep’s kidneys.
*Tallow: Rendered beef or lamb fat.
— James P. DeWan
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Animal fats: They’re not the same
PERCENTAGES OF FAT TYPES IN ANIMAL FAT
Note: Because fat contains both water and connective tissue, the numbers below will not add up to 100 percent. Also, the numbers are approximate and will differ depending on an animal’s breed and its diet. %% Fat Saturated Monounsaturated Polyunsaturated Butter 50 30 4 Beef tallow and suet 50 42 4 Chicken 30 45 21 Duck 33 50 13 Goose 28 57 11 Turkey 29 43 23 Lamb tallow 47 40 9 Lard 39 45 11 SOURCE: “FAT,” BY JENNIFER MCLAGAN (TEN SPEED PRESS, 2008) %% – – –
Sources
Looking for specialty fats? They can be hard to find. That’s one reason author Jennifer McLagan suggests making your own. Her book, “Fat,” contains directions for making rendered lard, beef tallow, duck fat and more.
We did find leaf lard and duck fat at butcher shops, including Gepperth’s Meat Market and Paulina Market in Chicago, and Casey’s Market in Naperville (you have to special order the leaf lard). Or, try asking your local butcher to order special fats for you.
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Squash and bacon soup
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 1 hour
Rest: 15 minutes
Makes: 12 servings
Adapted from “Fat,” by Jennifer McLagan. “When you start with bacon, you can make a soup simply using water rather than stock,” she writes. “Many vegetables balance bacon by soaking up that salty, smoky flavor and blending it with their own.” Any winter squash works here, and if you would rather not wrestle with one, many produce sections sell bags of chopped squash.
1/2 pound bacon slices
1 large onion, sliced
1 rib celery, sliced
1 large spring fresh sage
8 cups water
1 winter squash (about 3 1/3 pounds), peeled, chopped
1 tablespoon coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper
1. Heat a large saucepan over medium-low heat; add the bacon. Cook until fat is mostly rendered; add the onion, celery and sage, stirring to coat. Cook until vegetables soften slightly, 7 minutes.
2. Add 1 cup of the water; increase heat to high. Cook, stirring and scraping up the browned bits, 2 minutes; add remaining 7 cups of the water, squash, salt and pepper to taste. Heat mixture to a boil, about 5 minutes; lower heat. Simmer, covered, until squash is very soft, about 30 minutes. Remove sage; let soup cool slightly, about 15 minutes.
3. Puree soup, in batches, in a blender (if soup is still warm, remove the small top on the lid of the blender to release steam); pour into a clean saucepan. Adjust seasoning; reheat to serve.
Nutrition information
Per serving: 69 calories, 33% of calories from fat, 3 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 7 mg cholesterol, 9 g carbohydrates, 3 g protein, 633 mg sodium, 2 g fiber
Leaf lard pastry
Prep: 10 minutes
Chill: 30 minutes
Makes: Enough for a double-crust 9-inch pie
“Light and flaky, this is my husband’s favorite pastry,” writes Jennifer McLagan in “Fat.” “Lard pastry is easier to make and roll than an all-butter one and provides a more neutral background, allowing the flavor of the fruit to shine … Replacing half of the lard with cold butter will yield a flaky pastry with a buttery flavor.” This pastry freezes well.
2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup (4 1/2 ounces) chilled leaf lard, diced
1/3 cup ice-cold water
1. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a food processor; pulse to mix. Add the lard; pulse until the lard is reduced to pea-sized pieces, about 15 seconds. Turn the mixture into a bowl.
2. Pour the water over the flour mixture; mix with a fork. Squeeze a bit of the mixture between your fingers. If it holds together, transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface; if not, add another few teaspoons of ice water and test again. Gently knead the dough into a ball. Divide the pastry in half; flatten into 2 disks. Wrap each in plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 30 minutes before using.
Nutrition information
Per serving (for 8 servings): 266 calories, 59% of calories from fat, 17 g fat, 7 g saturated fat, 16 mg cholesterol, 24 g carbohydrates, 3 g protein, 180 mg sodium, 1 g fiber
Buerre de Gascogne
Recipe key: Fast
Prep: 5 minutes
Makes: 1/4 cup
This mixture of duck fat and garlic is traditionally added to dried bean dishes, writes Jennifer McLagan in “Fat.” It also can be used as a spread for bread. It’s OK to substitute butter.
1/4 cup duck fat
10 cloves garlic confit, see recipe
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Place the duck fat in a small bowl; squeeze the soft garlic from its skin, adding to the fat. Stir in parsley, salt and pepper.
Nutrition information
Per tablespoon: 125 calories, 90% of calories from fat, 13 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 13 mg cholesterol, 3 g carbohydrates, 0 g protein, 147 mg sodium, 0 g fiber
Butter-poached scallops
Recipe key: Easy, Fast
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 2 minutes
Makes: 4 appetizer servings
“I first got the idea of poaching in butter while reading Thomas Keller’s ‘The French Laundry Cookbook,’ Jennifer McLagan writes in her book, “Fat.” “I immediately made his butter-poached lobster. It was delicious, but far too much work even for me.” She came up with this simple dish instead, which she serves with spinach.
12 sea scallops
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 1/3 cups unsalted butter, about, melted
Squeeze of lemon juice
1. Arrange scallops in a saucepan just large enough to fit them snugly in one layer. Add enough water to pan to just cover the scallops. Pour that water into a measuring cup. Place scallops on paper towel; pat dry. Season scallops with salt and pepper on both sides.
2. Make sure the amount of melted butter equals the amount of water in the measuring cup. Pour butter into saucepan; heat over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until a thermometer reads 185 degrees. Add the scallops; heat butter again to 185 degrees. Cook scallops, turning once, until cooked through, 2-4 minutes. Transfer scallops with slotted spoon to plate. Drizzle with a little of the butter and a squeeze of lemon juice. Serve hot.
Nutrition information
Per serving: 204 calories, 69% of calories from fat, 16 g fat, 10 g saturated fat, 73 mg cholesterol, 2 g carbohydrates, 14 g protein, 448 mg sodium, 0 g fiber
Garlic confit
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 40 minutes
Cool: 30 minutes
Makes: 8 servings
Adapted from “Fat,” by Jennifer McLagan, from a recipe of British chef Marco Pierre White. McLagan writes that poaching garlic in duck fat “turns it creamy and silky.” Serve the garlic confit as a snack, with the cloves squeezed and spread on French bread, or to garnish meats.
2 heads garlic
2 fresh bay leaves
2 large sprigs thyme
2 cups duck fat, melted
1. Break the garlic heads into cloves; set aside very small cloves for another use. Place unpeeled cloves in a small, heavy saucepan in a single layer; add the bay leaves and thyme. Pour in enough of the duck fat to cover the garlic.
2. Place the pan over medium-low heat until the fat just begins to bubble, 10 minutes; cook the garlic very gently, 30 minutes, keeping it just under a simmer. Press the garlic with the back of a fork; if it yields to pressure, it is done. If not, continue to cook, up to 25 minutes.
3. Let the garlic cool in the fat; remove cloves with a slotted spoon. Strain the duck fat, discarding the bay leaves and thyme. (The fat can be used again; with its mild garlic taste, it’s ideal for cooking potatoes.)
Nutrition information
Per serving: 70 calories, 80% of calories from fat, 6 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 6 mg cholesterol, 3 g carbohydrates, 1 g protein, 1 mg sodium, 0 g fiber
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ctc-goodeating@tribune.com
