Rendering Lard-- please help!

[WeasleyMum]

Hi TF'ers! I'm rendering some lard and have questions and hope that ya'll are the folks to come to. It's leaf lard from the sausage guy at the Farmers' Market. I whacked it into small squares (maybe 1/2"-1") and am melting them down in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, as he described.

1.-- Is it supposed to take ALL DAY? The lard was mostly frozen to start with, but still. It's been simmering FOREVER.

2.-- How much of the lard will actually melt, and how much remains as solids? I originally assumed it would mostly all melt down, but now (looking at the bits that just aren't melting, they look like the fat part of bacon that doesn't melt) I'm thinking otherwise?

3.-- If it doesn't all melt, how do I know when as much as will, has? I.e., how do I know when it's done rendering, and ready to be strained?

4.-- Once it's rendered, it's cooked, right? Not raw pork product any more? If I make a pie dough with the lard, I can nibble?

5.-- If there are bits that remain, can I feed them to my dog if DH won't eat them?

Thanks in advance!

[CrunchyChristianMama]

Subbing because I just found a farmer who sells pastured pork and I want to give this a try too!

[velcromom]

IME it takes most of the day. I've rendered a lot of tallow, not lard, but I would guess it's the same. You could render it in the oven, or crock pot. There always seems to be some connective tissue that is left over at the end. When you get down to blobs that don't melt over a couple hours, I'd say it's pretty well done.

[janinemh]

It usually goes fastest for me in the oven. I put it in my dutch oven with maybe a 1/4 cup water just to keep it from scorching at first. I also pulse the pieces in the food processor a few times to break them up more... they melt faster that way.


ETA: You can also take the back of a spoon and squish the globs while they are cooking to help them melt faster. I strain it when the white globs have turned golden and look almost crystal-like (not sure how to describe them). And yes, it is fully cooked so nibble away.

[SuburbanHippie]

I was just looking up rendering fats yesterday and came across Mark Sisson's tutorial. It was nice to see pics. I'm a visual person.

So what do you use your rendered fats for? Is it used like Crisco (ugh just typing Crisco makes me cringe)? Does it give your pie crust a meaty flavor at all?

[Millie Ivy]

I love me a lard pie crust. MMM. not meaty, but if you know the smell/taste of lard it will speak out to you I am sure. I like it!

I use our rendered lard in biscuits and baked goods, and of course for frying. Fried eggs, veggies, etc. When I roast a chicken I baste with part butter/part lard.

Mmmm. Lard. I need to render the rest of the fat I have in my freezer. And yes, it takes freakin all day. Of course I have several batches. And I also smoosh it with the back of my spoon to break it up, like the pp suggested.

Was so bummed when we bought a whole beef this past year and they accidentally tossed the fat I wanted. My wonderful farmer threw in a whole bag of pork fat to make up for it, he felt so bad, but still. I have yet to render tallow, and I wanna!

[CookAMH]

I'm working on this today and maybe I started too late. It's after 4. I'm doing 5lbs of lard. If I stick it in the oven, can I leave it all night? What temp? Does it need stirred in the oven?

[mbravebird]

Takes me about five hours, I do it in the oven in an uncovered dutch oven, at 225. I put a 1/4 inch or so of water on the bottom.

You can strain it at different times. The initial strain will yield a lighter-tasting lard, because it hasn't been cooked as long (it will also be stronger-tasting if you cook it at a higher temp, or scorch it.) You can then add the cracklings back to the pot and render them some more; the resulting lard will be darker and more meaty tasting. I use the initial strain for pie crust and such, and the darker stuff only for sauteing.

Sometimes the water doesn't cook all the way out. It will separate from the fat when it cools, and end up at the bottom of the jar. Just poke two holes from top to bottom with chopstick or something, and then pour the water out.

Yes it's then cooked, and yes you can eat the cracklings or give them to the dog (although some people would be very envious of the dog.)

HTH! We love lard. It's reduced our grocery bill because we buy less butter, and it has vitamin D!(if it's pastured). Go lard!