# Fat/Lard - 2 questions



## FarmerKat (Jul 3, 2014)

Question 1:
We just had a hereford/duroc mix gilt processed by the butcher. She was 176 lbs hanging weight. He said that there was no fat to speak of to return it into a lard. I do not have any reason not to trust him but I was surprised that a pig that size would not have any fat. She was raised on pasture & fruits & veggies. When we butchered our red wattle/berkshire/wild hog mix same size, we got fat to make 7-8 quarts of lard. Is that common for this breed mix?

Question 2:
Last hereford/duroc mix we butchered a couple of weeks ago (same size, from the same litter), the butcher returned a huge box of fat but he told us he added fat from another pig. I saw the pig but have not paid much attention - it was pink and someone brought it in the same day we brought ours in. The owner of the pig did not want the fat back so he gave it to me since he knows I use it. I was not too happy with that as I do not want to eat lard from a pig that I do not know how it was fed/raised. But I have lots of lard from another pig and figured I can turn this one into soap.

I have rendered 18 quarts so far. It looked and smelled good fresh but it does not seem to solidify like my other lard. It has been 3 days and the lard is still not solid. Most jars are about 2/3 solid, 1/3 liquid. It has been warm in the house as we have run our woodstove but it gets to 68-70 degrees over night. (A jar of previously made lard from my fat sitting on the counter in the same temperatures it is not melting.) When I put it in the fridge, it solidified. 

Is this normal? Could it be a difference between a pig fed on a pasture vs. completely grain fed? (Or something like that, I know nothing about the pig other than it was pink.) 

I have rendered lard from pigs I bought in the past and never had this issue. But the animals I bought from others were pasture raised as well. 

Thanks!


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## edwardsonfarm (Feb 3, 2015)

I would like to know the answer to question 2 as i am also having that issue. It smells good, tastes good and looks good but never turned completely solid. I thought I had done something wrong. :teehee: And my hogs were large black/tam cross.


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## FarmerKat (Jul 3, 2014)

edwardsonfarm said:


> I would like to know the answer to question 2 as i am also having that issue. It smells good, tastes good and looks good but never turned completely solid. I thought I had done something wrong. :teehee: And my hogs were large black/tam cross.


Very interesting. What is the temperature at your house? We keep ours relatively warm but then again, it was warm when I rendered the other lard. Hopefully we will get to the bottom of this


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## FarmerKat (Jul 3, 2014)

I found these two links to similar discussions - except they each draw a completely different conclusion: 

1) Fat from feedlot (grain fed) pigs has more omega 6 than 3 and does not solidify well: https://www.reddit.com/r/homestead/comments/3fp9ny/lard_rendered_from_pig_fat_not_solid_at_room/

2) Fat from pigs raised naturally using biodynamic methods has different fat structure and does not solidify well: http://www.permies.com/t/9306/cooking/Lard-stays-liquid

I guess it depends on whom you believe ... hehe.


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## edwardsonfarm (Feb 3, 2015)

Its right around 70. So i would think it should solidify. All the bacon fat we've drained into cans and left on the counter have always solidified so I'm not sure.


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## gjhinesjr (Jun 28, 2014)

From what I've read it most likely is diet related.

If you look up historic hog diets and such, you'll find that natural diets high in monounsaturated (I believe) fats are known as soft fats that are liquid at room temperature. Starting around the turn of the century processors started preferring harder fat hogs because it makes better bacon and looks better in the package, cause it's not oily. It's yet another reason the small farm went out of business in favor of large grain fed confinement operations.

Similarly corn diet is known for producing a moderate level of soft fat. It's the reason Europeans consider American pork to be inferior to their pork fed Barley based diets, especially for cured products. Barley supposedly produces firmer/whiter fat. In fact, historically, there was a time that Ireland would ship all it's higher grade pork to the US, and then turn around and buy cheaper US pork to consume themselves, during their tough economic times.

You start looking into hogs/hard fat/soft fat/white fat you'll find lots of info. Universities (like Iowa state) have done many feeding studies looking at it.


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## Ziptie (May 16, 2013)

Our pigs are just the unwanted from the hog houses. We took three pigs in Oct hanging weights 298,245,340. They produced 68lb of ground fat according to the ticket, but I had him separate out the leaf lard. So, I don't think that is included in the total. 

We feed them ground oats, garden weeds, garden extra's, and rotate paddock's. Just last night rendered some more lard from our pigs. It gets white but is usually pretty soft. Of course it gets harder in the fridge but not a whole lot. 

I have yet to do the leaf lard. I am curious to see if leaf lard will set up harder.

I definitely know that this fat is from our pigs and no others. As they have to process our first as a mix-up could put a couple of us in the hospital.

Just my two cents...


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

FarmerKat said:


> We just had a hereford/duroc mix gilt processed by the butcher. She was 176 lbs hanging weight. He said that there was no fat to speak of to return it into a lard. I do not have any reason not to trust him but I was surprised that a pig that size would not have any fat.


Diet makes a huge difference as does size. That's not a big pig. If it was on a lean diet I would not expect very much fat at that size. A grain fed pig is on a high calorie diet and should have more fat for the same sex, age and season.

-Walter


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## cooper101 (Sep 13, 2010)

I feed mostly grain and our lard turns out great as does the lard that many of my customers render. So it isn't grain that's the only culprit.


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## Pig in a poke (Mar 27, 2013)

I'm curious how everyone stores their jars? I just did several and have them in the fridge, but I'm wondering if lard can be canned or pressure-cooked canned for long-term shelf storage?
Also, does anyone here sell jars of lard, and what do you charge per pint and quart?


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## Ziptie (May 16, 2013)

-Heat the jars in the oven
-heat lids in water
-pour boiling hot lard in jar with as little head space as possible
-dry lids off
-I do leave the ring on these jars as they are stored
-just finished using the last jar from 2013


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## Pig in a poke (Mar 27, 2013)

Ziptie, then you don;t even process the jars in a water bath? And store them on the shelf?


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

We store ours in the pantry. We live in a cool climate. We pressure can. We're very experienced with canning meat and have been doing it my whole life - I hear it's tricky so don't try it as your first canning project for sure.


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## njenner (Jul 15, 2013)

I was wondering about lard's shelf life without canning it. I rendered about 2 gallons last weekend and have it in a cool/dark back room. Come spring, it'll go in the frig though. (I keep a window open in that back room with a blanket over the door so it's pretty cold.) We've been in the 30s at night so I figure it'll keep fine there all winter. I thought about freezing it but I don't want to take up freezer space since its 3/4 full now and we have a 1/4 beef coming in December.


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## sang (Aug 23, 2013)

Lately I have been making lard in the crock pot. Placing as much cut up fat as will fit, it takes about a day. When most is turned liquid, I dip off and strain in quart or pint clean jars while still very hot and seal, it will keep for a few years like this at room temperature, after opening I refrigerate. 
I feed a very high percentage of whole corn the last couple months and my lard is always hard and white at room temp.


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## Ziptie (May 16, 2013)

Pig in a poke said:


> Ziptie, then you don;t even process the jars in a water bath? And store them on the shelf?



Nope no processing. As the other poster does, I do put in the fridge after opening. 

I have some beef tallow that I processed 3 years ago. 

Just for fun I am trying to see how long it will be before it starts smelling rancid.


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