Rendered Lard

Place 1/4 cup water into a heavy-bottomed pot, skillet, or dutch oven and place over low heat. Add thawed, pre-chopped leaf or back fat or combination. (If using SGR fat, it is already pre-ground--no need to chop!) 

The fat will slowly melt out of the connective tissue, leaving behind brownish "cracklin," and producing a clearish liquid oil--the melted lard. Once you have a decent amount of the clear liquid, dip it out with a ladle and pour it through a strainer into a large heat-proof bowl. Continue straining out liquid fat until the process slows and mostly cracklin is left. (The cracklin can be used as a snack or "au gratin" topping or bacon bits. Strain and cook on a dry cast iron skillet until browned and crisp, seasoning to taste.)

The purpose of placing the liquid lard first into a bowl and then into storage containers is to allow any broth or water-based residue to sink and settle out of the liquid fat, ensuring better shelf life of your lard. Keeping this in mind, skim the liquid oil into your storage containers, leaving behind the water-based portion of liquid at the bottom of the bowl. Allow to chill, then transfer to the fridge or freezer. Lard will shrink during freezing and can be stored in glass containers, but it's a good idea to refrigerate the lard first so the shrinkage doesn't happen too quickly and risk breaking the glass jars.

Lard will store frozen for a year or refrigerated for 3-4 weeks. If refrigerated lard gets moldy, discard. I do not recommend countertop storage for more than a day. 

Estimated yield: Approximately 1.5-2 quarts per 5 lb ground package of raw fat

Have a blast and want to learn even more? Visit our extensive lard tutorial!