Home-Rendered Lard
by Catherine Haug
(photo from Wikipedia (1))
Back in your grandmothers’ (or great grandmothers’) time, lard was a common staple in everyone’s kitchen, used for tender & flakey pie crusts, melt-in-your-mouth cookies and cakes, frying, deep frying, a spread on toast (like butter), and more. But in more recent times, it has been maligned, along with all animal fats, as an artery-clogging nightmare. It does not deserve this reputation.
[I firmly believe it has gotten a bad rap because the powers-that-be wanted to push us into using fats/oils from vegetable sources so they could sell more seed. But that's another topic altogether...]
What is Lard?
It is the fat from hogs, in both its rendered and unrendered forms, and comes in three grades: (1)
- The highest grade of lard, known as leaf lard, comes from the visceral fat deposit surrounding the kidneys and inside the loin, and has the least ‘pork’ flavor.
- The next best comes from the fatback, the hard subcutaneous fat between the back skin and muscle of the pig.
- The third grade comes from the caul, the fat surrounding the digestive organs.
Lard is a great shortening for baked goods, especially pie crusts, and for frying. It can also be used to make soap, as grease (for some uses), and for a primitive oil lamp.
It can also be used to coat eggs (in the shell) after washing, as it provides a similar protection as the coating provided by the hen.
What’s Good about Lard?
Its superior flavor, especially leaf lard, and a relatively high smoke-point, makes it ideal for frying and deep-frying.
It has a favorable fat composition (40% saturated, 48% monounsaturated, 12% polyunsaturated) that is very similar to human body fat, and is considered easier for us to digest. It is very high in vitamin D, a nutrient much in the news these days for its health benefits, and one most of us are deficient in. (2)
Compare with Vegetable Shortenings
Coconut oil is made up of short-chain fatty acids that are important for health. But coconut oil melts at warmer room temperatures, so is not good for some baking uses such as pie crust. It is good for frying and deep-fat frying, and is a good fat for recipes that call for vegetable oil, if you melt it first.
Palm oil is a mostly-saturated type of vegetable shortening, that has not been chemically altered. It is very solid (hard) at room temperature, so is not easy to work with in baked goods and pastries, but it is good for frying. However, vital tropical rainforests are being decimated to plant palm oil trees.
Common vegetable shortening (Crisco, etc.) is chemically modified to make it solid at room temperature. As such, it is comprised of either
- trans fats (from partial-hydrogenation of the original vegetable oils); or
- interesterified fats (chemically removing the fatty acids from the triglyceride, hydrogenating some of them to be saturated, then reattaching them to the triglyceride).
Trans fats have been implicated in heart disease and other health issues, and must be listed on the label. Interesterified fats have been shown to be even more dangerous than trans fats, especially for sugar metabolism (diabetes, etc.), but is not required to be listed on the label. (4)
Commercially Processed Lard
When the bad news about trans fats reached mainstream media, grocery stores around the country stocked up on those 1-pound boxes of commercially-processed lard (Armour, etc.). This could certainly be used in a pinch, but note that it has been treated with bleach and deodorizers. To improve its shelf life, and to allow it to be kept without refrigeration, some of the fat has been hydrogenated, converting it not to trans-fats but to saturated fat. This process also deactivates the vitamin D.
By far, the best lard is that which has been freshly rendered and stored properly (see below).
How to Render Lard
There are many websites that offer great descriptions of the method for rendering lard, so I won’t go into the details here. I can recommend two websites, with great photos:
- The Nourishing Gourmet: How to Render Lard
- Lehmans Country Life: Rendering Lard: A First Timers’ Guide
Both of these blogs describe the stove-top and oven methods, and have great comments. One that I especially took notice of is the recommendation to use a crockpot. You put the fat into the crockpot, cover the pot, turn it on, and wait until the fat is rendered. No spatters, burns, etc..
Lard in Wrapper
Storage & Shelf Life
Lard in Wrapper
(photo from the New Resilient (7))
After rendering and straining the fat, you will want to store it.
The main issue with lard (and all edible fats) is that they can go rancid from oxidation. So it’s very important to keep it away from light. It can pick up odors from other things, so it should be in a container with a good-fitting lid, or tightly wrapped in parchment (or waxed paper), then stored in a cool, dark place, especially for long term.
Another consideration is to keep it away from mice, as they love lard! This is where glass jars with lids come in handy… (5)
Write the rendered date on the container, to help you keep track of which to use first.
Storage containers
Good storage containers include: a ceramic crock or wrapped in parchment paper (when it begins to solidify upon cooling). If you keep it in glass canning jars (with lid), put them in a refrigerator, cabinet or carboard box to protect from light.
I would not keep it in plastic (like yogurt containers or plastic wrap) because as a fat, it will leach fat-soluble toxins from the plastic.
If you plan to use it frequently (several times a week), and your kitchen stays cool (below 75º F), you could keep some in a crock with a lid for several weeks, or up to 4 months in ideal conditions (5,6). But if your kitchen gets above 75, store it in the refrigerator or other cool spot.
Lard cans are another option; however, the solder contains lead, so be careful and choose a can with a ceramic coating on the interior. Some have a chemical coating, but this is a type of plastic and could leach toxins into the lard.
Long term storage
It will keep in the refrigerator 9 – 10 months, and in the freezer for up to a year; after that, it could go rancid. (6) For freezer storage, I recommend wrapping pound blocks in parchment, and then in freezer paper, for easy stacking.
If your basement or root cellar stays cool during hot weather, it will keep similar to in a refrigerator, but do keep it away from light.
Where To Obtain Lard for Rendering
Shelli R. and I are going to try rendering with a crockpot. We bought our unrendered lard (ground fat and rind) at Farm to Market Pork, Inc, outside Kalispell. As of July 2010, their price is $1 per pound; minimum order is a 5-pound block, which will produce 2 – 3 pounds of rendered fat. After our first rendering, I’ll update this post with our results.
The Farm Hands Map indicates two other farms that raise and sell pork, and may also sell lard for rendering: Louden Riverside Farms and Manning Farm.
Sources
- Wikipedia on ‘lard:’ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lard
- The Nourishing Gourmet: How to Render Lard
- Lehmans Country Life: Rendering Lard: A First Timers’ Guide
- Nutrition and Metabolism
- Discuss Cooking: Discussion Forum on Lard Storage
- Community Awareness Preparation: Discussion forum on Lard Storage
- The New Resilient: Make Your Own Lard