How To Render Lard

Forested pork is one of the many animals we raise here on the farm. It is always nice to fill the freezer with food that was raised humanely and naturally. Aside from the fabulous meat, we also get a fair amount of pork fat.

I love pork fat because I can use it to render lard. Yes, lard! Lard from forested or pastured pork is actually quite good for you and can be used to make pie crusts and biscuits. If you have not baked with freshly rendered lard then you are missing out.

What I use lard for most of the time, however, is on my clothbound cheddar cheeses. When I am ready to place a wheel of cheese into the cave for aging, I wrap it with cheese cloth and then rub it down with the lard.

Rendering lard is quite simple and I am happy to share with all of you an article I wrote that has been featured in Molly Green.

Please check it out and share it with anyone who has ever wanted to render lard.

You can also share it on Pinterest and you can find Molly Green Magazine on Facebook! You will not only find my article, but lots of great articles and resources for Home steading, Homemaking and Homeschooling!

What are your favorite recipes using lard?

Mmmmmm....Lard!

So I wanted to make a blueberry pie and I really wanted to use lard in my crust.
I really needed to see how difficult it was to render lard.
I do, after all, have 35 pounds of pork fat in the freezer.

I decided that my trusty ol' crock pot was the way to go. 6 pounds of chopped up fat thawed and placed in the crock pot with just a small amount of water on bottom to keep the fat from scorching.

I placed the knob on low heat and went to bed.

By morning (about 6 hours later) I had a beautiful yellowish-clear liquid and fat cracklings.

Oh, and it did smell interesting. Pork fat has a way of smelling less than yummy.

Next is to strain the liquid lard. I think the easiest way is to secure cheesecloth under a band onto a jar like above. Ladle the liquid and allow it to cool. I ended up with 2 quarts of lard. I placed one in the freezer and one in the fridge. It turns a beautiful white once it is cooled.
I made a wonderfully delicious  pie the next day.

Now, those cracklings can be cooked further until they are crispy and then you can eat them plain or on a salad, etc. After cooking them for a few more hours I was becoming very tired of the pig fat smell. I took the crockpot outside and poured all its contents into dog dishes. My doggies loved it!!!

Let's mark that one off the list of things I must learn to make. Mmmmmm....lard!

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What new things are you wanting to learn to make??