Just spent several hours rendering some pork fat

M

melissa-dallas

Well-known member
Set my mason jar in the sink with a fine mesh strainer on top. CLINK. Hot fat hitting jar setting in cold sink equals bottom falling out of jar and all my lard going down the drain. Glad there wasn't more than a cup and a half or so, but I'll still be lucky if it doesn't clog the drain. GRRRR.

 
Zoinks! Like the time I set a pyrex 9 x 13 filled with hot casserole on a damp towel on..

...the counter. CRRRRRRACKKKKKK!!!!!!!

Ruined a casserole AND a pyrex pan.

Boil a large stockpot of water. While it's coming to a boil, dump a box of baking soda down your drain. Follow with 2 cups of white vinegar, and put the stopper in the drain.

When the water is boiling, remove the stopper and dump it down the drain.

That should keep it clear.

Michael

 
Shared sympathy, M. I made a special trip to a specialty meat market

over the break to see if they had:

1. Rendered lard (no)
2. Leaf lard (no)
3. Fat to make lard (yes)

When the counter clerk asked how much I wanted, she went back to the prime butcher and confirmed that I should get about 70% finished lard from the purchased fat. So I bought all they had.

Get it home, dice it up and notice there is a LOT of red meat. I had a suspicious memory recall then because the counterperson had yelled over to another helper to get "that bag of fat" from the freezer.

Why, oh why, don't I ever listen to my instincts?

I called them up, explained that I had been there an hour ago (it takes 50 minutes to drive home) and did they recall me? I was the person asking about lard? And did they know if they sold me PORK fat or BEEF fat? Because what I had under my knife looked awfully beefy.

And, yes...turns out they had sold me beef fat...which, personally, I would have called "suet" not lard. But if I came back..."we'll gladly replace it."

No....I wasn't going to spend 2 more hours and $14 worth of gas to get the right kind of fat.

Sadly...no fresh apple pie that day.

 
Didn't my mother buy lard in a one pound package similar to a solid

pound of butter? She used it for pies, I guess. That was in New England. It seems to be called for in some recipes here in the South. I wonder if they still sell it here like that? I'll have to check.

 
Janet, they do still sell it. Most common is Armour Lard/Manteca

It has about as much flavor as shortening though. I wanted mine to use in savory things. I had actually bought the fat to make venison sausage but never got around to that. Got tired of the big package in the freezer and decided to make lard instead.

 
I just bought some Farmer John Lard (manteca) and it was. . .

pretty much flavorless, but had the weirdest texture I have ever seen, very stretchy, like soft caramels, or taffy.

I don't remember it being stretchy like that before, when I had purchased it a couple of years ago. . .

 
My guess is that a crock pot might be perfect; it will take longer but do a thorough job.

 
I just read a recipe for rendering it in a low oven overnight. Bet a crockpot would work. Must try.

 
You might have some moisture to deal with at the bottom of the crock. Usually in an oven

all the moisture evaporates and you end up with brown cracklings floating in clear fat. But you could finish on top of the stove to evaporate any residual moisture--like clarifying butter.

(I've only done duck fat, not pork, but I imagine the process is the same.)

 
you could put a wooden spoon handle under the cover to keep it ajar and let the moisture evaporate

I do this when making fruit butters.

 
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