Lard… I don’t think I’ve ever bought the stuff. Growing up, we had Crisco in the house, but I don’t think I’ve ever purchased Crisco in my entire adult life, opting to use regular butter or healthier oils for the rare bit of cooking or baking that I did.
The connotations of lard have always been that it’s so bad for you. Pure pig fat, OMG!! But the reality is, it’s the hydrogenated aspects of lard and solid vegetable oils sold in stores that you want to stay away from. If it’s on a shelf instead of refrigerated, I tend to avoid. (We found one – expensive – exception when we were looking for something to season our cast iron pans. Spectrum Naturals makes a vegetable shortening from palm oil that is non-hydrogenated.) Plain old lard stored in the fridge has the healthy fats, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, as well as Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids. It also has cholesterol, so, you know, use in moderation.
Anyway, sometime last spring I started thinking about rendering our own lard. I began to find blog postings here and there on the subject which made it sound pretty simple and straightforward. And so it was:
Step 1: cut the fat into smaller pieces
A couple of friends graciously allowed me to crash their purchase of a whole pig from Wood Family Farm (based in Turner; see them at the Corvallis & Albany Farmers Markets). We divvied it into thirds, and I also took all the fat. The butcher had included it, wrapped into big packages and frozen. When reading about rendering lard, everyone says to get leaf lard for the really fine stuff — great for pastries and the like. Otherwise, fatback can be purchased for savory cooking. I don’t know what was in these packages. Maybe a mixture? I don’t know enough yet to be able to tell… but next time I know to ask for it separately.
Above, I defrosted one of the packages and cut the fat into smaller pieces. This was the most labor intensive part of the entire process.
Step 2: simmer!
While the fat melted down, I washed my jars and rings in my dishwasher on the sanitize setting. I LOVE my dishwasher so much. The sanitize option makes me feel really good about the canning I want to do this summer. The jars came out of the dishwasher still hot, and I was ready to package it all up.
Step 3: strain into clean jars and let cool; Step 4: keep refrigerated or frozen
I’d forgotten to purchase cheesecloth, so I lined my sieve with a paper towel. The processed lard is a clear golden color which cools to an almost pristine white. The final color can vary, so don’t be concerned if it’s not completely pure white.
I’m going to experiment soon with some chocolate chip cookies and see how it tastes. I have a lot of unknowns… like, did I render it too long? Did I have the right kind of fat for cookies and pastries? There’s a downside to not having this stuff passed down from parents. I wish I’d had more interest in food & cooking while my grandmother was alive to share it with me. Hindsight. *sigh*
Thanks for this post! My initial reaction was, “Eeeew!” But, now you’ve got me thinking that lard is in my future. I didn’t know that lard could actually be good for you.
I love this blog!
Aw, thanks Amanda! Apparently lard has less saturated fat than butter. I had no idea.
I should edit my post with regards to the final color. I guess it can vary, so people shouldn’t be worried if what they end up with is not completely pure white.
For a potential resource, someone mentioned that she purchased leaf lard from Corvallis Local Foods.