# rendering lard?



## fransean

My Mom told me that she has the opportunity to get the lard from (I believe) three hogs after the first of the year. She was told that it may or may not be rendered. She said she would take it either way - it's free!
So if she does get it she wants some for cooking I can have some of it for soapmaking but neither one of us has ever rendered lard.
Is there a website with pictures that I can refer to? I am not sure if I will be with her due to the weather - she lives 5 hours away - so I will need to print out instructions.

Thanks
Bev


----------



## Oxankle

The old fashioned way was to put the fat in an iron kettle out in the yard with a low fire under it and cook the fat until it was crisp with the oil rendered out. A big wooden paddle was used to stir the pieces of fat so that they all got their turn nearest the heat. 

I suppose the modern way would be with a fish or turkey fryer over propane. Be careful not to spill or splash hot oil on yourself.

You have to be careful that the heat does not get so high that the oil is scorched, or you have nothing but soap grease. Turn the heat down low.

The best lard for cooking is that rendered from the intestinal fat which will come in flakes, some as large as a plate. This is called "leaf lard" and is especially good for pastries. 

You can render small batches in a big glass bowl in the microwave. As in rendering any fat indoors you must be very careful not to set it on fire or spill it. I have done it by setting microwave for two minute run times and repeating until I judged the fat sufficiently rendered. Much like cooking bacon in the microwave.
Ox


----------



## bowdonkey

Go here, this is the way my gramma did it only a much larger scale. She also did a wash in white vinegar. www.suite101.com/article.cfm/soapmaking/79078


----------



## Puddin

When I render lard (hopefully it comes ground up) I put it in a roaster, then in the oven at 250*F, as it melts down I transfer it (with a turkey baster) into appropriate containers. After it is cooled down, I label it and put it in my deepfreeze. I leave 1/2 inch head space it expands somewhat with freezing. This takes a whole day. An appropriate container is everything from old margarine/yogurt containers with lids, washed out cardboard milk cartons.... I use anything and everything to store it in. The left overs when all the lard is rendered (it's pretty obvious when all the lard has been melted out) is called cracklins and edible. There is nothing better to make pastry out of, than home rendered lard!!!
If you cannot render all the lard immediately, I simply store the packages of unrendered lard in the deepfreeze till I have time (or containers).
Gloria


----------



## Cheribelle

I use my biggest pot right on the stove. Low heat, takes a while. Keep stirring, it'll keep melting down. Then I squeeze all I can out of the cracklins and if I have more tallow I just keep adding it as It melts down and I have room. Strain it in a ssreen strainer and pacgage it up. OR let it cool, reheat it (makes for a solider product) add bird seed and peanut butter for suet cakes. 
I don't make pastry but the home made lard is Most delicious for frying fish!


----------



## Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians

I use an electric roaster on my countertop. I use a lard recipe for teaching so I simply ladle out the melted lard into the clean buckets as it melts. The slower you go the less pig smell you have in the lard, although the smell doesn't come into the soap anyway, no bacon soap here  You can get lard for free from butchers. Vicki


----------



## Use Less

Somebody else can clarify, but I think you use beef fat rendered and strained for homemade soap, not pork lard. You can use pork lard as a skin treatment on critters, on various parts of (live) chickens to protect them from the cold or from getting seriously pecked. Sue


----------



## Up North

Use Less said:


> Somebody else can clarify, but I think you use beef fat rendered and strained for homemade soap, not pork lard. You can use pork lard as a skin treatment on critters, on various parts of (live) chickens to protect them from the cold or from getting seriously pecked. Sue


Lard is just as popular as tallow for making soap. Can't wait to get a hog butchered to replenish my lard stores for making soap! 

Heather


----------



## fransean

I have been using lard for soapmaking for about 5-6 years. Many more commercial soaps seem to use tallow as opposed to lard, but if you look at the lye calculator that you use I am sure that you will see lard as an option. 
I switched about 3 years ago to 100% lard soap for my laundry soap - works great. My favorite bar soap formula uses about 20% lard.

Try adding lard to your next formula - you might just be pleasantly suprised 

Bev


----------



## CHICKIECHICKIE

Here is how I render pork fat. I fill my crock pot half way with the fat and put it on high till all the cracklins turn brown and sink to the bottom. Strain through a cheese cloth, pour into loaf pans put in fridge overnight. Slice and put into gallon freezer bags and store in freezer. I just take out a slice or two as needed for soap making or cooking. Have fun!!
Chick


----------



## Charleen

Use Less said:


> Somebody else can clarify, but I think you use beef fat rendered and strained for homemade soap, not pork lard. You can use pork lard as a skin treatment on critters, on various parts of (live) chickens to protect them from the cold or from getting seriously pecked. Sue


You can use any animal fat for soap making. I have used pork lard, beef tallow, deer, goat, sheep, bison, goose. 

I have not heard of putting lard on chickens that are being pecked, are you thinking of pine tar, maybe???

We render in the oven. Grind the fat and place it in a very slow oven, no more than 200F and keep ladling off what has melted. I strain in with a paper towel. Check out Cyndi's website. She's got a good tutorial. Just remember to keep the temp low.
http://www.mullerslanefarm.com/pictorials.html


----------



## MullersLaneFarm

bowdonkey said:


> Go here, this is the way my gramma did it only a much larger scale. She also did a wash in white vinegar. www.suite101.com/article.cfm/soapmaking/79078


water is okay when rendering tallow but not needed. I never render lard with water!

http://www.mullerslanefarm.com/render.html


----------



## MullersLaneFarm

Charleen said:


> You can use any animal fat for soap making. I have used pork lard, beef tallow, deer, goat, sheep, bison, goose.


Don't forget duck, chicken, rabbit, racoon, skunk, mountain lion, deer, moose, elk .... :dance:


----------



## ChrisNiske

I have a pig that came down with an unknown illness and am wondering if it would be sanitary to use the lard for soapmaking. Does anyone have any advice on this?


----------



## weendogmom

I have been rendering both lard and tallow in a vintage Westinghouse roaster. You can leave it on overnight and not worry about burning as long as you keep the temps low.

Leaf type fat will give you the hardest fats, as well as be easier to process, and is said to be best for soaps and fancy pastry. You can tell it is leaf fat because it is hard, crumbly chunks even before rendering.

BUT you can render all the fat from the animal, it will be more work and vary in consistency. To keep the odor down and have the cleanest fats, you want to trim as much of the meat bits, blood vessels, and connective tissue that you can, leaving clean bits of fat in the pan. Your final product will be softer at room temperature, especially lard - some of my jars even had a liquid oil in them my last batch. You can still use this type in soap or baking, it will have different properties and a bit of an odor.

Will have to try the rinse in vinegar!


----------



## Janis R

Does anyone can the lard? If so how do you can it????


----------



## MullersLaneFarm

Yup. See the link I posted above.


----------



## Use Less

My roommate rendered lard in the small, low-ceilinged kitchen of our house. We ended up with a fine oily sheen on everything. Ick.


----------



## Vickivail98

I grind my leaf lard, fill the crock pot and set it to warm. It takes about 3 hours to completely melt, and the leaf lard is so clean it barely leaves any cracklings. The secret to great white lard is to keep the temp as low as possible. To make grinding easier I always use mostly frozen lard, it's still really easy to cut into chunks. 


Mommy in Michigan


----------

