lard from pig kidneys, and lard from back and
belly fat. Chicken, duck, and goose fat are still
less saturated and so semiliquid at room
temperature.
Meat Mixtures
The transformation of a steer or pig into the
standard roasts, steaks, and chops generates a
large assortment of scraps and by-products.
These remainders have always been put to
use, reassembled into everything from the
“goat sausage bubbling fat and blood” that the
disguised Odysseus wins in a warm-up fight
before his battle with Penelope’s suitors, to
the Scots haggis of sheep’s liver, heart, and
lung stuffed into its stomach, to the modern
canned mixture of ham, pork shoulder, and
flavorings called Spam. Chopped or ground
up, mixed with other ingredients, and pressed
together, meat scraps can provide one of the
heartiest parts of a meal — and even one of