Lard... It's What's for Dinner!

Well... not just lard.  The assumption of Paleolithic diets is that less processed is better.  That the fats we eat and cook with should be as simple as possible.  Rendered animal fat (lard) is about as simple as it gets. Getting relatively pure, unprocessed lard can be kind of a pain though. It's really not the sort of thing the 'main-stream'health food industry is hip to.  So if you want 'good' lard you are pretty much going to have to make it yourself. Fortunately for me this isn't rocket-science.
   When you buy natural, untrimmed meats you get a lot of fat.  Rather than simply scarfing it down the massive quantities of fat associated with pork etc. trim it mostly off before cooking and set it aside. When you have accumulated a couple cups of fat or more you can render it into Lard. This process is easy and simple. Thank God.
  Cut he fat into cubes around a 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch square.  Put the cubed fat in a pan with a 1/2 cup of water and put it on the stove at medium heat. For the first hour or so stir every ten minutes and add water as needed. After the fat has shrunken and begun to shrivel significantly you'll need to stir more often and stop adding water.  When the fat is fully shriveled and just beginning to brown take the pan off the heat and remove the remaining solids.  After allowing the remaining liquid to cool somewhat but not solidify (15-30 minutes at room temperature) pour the liquid into a mason jar. and refrigerate.  Voila! Lard.  We found that the fat from two untrimmed pork chops yields about 1 pint of lard.  Use this in place of oil when stir-frying or sauteing.  This can be done with fat from any mammal, but pork fat is easiest to obtain and seems to be the 'densest.'
  We have found that as long as you don't overheat and burn the fat when used in moderation it does not lend any unpleasant taste to food nor does it tend to make food taste 'greasy.'  Mind you it's probably best to have more than one kind of oil and to use different oils for cooking different things.  We most often use Olive Oil as our 'Second Standard' oil and Linda prefers butter for fried eggs.
  The key here is moderation.  Yes, our bodies can handle a certain amount of fat.  In what seems to be contrary to the evolutionary theory underlying Paleo diets people of differing ethnicities can often handle more or less fat than 'average,' whatever that is.  Err on the side of caution and if there is any doubt or you have a fat-averse medical condition consult your doctor.  Seriously.  As I said we plan on having tests done periodically to make sure that we aren't killing ourselves.
  Something to consider- our pre-agricultural paleolithic ancestors probably roasted things a lot more than they fried them.  Probably best to emulate that; that would agree with both conventional medical wisdom and paleo-diet theory.
  So- enjoy your lard... but don't go crazy.