We made lard this past weekend; at least, my husband did while I washed the jars , cleaned the kitchen and make pumpkin puree from a sugar pumpkin.
We raised our pigs in the woods behind our chicken coop; we started them in early spring and they were ready for butchering this past week. Each weighed in at 300+ pounds and even with plenty of fat in the sausage and on the roasts and chops, there was enough to put up a dozen quarts of lard. It’s really easy to make lard at home.
How to Make Lard
- Cut the pork fat into small cubes.
- Put the fat in the pot and the pot on a burner.
- Turn the heat to low.
- Stir periodically as the fat begins to melt off.
- Ladle the melted fat through a strainer and into clean, dry mason jars.
- Allow jarred lard to cool.
- Continue ladeling fat off until there are only the browned cracklings left.
- Save the cracklings for baking projects, salad topping, etc.
We made our lard outside this time, both to avoid creating the fatty odor indoors (we were hosting a dinner party only hours later) and to free up the stove. The propane Coleman stove was perfect.
We used two different types of fat: the back fat (pictured above) and the belly fat or leaf lard (pictured below).
While still hot, lard is a pale yellow color:
But it cools to white or off-white and can easily be spooned out of the jar for cooking, baking and frying.
And just in case you didn’t know, lard from grass-fed/ forage raised pigs is a good fat to have. And it’s making a comeback:
