How to Render Lard + 10 Great Uses for Lard

Who knew that learning how to render lard would open up so many possibilities for its uses? I had not realized all that could be done with rendered lard. You probably already know that after you render lard, you can use it for frying food and in baked goods. But did you know you can use lard to make a quick and cheap candle? How about making soap with it? Furniture polish?

In the early 1900s, lard was a staple in the home. At that time, Procter (a candle maker) and Gamble (a soap maker) were looking for a new opportunity to make money, and long story short – Crisco (originally made from crystallized cotton seed oil) was born. It was cheaper than lard and touted as “healthier” – even though unlike lard, it was highly processed, hydrogenated and full of trans fats. A lab created “food”.

So lard was tossed aside and marketing won over actual nutritional value – sound familiar? We now know that naturally processed lard is a very healthy fat, much healthier than Crisco and other processed and partially hydrogenated oils.

Let’s take a look at how to render lard and several of its uses.

How to Render Lard Video

If you would like to view the video for this topic, click the play button below. Otherwise, keep going!

Instructions for How to Render Lard

Just a word on what rendering does before we get started. When you render fat, you are removing excess water and any other impurities. Water and impurities are what cause lard to go rancid. After removing those via rendering, your lard should be pure fat and therefore stable for storage. More on storage later.

Find Pork Fat

If you butcher your own pigs, you should have no problem finding pork fat. Any of the pork fat can be used, so don’t throw it away! It freezes easily if you don’t have time to render lard right away.

If you don’t butcher pigs, contact your local meat locker. They usually have a big surplus of pork fat, because rendering your own lard isn’t nearly as common these days. I called up our local meat locker and inquired about how much they would charge for pork fat. The one near us charges 75 cents per pound. And often times, a butcher will give you the fat as a freebie if you are processing an animal with them.

Consider Regular Pork Fat vs Leaf Fat

While any of the fat can be used, if you want the highest grade of lard for use in baked goods, you should render “leaf” fat. This fat is the visceral fat found in the abdominal cavity – particularly around the kidneys. It’s called leaf fat, because it is roughly the shape of a leaf. Leaf fat lard is considered the best lard for baked goods because it is a more pure lard and has the least amount of “pork” taste. But properly rendered lard shouldn’t have a strong pork flavor anyway.

Freeze the Pork Fat and Cut or Grind It

You will want to freeze the fat to make it easier to work with. It is honestly frustrating and messy if you don’t.

Once it is frozen, you should be able to dice the fat into cubes or cut strips to run it through a meat grinder with a coarse grind plate. Keep in mind, that you want a lot of the surface area on the fat pieces. More surface area means more of the impurities will be rendered out of the fat. So, if you are hand cutting into cubes, the smaller the better. If it gets messy, you can put the fat back in the fridge or freezer for 20 minutes or so to harden it back up.

If you get your pork fat from a butcher, ask if they can run it through a grinder for you – never hurts to ask!

Three Ways to Render the Lard with Low Heat

Be prepared for this to take hours – especially if you are doing more than a couple pounds of fat. If you try to rush the process by using a higher temp, you will end up cooking it instead of melting it and there will be a stronger pork flavor in the lard. If you are only going to use the lard for frying, that might be desirable. Otherwise, low and slow is the way to go. You want to melt it – not cook it.

Here are three ways you can melt the pork fat:

1. In a slow cooker set on the Low setting.
   Incidentally, the average Low setting on a crock pot is about 190°F.
2. In an oven set to low temp (190-200°F). You will want to put it in a Dutch oven or other heavy oven safe pot if going this route. It won’t be as easy to keep an eye on it in the oven, but it works just fine.
3. In a heavy pot on top of the stove. Start out setting the burner maybe to “2” and then when it starts to melt, turn it down to “1”.

IN ALL CASES, the lid should be left OFF. You want water to evaporate out of the fat. If you leave the lid on, moisture will collect and fall back into the fat.

Stir every hour or so to keep the fat pieces from sticking to the bottom and sides.

If you end up cooking the fat rather than just melting it, don’t fret – you can use it for many things including frying. It’s just not as desirable in baked goods and pastries due to the stronger pork flavor.

Prepare Jars or Containers While Lard is Rendering

If you are putting your lard into glass canning jars, be sure the jars are hot when you put the finished hot lard in to avoid cracking the glass. You will need approximately 1 pint jar per pound of pork fat that you are rendering. Seals and rings for your jars are also needed.

You can pour the melted fat into any heat safe, food grade container. Just make sure your containers are clean, dry and ready to go at this point. Remember: water = rancid lard, so dry is important.

How to Tell When the Lard is Done

As you are melting the fat, the “cracklings” (solid pieces that won’t melt down) will sink to the bottom of the pot. I render mine for 10 hours in the slow cooker on low. Once the solid pieces look darker and a few are rising to the top, it is done.

Skim Solids and Filter

Using a mesh skimmer, such as a spider strainer, skim as many solids as possible from the top of the melted fat. Then line a canning funnel with a couple layers of cheesecloth (or use a fine mesh strainer).  Ladle or pour the melted fat through it and into your jars. You can also use a fine mesh strainer if you do not have cheesecloth. A fine mesh strainer will be a bit more stable.

Package Your Rendered Lard for Storage

After filtering into canning jars, wipe rims and immediately put on seals and rings. Due to the heat, the jars should seal themselves – and this is safe due to this being pure lard. This would not be a safe canning method for other foodstuffs. The lard should be good for 6 months to 1 year on the shelf if kept in a cool, dark space.

Remember, you can also ladle the hot lard into other heat safe, food grade containers. You can store these in the refrigerator or freezer. The lard should be good for 1+ years in the fridge and 2+ years in the freezer. Let the lard cool completely before covering and putting in the refrigerator or freezer.

Note: Your lard will have a yellowish coloring when packaging it up. That is okay – the color should change to white as it cools and hardens.

Causes for Rancid Lard

You will be able to tell if your lard is going rancid – mainly by the smell! Normally rancid lard means that it was not processed enough, and there is excess moisture or other impurities still present. If any solid bits are still present, you might also see some mold growth. Mold growth means it was not filtered well enough after rendering.

You won’t be able to use rancid lard for cooking, but don’t throw it out! You might still use it to make some of the suggestions below.

10 Great Uses for Lard

Now that you have some lard stored up, here are some ways to use it:

1. Frying, sautéing, oven roasting veggies, basting
2. In pastries and baked goods
3. Season your cast iron cookware
4. Mix with beeswax to condition your wood cutting boards and wooden utensils as well as wood furniture and leather goods
5. Make an easy inexpensive emergency candle
6. Grease a squeaky hinge
7. Put a layer on chapped lips
8. Put a layer on burns – its properties reportedly help pain and reduce the temperature of burns
9. Make bar soap with it – it is a great moisturizer for hair and skin!
10. Rub it on tools as a treatment to ward against rust

With so many uses, how can you go wrong with learning how to render lard? I plan to keep a supply of lard on my pantry shelf and will continue to render more whenever the opportunity arises. How about you? Have you gone back to the “old days” of using lard also? Leave us a comment below and let us know.