During the beginning while Eddie is eating lard because he's "Too drunk to cook", the actor Ade Edmondson actually ate real lard. Edmondson's reasoning for doing so was "You couldn't really fake it".
Although this is the first episode of Series one broadcast, episode 3 ('Contest') was the first one filmed, over a year before it was finally broadcast. This is because it was the original pilot episode and by the time the BBC finally agreed to commission a series both Mayall and Edmondson had committed to separate movie projects, meaning they could not commit to this series until filming on their movies was finished.
Adrian Edmondson wasn't acting when his character Eddie Hitler eats lard as Adrian Edmondson ate real lard.