Lard

[AliOop]

@bookworm42 using the crockpot in the garage should be just fine. Keeping the temperature lower will take longer but will also keep the smell down.

I always start with dry rendering, then use the wet method to "clean" the rendered fat. After 1-2 rounds of wet cleaning, it has no smell at all. The tallow is pure white, and the lard is off-white.

 

[bookworm42]

@bookworm42 using the crockpot in the garage should be just fine. Keeping the temperature lower will take longer but will also keep the smell down.

I always start with dry rendering, then use the wet method to "clean" the rendered fat. After 1-2 rounds of wet cleaning, it has no smell at all. The tallow is pure white, and the lard is off-white.

Thanks! I'm excited to try this and then turn it into things!

 

[janesathome]

after a couple years of rendering lard from a local Berkshire pig farmer, I decided to try a box of lard from Costco. And I’ve traded the labour of rendering for the labour of getting all the foam and bubbles out of the melted Costco lard! Sigh. I don’t know if it’s the citric acid or another additive, or whether the melted lard had a lot of air mixed in as it was processed - but as I gently melt the lard it foams up like crazy. It takes a lot of time and labour to get all the air out of that stuff. Sigh.

 

[AliOop]

after a couple years of rendering lard from a local Berkshire pig farmer, I decided to try a box of lard from Costco. And I’ve traded the labour of rendering for the labour of getting all the foam and bubbles out of the melted Costco lard! Sigh. I don’t know if it’s the citric acid or another additive, or whether the melted lard had a lot of air mixed in as it was processed - but as I gently melt the lard it foams up like crazy. It takes a lot of time and labour to get all the air out of that stuff. Sigh.

Thanks for letting me know about that. Lard just hit the shelves at our local Costco, and I was debating whether to give it a try instead of rendering. It doesn't sound like it saves all that much time.

 

[dibbles]

FWIW, I use Armour lard and have never had it foam at all. I have also used Snow Cap with no issues either. My Costco doesn’t have lard, so I don’t know what brand they carry.

 

[dmcgee5034]

Interesting, I’ve never had the lard I’ve used foam on me. I’ve used Armour and Farmer John.

 

[Kcryss]

I've rendered both beef and pork fat. No matter what I did or how many times I cleaned the lard, I was still able to smell pig. Luckily, lard is readily available and now I just buy it. I use Snow Cap or Soapers Choice. I've never had a foaming problem.

Quick side note: My dogs LOVE when I render beef fat into tallow ... they know they will eventually get the filtered scraps from the first melt.

 

[Ekuzo]

I made soap with lard recently, store bought and rendered. It melted like a charm, 0 issues

 

[janesathome]

Thanks for letting me know about that. Lard just hit the shelves at our local Costco, and I was debating whether to give it a try instead of rendering. It doesn't sound like it saves all that much time.

@AliOop I’m in Canada so likely have a different source from your Costco. I just checked and the brand is Saporito, produced in Canada. Comes in a 20 kilo (about 50 lb) box from the Costco business centre here. Additives are BHT and citric acid. Those are normal additives - I suspect a lot of air was whipped into the fat as it feels different when I scoop it out f the box, compared to the really solid lard that I render myself. The commercial stuff feels lighter and I suspect has a greater volume though I can’t prove it as I used up all my lovely local lard!
Costco’s return policy is great so maybe try yours out! If you don’t have to travel far to return it if need be, might be worth it to try. I am continuing to try different ways of melting down my box of lard - once I’m done this box I’ll go back to rendering from local pigs. Makes me feel better to go that route anyway!

 

[AliOop]

I've rendered both beef and pork fat. No matter what I did or how many times I cleaned the lard, I was still able to smell pig. Luckily, lard is readily available and now I just buy it. I use Snow Cap or Soapers Choice. I've never had a foaming problem.

That so interesting, because the only time I smelled pig was from the large carton (I think it was 35lbs) from our local restaurant supply store. My home-rendered lard doesn't smell at all. Maybe it depends on what the pigs ate?

Quick side note: My dogs LOVE when I render beef fat into tallow ... they know they will eventually get the filtered scraps from the first melt.

When we had chickens, they were gaga over the cracklins. It was a great treat for them, especially in the winter (akin to feeding suet cakes to wild birds).

To be honest, I sometimes crisped up a bit of the cracklins in a cast iron pan with a bunch of salt, and enjoyed them myself. For those on keto or carnivore eating plans, cracklins are awesome!

 

[Kcryss]

That so interesting, because the only time I smelled pig was from the large carton (I think it was 35lbs) from our local restaurant supply store. My home-rendered lard doesn't smell at all. Maybe it depends on what the pigs ate?

Hmm ... you make a good point. Don't know what the pigs ate so that could be a factor.

When we had chickens, they were gaga over the cracklins. It was a great treat for them, especially in the winter (akin to feeding suet cakes to wild birds).

To be honest, I sometimes crisped up a bit of the cracklins in a cast iron pan with a bunch of salt, and enjoyed them myself. For those on keto or carnivore eating plans, cracklins are awesome!

I've never had cracklins, not even sure what they are. Lol

 

[AliOop]

I've never had cracklins, not even sure what they are. Lol

Just another word for the "filtered scraps" you mentioned above.

 

[Kcryss]

Just another word for the "filtered scraps" you mentioned above.

Ohhh, lol. Got it. So you fry the scraps in a cast iron skillet with salt? Doesn't sound to bad. I might have to try it some day!

 

[AliOop]

Ohhh, lol. Got it. So you fry the scraps in a cast iron skillet with salt? Doesn't sound to bad. I might have to try it some day!

Yes, they are yummy!

 

[Ekuzo]

Cracklings have been a part of the winter cuisine in different parts of Europe for a long time. There's even a separate wiki article for that variety

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Čvarci

Last time I tried those I was still a small child, I almost forgot the taste

 

[ScentimentallyYours]

That being said, there's a reason they rendered that stuff in a building outside of town lol.

When I lived in Colorado, I would drive by the Purina plant, which smelled like rendered meat. The fragrance permeated the whole area and I had to wonder what the neighborhood thought of the smell.

 

[ScentimentallyYours]

the only time I smelled pig was from the large carton (I think it was 35lbs) from our local restaurant supply store. My home-rendered lard doesn't smell at all.

I got some lard from Soapers’s Choice a couple of years ago, 1 gallon size, that smelled a little piggy before it was incorporated into soap. Like @AliOop, My home rendered lard doesn’t smell. I process it three times, so maybe that makes a difference. Maybe it makes a difference how soon the lard was rendered?

I use the wet method and save some labor, too. I chopped the lard up into 2 inch chunks and boil with salt water until fully transparent. Then I get my stick blender out and pulverize everything. The pure large floats up to the top as it cools. I render lard and tallow during the cold months when I can put the pot outside to cool completely. Once the lard has hardened, I pour off the water and then turn the whole solid fat onto a plate or towel. I scrape off the worst of the bits from the bottom, then put it back into the pan with more salt water and heat it up. After the pot cools down again, I pour off the water and scrape the bottom of the hard lard. I repeat the heating/cleaning process one last time with salt water. For the last step, I warmed the lard up until clear and ladle it into containers. The very bottom of the pot may contain a tiny bit of water, sometimes with a bit of cloudy contamination. I put the last of the warmed lard with water into a container, cool it until hard, and flip it out to get rid of the last of the water, then save the last of the purified lard.