Rendering Lard

Here is the post promised on the Six Arrrows Farm Update!  With all the pork that we had processed this fall, of course quite a bit of lard came in as well.  We decided to render it ourselves, since it is good for you and great for cooking!  Aubrey and I (Emily) each rendered a batch on different days.  I have asked Aubrey to write up exactly how we did it, so she will add that to this post soon!

Raw Frozen Lard...basically big chunks of fat!

Boiling down the fat

First stage cracklings

First stage lard...we will use this first kind for pie crust and other delicate tasks.  As the cracklings continue to cook down, the lard will take on a stronger flavor and color.  We will use that for cooking and frying.

Straining the "pie crust stage" of the lard

Coolin down!

I used lard to make the crust for "The First Pumkin Pie of '09" pictured in the column to the right of the posts!  It was delicious!