Rendered Lard today

That's a good story, Russell. :)

GCrawford, what makes some lard better than other lard? You said the best lard was white, but are there other differences, like taste perhaps?

Learning a lot about lard on this thread!
 
That's a good story, Russell. :)

GCrawford, what makes some lard better than other lard? You said the best lard was white, but are there other differences, like taste perhaps?

Learning a lot about lard on this thread!

I'm just learning also, but here's a synopsis of what I've discovered so far and what I experienced growing up.

Leaf lard is almost tasteless and used by chef's for pastries and such. Considered the best and rendered from fat around the Kidneys. Leaf fat comes in a big chunk is kind of "lacy" and contains very few blood vessels and streaks of lean meat. I rendered over a gallon of lard from ten lbs of leaf fat. Purty stuff!

Back fat (ole timers call it Fatback) comes from the back of the hog and delivers more pork taste. Mama use to render a slice of fatback (also know as salt pork in some places) to flavor her green beans (we still do!). Streak o' lean was also used in green beans.

Belly fat (aka. Bacon when cured, smoked, sliced and cooked) and some times called "streak o' lean" when just salted and in the raw. Well. . . now we're into some FLAVOR!!!! You can save your bacon fat and put it in your green beans.

Southern style green beans:
Break or snap the beans into about 1" pieces. Render the fat. Dump in the beans. Salt. Throw in an onion, cover with water (we prefer chicken broth) and boil down till they are almost scorched to the bottom of the pot. Usually takes 45 min to an hour or more.

To speed things up I'll pressure cook mine at 15 lbs (I'm at 2000 ft alt.) for 15 minutes, quick release and then boil them down to almost scorched.

My brain is now on empty.:-|
 
Do you have to keep your lard refrigerated so it doesn't go rancid?

It's not temperature that make a fat go rancid. It is exposure to air which leads to oxidation. Heat and light will speed up the oxidation process which causes the majority of rancidity. Luckily lard is a saturated fat, and saturated fats are less likely to go rancid than unsaturated fats.

The best way to keep lard from going rancid is to can it in small mason jars which can be used quickly once opened.

If perchance you don't use it quickly enough once you open a jar, and some goes rancid, you only lose a tiny amount.

Store the opened jar in the fridge. Store the unopened jars in a cool dark cabinet.
 
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