Rendering Lard

Tilly · #1 10/02/08, 12:10 AM

We can get pig fat to render for 50 cents a pound locally, or buy lard from the store at $1.45 per pound. So now I need to know the end poundage of lard, say I render 50 lbs. of fat, how much of that will be usable lard? Will it be cost effective to do it myself or just buy it? And then how do I store it? We don't have freezer space, so do I just pack it in hot jars and let it seal? Wow, that's quite a few question marks. Help Please.........and I hope this is the right place to post this!

Tilly

beaglebiz · #2 10/02/08, 05:15 AM

I cant answer your questions, but I remember when my Uncle butchered his hogs, he would put huge pans of the fatback on top of the woodstove until it melted. he would drain off the lard, and I believe whats left behind might be cracklings, which were once a great treat (think pork rinds), that you could use as a casserole topping, stir into cornbread and just munch on, so it wouldmt be a total loss.
I think I would freeze the lard, or can it as you would butter

tyusclan · #3 10/02/08, 05:41 AM

The lard you buy in the store is hydrogenated. Horrible stuff to put in your body. Get the fat and render it out yourself. You'll have a far superior product both in taste and quality. I think you'll come out cheaper, but even if the cost is the same your lard will be much better.

I've never thought about what the ratio of lard to fat is that you would have left, but I think you would probably need about 100 pounds of fat to wind up with 50 pounds of lard.

You can put in jars and can it when you're through rendering it out. It'll keep for a little while just putting it in a jar, but to store it long-term you'd want to run it through the canner. I'll have to ask tyusclan momma exactly how she does it. I usually do the rendering and she handles the canning part.

Tater'sPa · #4 10/02/08, 07:30 AM

Using a large pot, preferably stainless steel fill with your hog fat (I am assuming this is ground or cubed) that would be best.
On a very low heat let it simmer all day, later in the day it will begin to look like a light orangish, tan or golden liquid, stirring occasionally helps and as it renders down it should seem like most of the "fat" has dissolved.
After most of the day has passed, let it cool but still remaining liquid strain it thru a cheese cloth into another pot, you should see lots of bits of fatty meat pieces those are "cracklins" they can be used in cornbread recipes or fed to chickens...especially to fatten a rooster.
After you have strained it off I would reheat it in another pot and put into hot wide mouth quart canning jars that are ready for canning.
I'm not sure on shelf life of canned lard or of the processing times.
You can expect nearly 70 pounds of lard from 100 pounds of hog fat.

Rendering can also be done in the oven....I think Cindi from Muellers farm does it that way....there may even be a tutorial in the soap making section or on her web site.

Phantomfyre · #5 10/02/08, 08:34 AM

Yep, what the others said: render your own. I did it for the first time last year and used a slow cooker. The fat was ground, and I just stirred and broke up chunks periodically. When it looked done, I just strained it and put it in containers and stuck it in the fridge/freezer. Worked great. And you really don't end up with any waste per pound if you use the cracklins for cornbread or chicken feed.

Stephen in SOKY · #6 10/02/08, 09:13 AM

I use a countertop roaster oven, works wonderfully. I render outside with a window screen over the roaster to keep the odor out of the house. As noted above, home rendered is far healthier than the partially hydrogenated store stuff. Some say it's only surpassed by olive oil. For me, the roaster is the only way to render easily.

MariaAZ · #7 10/02/08, 09:54 AM

I wish I could find a source for pork fat! That is one thing I've not been able to find here in the city. We switched over to the partially hydrogenated lard over the partially hydrogenated vegetable oil as a distant second to my real goal of fresh rendered lard.

I DID buy a piece of pork skin with fat attached and rendered that as much as I could. I just LOVED the resulting lard and am now trying to find a source for the fat alone.

Tilly · #8 10/02/08, 10:13 AM

Sounds like the end product, not the cost, is what I really should be looking at! Never thought of the stuff in the store being any different, but yuck! Thanks for the replies, now to figure out the storage part of this.

Tilly

suitcase_sally · #9 10/02/08, 12:07 PM

Scroll down about 1/4 of the way down the page:

http://www.obsessionwithfood.com/200...g-archive.html

michiganfarmer · #10 10/02/08, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyusclan

You can put in jars and can it when you're through rendering it out. It'll keep for a little while just putting it in a jar, but to store it long-term you'd want to run it through the canner. I'll have to ask tyusclan momma exactly how she does it. I usually do the rendering and she handles the canning part.

for real? Ask her, and post back here please.

thats fantastic information. I was just asking my dad how he stores his lard years ago. He said freeze it. Iasked how they kept lard before electrcity. He sai dhe didnt know.

Tilly · #11 10/02/08, 02:55 PM

I just looked up an article in Backwoods by Jackie Clay ( my hero ). She puts hot strained lard in hot jars, fits on the lid that was just boiled and they seal, just like jams do. I think I'll give it a shot, thought I would post back to let y'all know what I found.

Tilly

Bear · #12 10/02/08, 04:22 PM

When we butchered on the farm all the pork fat was cut into cubes and then rendered in a big butcher kettle over a slow going fire. It was my job to watch it and the fire, stirring it once in awhile in the beginning so it wouldn't stick or burn. After a couple of hours, the sausage stuffer was set up by the kettle. A special plate with holes in it was put inside the stuffer. 5 gallon lard cans were set under the stuffer and lard was ladled right from the kettle into the stuffer and then pressed out which resulted in some great tasting crackling cakes. After it cooled off overnite, Mom would have us put it in a part of the basement that was dark and cool. We usually got about 4 to 5 cans full and it never seemed to spoil.

Itilley · #13 10/02/08, 04:29 PM

We haven't raised pigs for a long time but I remember that the lard was the best, we had ever had. We got almost a 5 gal tub of lard from one pig. We heated the fat and what was left we called craklin and it was good. We also made our own salt pork and it beat anything you could buy.

RenieB

tyusclan · #14 10/02/08, 05:57 PM

I talked to momma.

She said she puts it in the jars while it's hot and water baths it for about 20 minutes.

She said sometimes it seals just from the hot lard, but she likes to water bath it just to make sure.

texican · #15 10/02/08, 09:52 PM

First off, I wouldn't pay for fat... unless I absolutely had to. We have two large grocery stores in my little town... one charges, the other gives it away free. Guess which one I obtain fat from!

I've done it three ways... large 30 gallon cast iron pot over a 'flare' (free natural gas piped into an old wheel rim, with the pot sitting on top), on the stove top and in the oven.

As far as storing... the oldtimers didn't worry about "long" term storage. They used it up, and when there was no more, you killed a hog and got some more.

If you try and use a pressure canner, you're going to have a mess on your hands. I'd try water bath first. Course, the freezer is the best place.

RVcook · #16 10/02/08, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyusclan

I talked to momma.

She said she puts it in the jars while it's hot and water baths it for about 20 minutes.

She said sometimes it seals just from the hot lard, but she likes to water bath it just to make sure.

I posed this question in a thread a while back:

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/sho...t=canning+lard

RVcook

tyusclan · #17 10/03/08, 06:58 AM

Howdy all,
tyusclan momma here. I started hot water bathing the lard a few yrs. back when the rubber on the canning flats was decreased. It infuriates me the way they have decreased it. In the past I've been able to seal jams, jellies and lard with no water bath needed. (please don't flame me, I know Ball Blue book disapproves of this).
Well I can't do it anymore, the amount of rubber on the flats is much thinner IMHO and now water bathing is a must usually. I water bath the rendered lard for 20 min. for quarts just to make sure it seals. I absolutely love lard for making pie crusts.
tyusclan momma