Old-fashioned donuts

[Ernie Diamond]

I am the proud owner of twenty pounds of unrendered leaf lard. In dreaming about the endless possibilities of what to do with my bounty, I fell quickly upon the idea of proper, old fashioned donuts.

Here's where you come in...

Do you have any recipe suggestions? I could find them easy enough but I'm eager to get my mitts on some that have been time-tested and approved.

Thanks in advance!

[Becca Porter]

There are two fantastic recipes in The Gourmet Cookbook, the yellow one. There is a sugared cake style and a jelly filled one. They both work perfectly and are delicious.

[BarefootandPregnant]

Not what you are asking for, but if all that lard came my way, I might make chin chin, or try following the suggestions from The Man Who Ate Everything (Steingarten) for french fries.

[Ernie Diamond]

Am I a rube for not knowing what chin chin is?

[BarefootandPregnant]

Chin chin are Nigerian snacks-addictive little snacks that can vary from being rather like fried animal crackers to doughnut holes. If my son had his way, they'd be like Sunday morning pancakes at our house. Except, ya know, I like my pancakes best made at somebody else's house....

[Hungry Celeste]

Ernie, get thee to a library or bookstore for John T. Edge's "Donuts: An American Passion" with lots of donut lore and ten or twelve excellent, tested donut recipes.

[Ernie Diamond]

Thanks Celeste. I'm planning another trip to NOLA in Feb to complete the restaurant campaign I started last year with your help. You'll see me on the Southern boards soon!