Rendering Lard... it's easier than you think!

Rendering Lard

Rendering is so easy! It's one of those skills that does not take much effort at all and the pay off if incredible. If you have ever wanted to try rendering here are some steps to help you through it! 

It is melting animal fat and separating it to remove the flesh, veins, tissues, and contaminants in the process of rendering lard. A properly rendered lard should produce a white, creamy residue, a fat that is liquid at warmer temperatures and solid at room temperature.

What Exactly Is Lard?

Lard is just pig fat cooked to the point of melting and separating from the animal's tendons, meat, and tissue. It becomes an opaque, creamy white solid after being strained and chilled to room temperature. Lard may have a clear yellowish gold tint, depending on its purity.

Points to Remember When Rendering Lard: 

• Grind or cut your pork fat into small pieces. This provides the maximum surface area for your fat to remove all contaminants.
• It's simplest to grind or cut the fat when it's still slightly frozen or cold.
• When lard cools, it turns tan or brownish, indicating that it was either overcooked or not reduced thoroughly enough to remove all impurities.
• Similarly, lard with a bad odor has been overdone or has not been reduced thoroughly enough to remove all impurities.
• Avoid boiling your lard; crackling and bubbling are natural as the water evaporates, but you don't want your lard to burn.
• When rendering lard, never add water to the pan. This is an easy method to sabotage a perfectly good jar of lard.
• To avoid burning or scorching the fat or impurities in your lard, stir it constantly.

How to Preserve Rendered Lard:

The lard that has been rendered down and is free of contaminants and water is shelf-stable. If your lard isn't pure, store it in the refrigerator and keep an eye out for any indications of mold.

Take lard straight from the hot pan, strain it through a fine-mesh sieve or a few layers of cheesecloth, and keep it in a warm mason jar. While the lard is still hot, cover it with a two-part lid and leave it on the pantry to cool entirely.

It's preferable to keep a jar of lard refrigerated once it's been opened.

The Advantages of Rendered Lard:

The medical community frequently debates whether consuming lard is beneficial. However, before you make your decision, consider the following advantages of using lard as an oil:

• Lard has a lower cholesterol content than butter; it has 1/3 less cholesterol.
• It is rich in vitamins A, D, E, and K.
• Compared to butter, lard has a lower saturated fat content.
• Omega 3 fatty acids are abundant in pork fat.

However, the health benefits of lard are limited only to pasture-raised pigs. Since fat is where much of the bad things, chemicals, additives, by-products, etc., are stored and concentrated, we strongly advise only utilizing fat from pasture-raised pigs. It would be best if you avoided commercially bred pig fat.

Pasture-Raised Pork with Grass Grazed:

At Grass Grazed, we only maintain heritage-breed pork that is purely pasture-raised. We offer pork delivery and other grass-fed meats delivery and are the best place to order meats and steaks online. A small business, we offer NC pork that has been raised on sustainability guidelines.