Rendering lard is a lost art – a worthwhile technique forgotten in a fat-phobic, Lean Cuisine-centered culture. Many cooks, seeking out local foods and forgotten traditions, have rediscovered how to render lard in their homes. Learning how to render lard needn’t be a difficult task; it requires clean fat, clean water, a good stock pot and a quiet afternoon in the kitchen. The reward of a beautiful, creamy white jar full of freshly rendered, pastured lard is worth the minimal effort.
Pastured lard is a remarkably good source of vitamin D and of monounsaturated fat – the same fatty acid found in olive oil and avocado that is heralded for its benefits to cardiovascular health. Odd that lard, given its fatty acid profile and vitamin content, earned such a bad rap over the last few decades. Like many wholesome, nourishing fats, lard seems to have been swept aside for a time, but it’s quickly earning a much-deserved renaissance – ensuring that taking the time to learn how to render lard is worth your effort both in terms of its redeeming nutritional value as well as in celebration of the wealth and variety of your local foodshed. Hogs, and their nutrient-dense fat, are widely available.
How to Render Lard on the Stove top
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds pastured leaf lard or hog fat
- 1/2 cup filtered water
Instructions
- With a sharp knife, trim any blood spots or remaining meat from the lard.
- Chop the fat into ½-inch cubes.
- Add the chopped fat and the filtered water to a heavy bottomed stock pot and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.
- After about 45 minutes to one hour, the water will evaporate, the fat will begin to melt and the cracklings - little bits of browned fat - will begin to float to the surface of the pot. Continue to gently stir the melted fat periodically, taking care not to let it splatter.
- Eventually those cracklings will sink to the bottom of the stock pot, at that point you may remove your pot from the heat.
- Line a fine mesh sieve with a 100% cotton cheesecloth and strain the melted fat, reserving the cracklings for another use (they're quite nice salted and eaten as a snack or served in place of breadcrumbs in a gratin).
- Pour the melted fat into mason jars and allow to cool. The melted fat will be golden-brown in color, but, when cooled, will appear a creamy white.
- Use your freshly rendered lard in pastries or as a fat for braising vegetables or seasoning meats.
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Somehow I didn’t fully read the instructions and I did not trim off the excess meat. There wasn’t much on there but there is some. Will it still work? I don’t necessarily need to use my first batch to make pie crust or anything like that.
You’ll probably be fine. It may cause discoloration in the lard, and it may have a meatier taste, but it’ll probably be okay. Bacon has meat on it and bacon fat renders beautifully.
Question: If I pour the lard in jelly jars do I need to cold pack the jars or just let the heat of the lard seal the lid?
Hi Jenny
What is the best way to preserve the fat for long term use? Can lard be frozen after it has been rendered?
Thanks for the article.
Once rendered properly, you can pressure can it or freeze it but it will store in a dark container in a dark cupboard for a few months.