A few weeks ago, I was attempting to cook greens. Collards, turnips, but no mustard. They were bitter. Not yummy. I asked my friend Marion what I should do to make them more palatable. She suggested lard or tallow. I asked her how I'd go about finding those things. She said she'd make me some lard, and she did. And my greens are now fabulous.
And, of course, I wanted to know how to make lard. Marion gave me some great information. Ali at Beaverdam Fresh Farms gave me some more information. And, the last time Beaverdam delivered to Columbus (and Abby picked up my order for me), I received 9.07 pounds of pork fat. That was weird. It just sounded wrong. And LOOKED even WRONG-er!
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| 9.07 pounds of pork fat |
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| This is 4 pounds LESS than I've lost! |
Seriously, I've just purchased pork fat. And I'm trying to lose weight and be healthy. What's wrong with this picture? Nothing. From my understanding at this point in my journey, lard is one of the healthier fats. I'm not going to pretend to be smart here and explain all that myself. Do your own research. Form your own opinions. I trust the people I talk to. I didn't say "Eat Lard. It's Healthy." I said, lard is a health-ier fat. In the last week or so, I've learned more about pig fat than I've ever known... there is back fat, belly fat, leaf fat. Don't know why it's called "leaf" fat... pigs don't have leaves. But, supposedly, that's the healthiest of all pig fats.
So, I've bought pig fat. Now, to render lard. I've researched a variety of ways to do this--Crock Pot, Oven, Stovetop. I chose the Stovetop method for my rendering. I have an awesome Le Creuset Oval Dutch Oven that I love.
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| Rendering the fat |
Most things I read said that the butcher would process/grind the fat for you if you asked him to. Mine didn't come from a butcher, per se, so I opted to cut the fat myself, preferably into 1/2" cubes as most resources said. Cutting pig fat is not rocket science, but dang, did my hand hurt afterward! I actually did two batches of rendering simply because my hand got so sore; I swear, I rubbed a blister.
Add a half a cup water to the Dutch Oven, toss in the cubed fat, and away we go. For hours. Stirring every 15-20 minutes. For hours. Lots of hours. I was so afraid the fat would burn. I had no idea what I was doing. Dang, it stunk. But, I was rendering lard. I was sort of homesteading. Doing things like my great-grandmother, Mama Ross, used to do. Oh, to be like her. She was a true pioneer. I wish I would have been able to know her more.
I remember being a kid and Mother would take me to the grocery store. I actually remember her buying lard. It came in a waxed cardboard box with green blocks on the outside. I'd throw some of that in a skillet and it would make the tastiest fried egg whites! Extra salt, please. Yes, I always used too much and more or less deep fried my egg whites, but wow did they taste awesome!
As the lard rendered, I started to scoop the liquid out of the Dutch Oven and into the jars. I had a pint size jar topped with my strainer that had cheesecloth covering it over a wide-mouth funnel. I'd scoop the rendered lard into the cheescloth and watch it drain. I was so proud! I actually felt very accomplished!
Now, it was simply time to let it cool. What a beautiful snow white color it turned:
From that 9.07 pounds of pork fat, I now have 6+ pints of perfectly rendered lard and about 3 cups of cracklings. The cracklings are tasty, but I'm afraid I'll break a tooth. For now, I'm very content to use the lard to flavor my greens.
Who knew lard could be so fun and entertaining??
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