Lard!

Paradox

I'm so happy.. I got a whole pig recently from a local farm (a Berkshire), and got the leaf lard. The bag was HUGE. like 20-30lbs! I've been working on rendering all day--it's going in the crockpot. I needed to share with folks that would appreciate my good fortune. :)

Torey

Very good fortune!

vickeym

Oh my, that is good fortune indeed! I too wonder how you will store it all. I have rendered lard multiple times, but ended up freezing it since I wasn't sure how to keep it from going rancid. Since we live off grid, I would love to find a non-electric way to store it.

karenjanicki

Very cool! I would love to see some pics of your process :).

Torey

Lard is pretty shelf stable as long as it is in a cool, dark place. At least 6 months. Make sure it is well sealed as well.

Michelle D

I'm so happy for you. Last time we got a whole pig we were told that they would save the lard for us, but the butcher forgot and disposed of it 😕

Hopefully we will have your luck next time! So happy for you @Paradox

blevinandwomba

Mmm. I always try to keep lard in my fridge. I'm pretty blessed in having a local organic farmer who sells it already rendered at a very reasonable price, but I've never rendered my own. Enjoy! You can make a lot of pie crust.

Brindy

I'm new lard, but very interested. What uses are you planning to use it for?

Paradox

So far, nearly 3 gallons of finished rendered lard! I'm almost done but dang..

I've been pouring it hot into canning jars and then putting lid & ring. most of them seal themselves as they cool.

As for uses.. I hear it's the best in pie crusts, but we typically use it for cooking on the stove.. sautéing onions/garlic, greens, etc. just a little bit when doing eggs to keep them from sticking to the pan. that kind of thing. Occasionally, we'll use it for frying, like turning corn tortillas into tostadas or similar. and I may look to use that when I reseason a couple of my cast iron pans in the near future. have to look that one up.

Torey

@Brindy I use lard for my pastry (and I have been told I make excellent pastry). For sweet pies as well as savoury. But it has many other uses. Donuts taste soooo much better when fried in lard. So do most things.

@Paradox Lard is excellent for seasoning cast iron.

Its smoke point is 375 F.

Brindy

@torey , thank you. I want to learn everything, but there aren't enough hours in a day.

Torey

@Brindy You are welcome and I agree about not enough hours in a day. I have read about subliminal learning, involving having tapes of educational material playing while you are sleeping. Not sure how that works for optimal sleep patterns, though.

Linda Bittle

Granny made the BEST pie crust using lard!

dottile46

@Paradox bless you! We rendered lard about three weeks ago. What a chore! First time doing it and probably could have turned the heat up just a bit and not hovered over it as much. Worked on it for three days!

We poured our hot lard into canning jars and put a flat and ring on them. All but one sealed so it's in the fridge. The others are in the freezer. From everything I read, in the freezer it will keep indefinitely which is great.

Melissa Swartz

Isn't it nice to have a group of people who understand and appreciate your good fortune? So many people wouldn't.

Monek Marie

My brother butchered 3 pigs at one time. We all were rendering lard in our homes for a few days. And we all had a supply for a long time. It brings back memories and gives me one more reason to add a pig or two to the property

Torey

I just came across this link on how to make lard thanks to a posting that @RustBeltCowgirl made about wild medicinals.

https://www.bioprepper.com/2016/03/23/back-basics-make-preserve-lard/

RustBeltCowgirl

@torey Here's a link using lard that was buried under a different topic.

https://www.bioprepper.com/2018/03/26/preserve-food-lard/

Monek Marie

Wow. I have to read this again. Very interesting. Thanks for posting it!~

Annie Kate

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/887844#Comment_887844

@torey and @Brindy There's this book, Ultralearning that deals with the problem beautifully. Nothing subliminal, though.

And nothing about lard, so I suppose this is off-topic.

RustBeltCowgirl

Another link about how to stockpile lard.

https://www.bioprepper.com/2018/09/01/stockpile-lard-survival-food-great-depression/

It makes a comment in the post that a lot of preppers are short on fat and salt. They have plenty of dried food, but lack the fat and salt to cook it with.

RustBeltCowgirl

Another link to using some of that lard.

https://www.hobbyfarms.com/how-to-make-lard-soap/

Brindy

@RustBeltCowgirl , thank you for the awesome links. I can't wait to get another pig now.

@Annie Kate and @torey I've never really thought about that. Thank you for the suggestions. Now I have something else to add to my list of things to study and learn. 🤣

I really do love learning and if I could do it while sleeping that would be amazing!

tomandcara

I have heard, ,but never checked it out, that lard from a pig that is raised outside is a very good source of Vitamin D. It made enough sense to me that I just accepted it as fact. Through the years I have come to realize this is not always true. However, I will put it here and if anyone wants to "fact check" it, please let us know.