Rendering lard is a simple and economical way for a homestead to produce its own high-quality cooking oil. Lard was once demonized alongside other animal fats as unhealthy, but current research has indicated otherwise. Chemically, lard contains a healthy balance between three different types of fats: monounsaturated fat, saturated fat, and polyunsaturated fat. This balance can help promote the correct ratios of “good” (HDL) cholesterol in your blood, and help your body convert the small LDL cholesterol (the “bad” type) into large LDL cholesterol, which is generally considered benign. Saturated fats are an important part of our cellular structure, and adequate amounts of dietary saturated fats are critical for proper cell function. Fats are also necessary for proper uptake of the fat-soluble vitamins: Vitamins A, D, E, and K. Lard from pasture-raised pigs is among the best dietary sources of vitamin D, containing as much as 1100 IU per tablespoon. Vitamin D is a critical vitamin closely related to mood, with a high deficiency rate across most modern societies.
From a cooking standpoint, lard is a mild-flavored fat with a high smoking point. This makes it an excellent choice for everyday cooking and frying. Pie crusts made from lard are considered the best! Lard replaces butter and vegetable oils in all our household’s stovetop cooking applications, and in many baked goods.
Lard is economical to produce; pigs are an easy-to-raise livestock with an excellent feed-to weight conversion rate. As lard has fallen out of favor in recent decades, pork fatback and leaf lard can be purchased affordably for those who can’t or don’t want to raise pigs themselves. Best of all, you can render lard at home with tools you likely already have on hand! Who doesn’t love a homesteading project that doesn’t require specialized equipment?
The basic process of rendering lard is simple: you dice or chop pork fat into small pieces, and slowly cook to melt the fat. Once thoroughly melted, the remaining solids are strained off, the liquid fat is poured into a container for storage, and you’re done!
The tricky part is controlling the heat so the fat is gently rendered out without scorching or burning the solids, which can lead to off flavors in the final product. My personal favorite way to do this is to render in a crockpot (or smart cooker with a slow-cook setting). If you don’t have a crockpot or slow cooker, use a stock pot or saucepan on the stove at a low heat and stir frequently.
These same steps can be used to render beef or venison tallow. Tallow tends to have a stronger flavor and has a different fatty acid profile, changing the nutrient value. Venison tallow in particular has a flavor that most find unpleasant, but is great for making soaps and body care products!
Step-by-step instructions for rendering lard (or tallow):
1) Start with your pork fat. Leaf lard is the white fat from around the internal organs of the pig, and gives the finest lard, best for making pastries. Pork fatback is the layer of fat on the outside of the carcass, especially along the back of the animal. This will also result in a high-quality lard, but may have a slight savory flavor to it and is traditionally saved for frying. If buying your pork fat, try to source from farmers who keep their hogs outdoors and feed a high-quality diet. This will increase the nutrient availability in your final product.
2) Chop your fat into cubes. Smaller cubes will render faster and more completely. I aim for 1” cubes or less.
3) Add cubed fat to your pan or crockpot, and set to a low heat. I cover until I see a layer of melted fat in the bottom of the pan, after that remove the cover so any water can escape as steam. This is important to the quality of the final product!
4) Continue cooking slowly until all the fat is rendered out and only a small amount of solids remain. Expect this to take several hours to overnight. Keep an eye on the heat, some slow cookers render better on the “low” setting, some at the “high” setting. You want to see the contents getting hot all the way through, but not scorching or sticking to the bottom of the pan. Stir occasionally throughout the cooking time; once or twice an hour is usually enough.
5) Once all the fat is melted, strain the contents through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth. The remaining solids can be further cooked until crisp and used as cracklings; these add a wonderful savory flavor to dishes!
6) I store my lard in sanitized wide mouth pint jars. As with any fat, lard can go rancid over time if kept at room temperature. I recommend keeping one container along with your cooking oils for daily use, and storing any remaining containers in the freezer to maximize shelf life and quality. Kept frozen, lard is good for at least a year.
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