How to Render Lard

Name: How to Render Lard
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 3 h
Yield: 16 serving
Ingredients: 1 ½ to 2 pounds of trimmed pork fat

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Learn how to properly render lard and store it in all your baked goods or fried foods to enhance your recipes.

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Start by trimming any meat away from the fat and cut the fat into smaller ½” or small cubes. It’s ok if there is minimal meat on the fat when cooking.
Add the fat to a medium sized Dutch oven or pot over low heat and begin to render.
Stir the fat every few minutes to get it going and to make sure that it does not stick. We aren’t looking to brown it in the beginning.
Cover the pot and cook over low heat for as little as 1 hour or up to 4 hours.
Come back every 30 minutes or so and give it stir to make sure it isn’t browning to fast or sticking. The heat should never be to a point where the oil is smoking like it does when you are ready to sauté food.
It should be well browned and covered in its own fat when it is done cooking. You will know when it’s done because the liquid will not increase. Also be sure to not cook it too long where the bacon begins to burn.
Drain the pork lard through a chinois or cheesecloth.
Presse down on the lard to release as much fat as possible.
You should end with a little over 1 cup of rendered lard from 1 ½ to 2 pounds of raw fat.
These cracklings can be used in bread, biscuits, or frying with vegetables for added flavor.
Cover and use or store.

Make-Ahead: You can make this up to several weeks ahead of time.
How to Store: Cover and keep this in the refrigerator for up to 6 weeks. You can freeze this pork lard for up to 1 year.
I mostly store the lard in the freezer and take it out as I need it, usually by the spoonful.