Woot! I'm getting some grass-fed etc pork fat for only...

[redvlagrl]

... $1 a pound!!!!!

I asked our meat guy if he could supply this and he said no problem and what did I want it for. I (rather sheepishly) said I wanted to render my own lard (think he would laugh at me) and he said he does it all the time and gave me some tips!

I'm picking it up next week and I can't wait! I'm getting 5 lbs. How much do you think this will yield?

Any great tips? He said that it's ready when the cracklings descend after rising.

[tinuviel_k]

That is a great price! I pay $4 a pound for mine. Supply and demand here... sigh. Even at that price the one farm here that does pastured pork runs out of lard every week at the farmers market.

Just a clarification: technically there is no grass fed pork. The usual term is "pastured pork." Pigs, unlike cows, sheep, and goats don't live off of grasses. While they do eat some grass, there are really omnivores, and their natural diet is more like roots and tubers, animals, invertebrates, acorns, tree nuts, green plant life... they eat EVERYTHING!
The neatest pork farms I've seen have their pigs rotate between pasture and forest. I thought this was really cool, as forest is more a pig's natural environment, and has much more of their natural foods than a field would.

[redvlagrl]

LOL, I suppose you're right about the grass fed part! But you know what I mean...pastured!

Is your $4 lard already rendered? In which case I can understand the extra price because of the extra work.

[mnnice]

Is your lard just big unrendered chunks or is it ground like sort of a nearly all fat sausage?

We get ground lard each year when we buy 1/2 a hog. When we render it there really aren't any useable crackling, but some gray iky muck that we skim off the top. Rendering is real easy. My only advice is use wide mouth jars to put it in because it easier to get back out of than a standard jar and if you want a mild low flavor product don't be afraid to throw out some of the gunk on the bottom of the pan.

[redvlagrl]

I think it's going to be huge unrendered chunks, because he asked me if I wanted the skin off or on (this was before he asked what it was for).

Thanks for the advice on the wide mouth jars. Also how long will this keep in the fridge?

[mnnice]

I freeze it and just keep one quart in the fridge. It lasts several months in the fridge.

[changingseasons]

Ooh- can I hijack for a minute? I know nothing about rendering fat but I would love to learn. The farm where I buy my meat sells 2 types of pork fat (here- at the bottom of the page)- back fat, and leaf lard. Anyone know the difference as far as what you would use them for? Which would be better for rendering/cooking with? TIA!

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by redvlagrl

... $1 a pound!!!!!

I'm picking it up next week and I can't wait! I'm getting 5 lbs. How much do you think this will yield?

Any great tips? He said that it's ready when the cracklings descend after rising.

Great price!! I pay about $10/lb for rendered. 5 lbs skin-off will yield probably 4.75 pounds or more once you're done. If it's skin on, it'll yield a bit less, but you'll have a nice snack.

Originally Posted by changingseasons

Ooh- can I hijack for a minute? I know nothing about rendering fat but I would love to learn. The farm where I buy my meat sells 2 types of pork fat (here- at the bottom of the page)- back fat, and leaf lard. Anyone know the difference as far as what you would use them for? Which would be better for rendering/cooking with? TIA!

DIfference is texture. Leaf lard has a finer grain, but I use back fat because it's all I can usually get and it works fine.

As for tips - don't bother with the stove-top method... go with the oven method, it's less likely to smoke/burn and it requires less interaction from you. Or even the crockpot method is nice.