Are there any carbs (hidden or otherwise) in PAM or other cooking sprays? I haven't read the label. I'm making out my grocery list (I'm not at home) so I can't check.

Thanks

I think PAM is just oil, right? Seems fine to me.

If you are asking whether pam is low carb, then yes, because it is basically just canola oil. However keep in mind that canola oil (along with vegetable oils and a few others) are avoided for some because they are not as stable as some oils at high tempuratures. I could be wrong, but I think canola is one of the oils that releases free radicals when heated.
Anyway, as long as that doesn't bug you, your fine!
As for me, I still occasionally use PAM (when feeling lazy) but am trying to stick to using mainly butter, coconut oil, nut oils, lard, and a few other oils that are all very stable for cooking at high heats (and yummy!)

An extra note: I'm sure if I told some Low-fat dieters that I just cooked a bunch of carnitas in a pot of lard last night, they would flip out! heh heh, gotta love this WOE!

I spray some of my pans with Pam just to keep them from sticking even if I'm using fat in the pan. It makes it spread better and my "non-stick" pans are getting old and sticky.

MMmmmm! Carnitas! The stores around here all have butt roasts on sale this week. Maybe I'll get one. Once I made Carnitas out of Duck legs that had accumulated. Excellent!

Thanks for the information and I've GOT to try this Carnitas thingy!! Have you got a recipe??

Thanks!

I got the recipe from a cookbook by fran mccullough (don't know spelling of last name, sorry). It is simplicity itself, and the dish is yummy. Low carb mexican!

basically, here is what you do.

Get 2 pounds boneless pork shoulder (I used less because I am cooking for one, 2 pounds will serve 3-4 people).
Slice it up (the original recipe says slices that are 4" long, 2" wide, 1/2" thick, but you may want smaller hunks, its up to you). Melt 1 pound of lard in a heavy pot (lard can still be found in many grocery stores, i bought a pound for 75 cents).
On medium low heat, cook the meat, uncovered, for 40 minutes. You will need to flip meat periodically so that all sides get fully cooked.
After the 40 minutes, turn heat to medium-high, and let the meat cook 10 minutes more , possible flipping it once during this time, until meat starts to turn lighltly brown and crunch looking on the outside.
And your done!! This is really easy and soo good, especially if the meat is fatty (just my opinion there, I love fat).

Traditionally, carnitas are put into flour tortillas, but you may put them in low carb tortillas, lettuce leaves, or eat them without any wrap (this is what i did, they are sooo good just on their own).

also, they are usually served with some yummy sides for covering/dipping them with. Some ideas:
Salsa
Guacomole
sour cream
Lime (squeeze it over meat, very very good)
pico de gallo (for those not familiar with this, it is similar to salsa, but is not saucy, usually chunks of tomato, chili, etc.)
anything else you want!

Note, lard can be reused several times but you may need to strain it through a coffee filter. It will solidify at room tempurtature.
Hope this helps!

Angie-Thanks for the recipe. I WILL be trying it!

Make sure your lard is not hydrogenated, as many times they are.

I still don't understand why the food manufacturers would want to hydrogenate saturated animal fat, but then I don't understand lots of things they do.

Carnitas

I made that recipe tonight!! Couldn't get boneless pork shoulder, but I bought pork shoulder butt strips, bone-in. I think what that means is, they took a pork shoulder butt roast and cut it into "steaks". I figured that would be easier to deal with than trying to cut it myself. Anyway, it is YUM which I find hard to believe cos there are NO seasonings, just the lard and the pork. But I'd do this again, for sure, maybe rubbing the pork with some spicy stuff?

True Carnitas is "pulled pork." I make it weekly.

In a large pot, brown the pork shoulder roast on all sides (in butter), fill with water to cover, add one medium chopperd onion, a couple of garlic cloves (pressed with a knife to release flavor), two bay leaves, tablespoom oregano and about 15 peppercorns. Simmer for 2.5 to three hours. Heat oven to 400. Remove (carefully...it will be fall-apart tender) shoulder and place on foil-lined (the none stick foil works great), sprinkle liberally with garlic salt and pepper, and bake for an additional 20-30 minutes or so, until nice and golden brown. Remove and let stand for 10 minutes, then pull meat apart with a couple of forks.

It is sooo tasty, I usually just stand over the meat in the kitchen stuffing it in my mouth!

Great summer alternative: place on BBQ and brown instead of oven....make sure you put it on foil first!

Shelly

Thanks, Shelley... I'll try it this way!

The concern I have with PAM spray is the commercial processing of the canola oil itself. The Weston A. Price Foundation web site has an informative flowchart about the process of commercial refining of edible oils. That said, the amount of oil you usually eat by spraying PAM on cookware is minimal. If you have the option, though, I would stick with Spectrum Natural's Super Canola spray for high-heat cooking, loading an oil sprayer (Like the Misto brand) with Spectrum Natural's Super Canola Oil, or simply rubbing an unrefined coconut oil over the cooking surface, if feasible. For lower-heat cooking, I would use a heat-tolerant olive oil (not extra virgin) loaded into an oil sprayer.

Isn't it Polyunsaturated oils that break down ? Peanut, Canola, and Olive oils are Monounsaturated. I cook beef in Butter. I don't use oils/fats when cooking eggs. I use olive oil and/or canola oil when a recipe calls for vegetable oil.

i think they're fine. I use it all the time and the nutritional facts say that theres absolutly 0 carbs