What to use instead of lard
It depends entirely on what it's doing in the dish. Here's the job, what else does it, and what to skip.
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Solid fat that makes tortillas, pastry and masa tender
Lard forms large fat crystals and stays workable over a wide temperature range, so it coats the flour and keeps the gluten short without needing to be kept ice cold.
Vegetable shorteningPlant-based
1:1 by weight
Handles almost identically and tastes of nothing. Tortillas come out a shade less tender and keep just as soft.
Beef tallowRan out
1:1 by weight
Firmer and more savoury. The tortilla smells faintly of beef and stays pliable for longer.
ButterRan out
1 1/8 cups butter per 1 cup lard, and take 1 tbsp off the water
Butter carries water, hence the adjustment. It browns and tastes of butter, and the result is flakier and less tender.
Refined coconut oil, chilled firmPlant-based
1:1 by weight
Melts at about 24C, so it softens in your hands and sets brittle in the fridge. Tortillas eat short and go stiff when cold.
What doesn't work: Liquid oil in tamale masa. Lard whipped into masa holds air, and that air is what makes a tamale light. Oil holds none, so the masa steams into a dense wet block.
Frying fat
It renders clear, holds around 190C without breaking down quickly, and the pork flavour goes into whatever is cooking in it.
Beef tallowRan out
1:1
Takes higher heat and tastes heavier and beefier. It sets hard and white on the plate as things cool.
Duck fatRan out
1:1
Silkier and expensive, and it holds up to repeated frying. Potatoes cooked in it crisp harder than in lard.
Peanut or refined vegetable oilPlant-based
1:1
Fries the same and browns marginally less. Carnitas cooked in it taste clean and miss the pork depth entirely.
Refined coconut oilPlant-based
1:1
Holds heat well and leaves a faint sweetness behind. It sets white on anything that cools, which looks odd on fried chicken.
What doesn't work: Bacon fat from the jar for a deep fry. It is salted and full of browned bits from the cure, and those specks burn black within minutes at 190C, turning the whole pan of oil bitter and salting the food beyond fixing.
The flavouring fat in beans and stews
Pork fat is most of what makes refried beans taste of a taqueria rather than of beans. It coats the starch as you mash and carries flavour a neutral oil cannot.
Bacon fatRan out
1:1, and cut the salt in the pot
Smoke and cure come with it, so the beans taste closer to charro than to refritos. Strain the solids out first.
Beef tallowRan out
1:1
Heavier and rounder with a beef note. The beans set firmer as they cool because tallow is harder at room temperature.
Duck fatRan out
1:1
Rich and clean, and the beans come out silkier than with lard. Expensive way to eat beans.
Neutral oilPlant-based
1:1
Beans go creamy and taste plainly of beans. The savoury depth does not arrive, and no amount of salt or cumin puts it back.
What doesn't work: Extra virgin olive oil in refried beans. It is a loud flavour of its own and it fights the pork-and-chile direction the dish is going in. The texture is fine and the plate tastes Mediterranean.