
Well, the truth is, folks, that animal fat is an essential part of making a lot of things taste so darn good. I try to use the leanest cuts of meat I can get away with in most cases, but you just can't produce a pork dish as melt-in-your-mouth as this without a starting with a fatty cut. You could try this, maybe, with something leaner, and it might even be good, but it wouldn't be puerco pibil. Authenticity--and flavor--sometimes trump doing what's best for your arteries.
I'm going to go out on a limb, here. I'm no nutritionist, but I'm going to argue that a decadent fatty meal like this has a place in healthy, nutritious eating. The portion I ate last night (or rather, yesterday afternoon, since I couldn't bear to wait until dinner time), was a reasonable size. It was probably half the size of a serving you would get in a restaurant. I had it with rice, some avocado, and a little salad. And a beer...an extra indulgence, I will admit. But I didn't have chips, I didn't have beans cooked in lard, I didn't have any cheese. I had sensible portion of meat for an adult, rounded out with sensible sides. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. If I had a Big Mac every day for lunch, and then came home and had pot roast and mashed potatoes every night, I would have a problem, and so would anyone else who does that. But I don't. Eating healthfully, I think, means being moderate. That's my thought o' the day.
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