@jespah,
The very words "Lard was plentiful" is enough to get me looking for a bucket.
As for 'slow cooking' - I certainly hope that it involves some vegetables.
There was a cooking show (Christ, when did cooks/chefs become the new rockstars?) with two old bats from England, zipping around in a motorbike/sidecar combo, preparing 'traditional English fare'.
**** me!! Whenever they came across anything that seemed
remotely healthy out would come the lard or they'd just wrap an inch of bacon around the item in question. Sure it was 'slow' - as in
'slow' death.