Before there was Crisco, there was lard.

Before there was talk of good fats, bad fats, trans fats, cholesterol and lipids, there was lard.

Rendered on the farm, stored in a crock or jar in a cool place and used in cooking - morning, noon and night. And like so many other foodstuffs that were considered old-timey and passe, lard is getting a new look.

But this time we're talking the fresh stuff, from local butchers and sold without additives and preservatives.

In Kansas City, Kan., Bichelmeyer Meats is a source of pure back fat lard.

The family-run business renders lard once a week, generally on a Wednesday or Thursday, according to Jim Bichelmeyer, who owns the business with his brother, Joe, and nephew Matt.

It's a relatively simple process: The back fat and any other trimmings from freshly slaughtered hogs are coarsely ground and put into a small, steam-jacketed kettle, which works like a stove-top double-boiler. The key is to keep the fat off any heat source. The process is called wet rendering.

It cooks in the kettle four to five hours, stirred every 15 to 20 minutes, until the solids melt into a liquid and the cracklings - the bits of skin and meat - rise to the top.

The cracklings are skimmed off and sold; the lard, once it has cooled enough to handle, is strained and poured into 5-, 10- and 26-pound containers. It is pure lard. Unlike lard found on supermarket shelves, the Bichelmeyer's product contains no preservatives or additives.

"You get 5 to 10 pounds of rendered lard off one 250 (pound), live-weight hog," Bichelmeyer says. "It makes the best pie crust. Old-time cooks all cooked with lard - pie crusts, fried chicken, fried fish. You just don't get any better flavor."

He sells 300 to 400 pounds of lard a week, and there's a waiting list for the cracklings.

"Over the years people shied away from lard, but it's truly a natural fat," Bichelmeyer says. "There is nothing in lard that is not compatible with your body."

ALL ABOUT LARD

Availability: Year-round at Bichelmeyer Meats, 704 Cheyenne, Kansas City, Kan. 913-342-5945. A5-pound tub is $6.50.The cracklings are $1.60 a pound.

Rains Natural Meats, 23795 260thRoad, in Gallatin, Mo., also sells lard. A 10-pound container is $13. The lard is rendered from their pasture-raised pigs. Call 660-663-3674 or go to www.rainsnaturalmeats.com.

Preparation: No preparation is needed. Lard is ideal for frying, with a 400-degree smoking point. And because it is composed of large fat crystals, it is ideal for pie crusts. Those crystals create flaky layers.

Selection and storage: Store in the refrigerator, covered, or freeze.

Nutritional value: One tablespoon has 115 calories.

Fun facts: The old-fashioned way to store lard was to pour it into a clean pig bladder and store in a cool place, like a root cellar or spring well.

Sources: The Oxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson (Oxford, 1999); www.nutritiondata.com

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EFFIE PEARL'S PIE CRUST

This is my family's pie crust recipe, passed down from my great-grandmother, Effie Pearl Campbell, to my grandmother to my mother to me.

Makes 4 or 5 crusts

5 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon sugar 2 cups lard (or shortening)

1 egg, beaten in measuring cup and filled with water to make 1 cup liquid

Stir together the flour, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add lard and cut into the flour with a pastry blender until the lard is completely incorporated into the dry mixture and it becomes pebbly. Add the water and egg mixture and stir until a dough forms, making sure to incorporate all the flour/lard mixture in the bottom of the bowl. Gather into a large ball, roll into a long log and cut into 4 or 5 pieces, depending upon size of pie plate. Flatten each piece into a disc about 8 inches in diameter. Wrap each disc tightly in wax paper, then put into a freezer bag. Crusts can be frozen for several months. To use, remove and let thaw in the refrigerator. Crusts should be cold when rolled out.

Per 1/8th of one crust, based on 4 crusts: 187 calories (63 percent from fat), 13 grams total fat (3 grams saturated), 7 milligrams cholesterol, 15 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams protein, 103 milligrams sodium, 1 gram dietary fiber.