Lard, Asiento, Pork Cracklings

Lard, the classic Mexican cooking fat since the Spanish introduced pigs in the sixteenth century, is an ingredient that I learned to view differently after visiting Oaxaca and especially the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Of course we always had lard at hand at my parents’ ranch in the north, but it did not have the nearly liquid consistency and nutty flavor I found in Oaxaca. It is true that many cooks there are switching to tasteless vegetable oils for some purposes. This means a sacrifice of flavor that is noticeable but acceptable in some of the major moles and pepianes, but absolutely disastrous in tamales. To lighten and mellow the corn masa for tamal fillings, you need real lard—preferably home-rendered or made at a small butcher shop catering to a Latin American or Eastern European clientele. The home method also gives you good cracklings (traditionally ground into a coarse paste called sorrapa) and a tasty, grainy residue known as asiento that makes a wonderful spread for tortillas.