Lard, was: SC - Period fried food

[Tara Sersen]

This thread brings to mind a question that I've been meaning to ask.  

I know that lard is a superior fat for frying almost anything.  However, there
are complications with this, including friends who eat kosher, people who are
stuck on the stigma of the word "lard", and the fact that I keep getting stuck
behind Mopac pig trucks on my way to work, the odor of which resonates in my
mind and makes me want to vomit when I think of pig products...

So, I wonder how rendered beef fat compares to lard.  In addition to the above
points, I think it would be easier for me to find beef fat from organic/free-range
producers, which suits me well.  I guess the salient questions are, What are
the respective smoke points of the two fats?  Does beef fat have a flavor that
makes it inappropriate for anything?  (I remember that lard is almost flavorless.)


Thank you all again,
- -Magdalena vander Brugghe