Where Is Lard in the Grocery Store? Here’s Where To Look

Many people use lard to make pie crusts, fried chicken, and even buttermilk biscuits. And while lard might be difficult to find sometimes, it’s not impossible.

Not all grocery stores carry lard, but grocery stores that do carry lard usually keep it in the meat section, near the cooking oils, or even in the international food or Mexican food aisle. You can also sometimes find lard at your local farmers’ market or butcher shop.

Lard obtained after chef found where lard is in the grocery store

Lard Brands To Look For

When looking for lard in the grocery store, you’ll notice certain brands that are quite common. You can also research lard brands online to become a little more familiar with them.

Some of the common brands of lard that you might want to look for include:

  • US Dreams
  • Armor
  • Cornhusker Kitchen
  • Morrell
  • MD Life
  • SCP South Chicago Packing
  • Proper Foods for Life
  • Fatworks

The ones mentioned here are high-quality brands, so you can trust them to be the perfect ingredient for your next cooking project. Keep in mind that supermarket brands usually work just as well as name brand products.

Is Pork Fat the Same As Lard?

Pork fat and lard are only the same thing if the pork fat is rendered. This is because lard is basically nothing but rendered fat. Leaf lard, for example, is rendered from the kidney section of pigs and hogs. If a certain fat is not rendered, it technically isn’t considered lard. But keep in mind that lard does an excellent job of making pie crusts flaky and providing you with a smooth, easy-to-dissolve way of cooking with a fat that works wonders in many dishes.

If you want to substitute another fat for your lard, the best alternative is butter. As a general rule, you can use 1 1/4 cups of butter instead of 1 cup of lard in any of your recipes.

Is Crisco Lard?

Many people believe that Crisco and lard are the same thing, but they are not. That being said, Crisco and lard can be used for very similar purposes. This is because lard is made out of rendered pork fat. Crisco, on the other hand, is vegetable shortening that is made out of soybean oil and palm oil. Their texture and some of their ingredients are similar, so in some recipes they are interchangeable.

If you’re going to fry something or make a pie crust, you can use either Crisco or lard and get the same results. If you’re going to cook something else, it’s best to stick with whatever ingredients are suggested in your recipe so that the food comes out tasting the way it should.

How Healthy Is Lard?

Lard obtained after chef found where lard is in the grocery store

Lard is a fat, which means it has a lot of calories and is a source of cholesterol.

Lard has less saturated fat than butter and more monounsaturated fats (or ‘healthy’ fats) than butter. However, lard has significantly more saturated fat than olive oil.

Pure lard doesn’t have any trans fat, which is good news.

Ultimately, you should check with your doctor if you’re unsure about the health effects of incorporating lard into your diet.

Substitutes for Lard

As mentioned earlier, the best substitute for lard is butter, but you can also use a cooking oil such as olive, vegetable, or coconut oil, as well as shortening.

Here are the most popular replacements for lard:

  1. Butter: use 1 1/4 cups of butter to replace 1 cup of lard
  2. Coconut oil: use the same amounts of coconut oil as you do lard
  3. Vegetable oil: use 7/8 cup of vegetable oil for every cup of lard
  4. Olive oil: use the same amounts of olive oil as you do lard
  5. Mashed bananas: use 1/2 cup of mashed bananas for every cup of lard
  6. Avocados: use 1/2 cup of mashed avocados for every cup of lard
  7. Beef tallow: use the same amounts of beef tallow as you do lard

Keep in mind that these replacements may not work for every dish you make. Most of the replacements mentioned above work best when baking or frying something, but if you want to use a different cooking method, you may have to use lard instead.

Some people think that bacon fat is the same as lard, but they’re actually different things.

Does Lard Need To Be Refrigerated?

Technically, lard can be stored at room temperature and still last for a year or longer. That being said, most people refrigerate lard so that it lasts longer and stays fresher. Lard is made from animal fats and usually does better when it is kept in the refrigerator.