Lard

LJ recently came across a new blog and sent me a link that said, "I think you are going to like this blog, based just off of this post."  Oh she knows me too well!  Lucky for me I just got my hands on my own pile of pork fat from LJ's sister after she purchased the grand champion hog from a kid in 4-H at the local fair.

Some might ask why I would want to (and be excited about) making my own lard, and that is a fair question.  With food I have a strong desire to understand how something is made, where it came from, and how I can recreate it.  Lard is versatile in cooking and though most people in the U.S. are out of practice with using it, it is traditional to cook with.

After making a batch I can see why people have used it for centuries.  It is very simple to make and it is a delight to cook with.  It has a high smoke point so it is excellent for frying with and can add subtle flavor to foods that I can only describe as deliciousness.

Now you might be saying, "But Seth, it is lard!!  That stuff will kill you quicker than smoking."  (Not that smoking kills you quickly, but I get your point.)  Eating fried foods every day isn't a good idea no matter what you are frying it in, but many people now believe animal fats are just about the best fats we can eat (plus they are perfect for frying in).

After reading those two articles hopefully you can see why I was at least curious about making lard.  The process really couldn't be easier as long as you can find some pig fat.

I got a giant garbage sack full of it so I was set.  The fat was cut in strips from when the hog was butchered so I took one piece out at a time to dice it up.  This was pretty easy and I think a key when rendering lard is to use fat that is still nearly frozen.  It makes it much easier to handle and cut.

I used two different methods to see which would be better/quicker/easier.  I loaded up both my crock pot and dutch oven with the diced lard.  I added a bit of water to the crock pot but left the dutch oven with only the lard.  I set the crock pot on low and placed the dutch oven in a 300 degree oven.

The dutch oven was the clear winner in my book, mostly because it seemed to work much more quickly.  I stirred each container about every 30 minutes just to make sure all the fat was cooking evenly.  Once the remaining pieces seemed crunchy and browned and the pots had stopped bubbling I used my wire spider to strain out the large chunks.  I then poured the hot fat through my metal mesh strainer.

I then poured the warm fat in to jars for storage in the freezer.

I also attempted to strain the fat through a coffee filter to get rid of any fine particles but it didn't work well.

Once the fat has solidified it is a nice creamy white color.

It does turn completely solid in the freezer so if you are using a little bit at a time for greasing pans it is best to keep a small jar in the refrigerator that you can spoon out of as needed.  When that jar runs out you can move another from the freezer to the fridge.

I've been surprised how quickly we have gone through the first batch I made.  Maybe having it on hand has encouraged use to do a little more frying than usual but I don't really think that is the case.  However the results of the frying we have done has been excellent.  Below are the results of a recent batch of empanadas.

Hopefully these delicious results encourage you to give lard a chance.