How To Render Pork Fat | Make Lard at Home
Lard, the forgotten fat, is making a well-deserved comeback in the kitchen. Not only is it incredibly nourishing, but using lard can also enhance the flavour and texture of your baking and cooking. So why not make your own? With just a few simple steps and some attention, you can learn how to render pork fat right at home, ensuring that it’s pure and free from any additives. It’s a simple, traditional fat that brings rich flavour to everything from pies to sautéed vegetables—truly a versatile ingredient worth having on hand.
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I like to diversify the fats in my kitchen, and lard is one of the most versatile options I have. I use it in everything from making einkorn biscuits and sourdough tortillas to whole grain pie crusts and sourdough rye crackers. The possibilities are endless!
While I primarily stick to using lard for savoury baking, since nothing beats butter for sweet treats, the more you practice rendering lard with the right cuts of fat, the more odourless it can become which makes it suitable for sweet baking. With a little practice and attention, lard can be just as neutral and reliable as any other fat in the kitchen!
What is Lard?
Lard is rendered pork fat, which means it’s fat that has been slowly cooked down to separate the fat from any remaining bits of tissue. Different cuts of fat in a pig yield different flavours and textures when rendered. The most common types of pork fat used to make lard are leaf lard, back fat, and belly fat.
Leaf Lard
This is the finest quality fat, coming from around the pig’s kidneys and loin area. It has the least odour after rendering and is prized for its smooth, creamy texture, making it the best fat for baking. It’s perfect for making flaky pie crusts, biscuits, and pastries.
Back Fat
Sourced from the pig’s back, this fat is denser and firmer than leaf lard. While it has a slight pork odour after rendering, it’s still milder than belly fat. Back fat is often reserved for sausage-making, but it’s also great for cooking savoury dishes.
Belly Fat
This is the fat from the pig’s belly, which is also used to make bacon. It imparts a strong, smoky, and meaty flavour when rendered, making it more suitable for cooking than baking. It’s ideal for frying or adding richness to savoury dishes, but not recommended for baked goods due to its strong flavour.
Is this the same as saving bacon fat?
No, rendering lard is not the same as saving bacon fat. While bacon fat is technically rendered pork fat, it comes specifically from the belly fat—the same fat used to make bacon. Bacon fat carries a distinctive smoky, meaty flavour due to the curing and smoking process of the bacon.
Bacon fat is wonderful for cooking, adding flavour to dishes like scrambled eggs, roasted vegetables, or sautéed greens, but it is not suitable for baking. When making baked goods like pies or pastries, the milder, neutral flavour of leaf lard is the preferred fat, as it doesn’t impart any strong flavour to the dough.
Does Making Your Own Lard Save Money?
I had the fortune of sourcing some local pastured-raised pork fat for $1/lb which is amazing and a major savings. Buying lard from the store can come out to be around $5-7/ lb which is similar to the cost of butter.
If you live near farm country, a great way to find pork fat is by joining a local farming Facebook group. Reach out to the community with a message letting them know you’re looking for pork fat. Many busy farms often have an abundance of animal fats taking up freezer space, and they may be eager to sell or give it away. It’s a win-win situation—you’re helping them clear out space while getting high-quality fat for rendering lard at home!
The hands on time to render your own pork fat is minimal and can be adapted to a busy schedule. It really only requires attention, frequent swirling of the fat, straining and storing. These steps can be done in phases, left and picked up at a later time if need be.
Pasture-raised Lard vs. Conventional Lard
Not only is making your own lard cost effective, it is also much more pure and nutrient dense.
1. Nutrient Density
Pigs raised on natural feed—such as grass, insects, and foraged foods—retain much more nutritional value in their fat compared to pigs raised on commercial grain-based feeds that are synthetically enriched.
2. Omega-3 vs. Omega-6
Pasture-raised pork contain higher levels of omega-3’s which are essential for supporting brain function, reducing inflammation and supporting heart health.
Conventionally raised, grain-fed, pork fat contains much higher levels of omega-6’s. Omega-6’s in excess can reduce brain function, increase inflammation, increase risk of heart disease, and have other damaging effects.
While is sounds like omega-6’s are the bad guys, they are also essential. Having omega-3’s and omega-6’s in balance is what you want for optimal health.
3. Vitamin D
Pigs raised in pasture, in the sunshine, eating grass grown in the sun, contains more vitamin D in their fat than those that are raised in a dark feedlot eating processed grain-based feed. Vitamin D is essential for a ridiculous amount of bodily functions.
4. Contaminants
Pigs raised on pasture have fewer pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics and other harmful chemicals stored in their fat.
5. Flavour
For all the reasons mentioned, pasture-raised pork fat just tastes way better, purer, and cleaner that conventionally raised pork fat.
Tips For Odourless Lard
- Use leaf lard
- Don’t overcook
- Strain through a a fine sieve and then an extra fine sieve.
How to Use Lard:
Cooking: It adds flavour to roasted vegetables, stews, and sautés.
Baking: Use leaf lard in pie crusts, biscuits, and pastries for a flaky texture.
Frying: Lard is an excellent fat for frying due to its high smoke point and rich flavour.
Materials You’ll Need To Make Lard
Large Pot
A large, heavy-bottomed pot is essential for rendering pork fat. It ensures the fat melts slowly and evenly without burning.
Kitchen Knife and Cutting Board (or Meat Grinder)
A sharp kitchen knife and cutting board are needed to cut the pork fat into small, uniform pieces. Alternatively, you can use a meat grinder for faster and more consistent results.
Wooden Spoon
A wooden spoon is helpful for stirring the fat as it renders. It allows you to mix without risking scraping or damaging the pot, and it won’t retain heat as a metal spoon might.
Large Fine Sieve
A large fine sieve is crucial for straining the rendered lard from the cracklings. This will catch most of the solid bits, leaving you with smooth lard.
Smaller Extra-Fine Sieve
After the first strain, use a smaller, extra-fine sieve to catch any remaining impurities or small pieces of fat. This step ensures you get pure, clean lard.
2L Glass Measuring Bowl
To hold the large sieve and catch the lard during the first straining.
Storage Vessel
For storing the rendered lard, Weck jars or mason jars with lids work great, as they seal tightly and keep the lard fresh. However, if you don’t want to deal with cleaning greasy jars afterward, you can repurpose plastic containers, which are more convenient for easy disposal but may not be ideal for long-term storage.
Ingredients
Pork Fat: Pasture-raised, local pork fat is the best choice. If possible, go for leaf lard as it is the highest quality fat, perfect for baking and cooking. If you don’t care too much about purity, you can mix leaf lard with back fat. The back fat adds a slightly richer flavour and can help balance the texture.
Sea Salt: A little sea salt is added to help with several key factors. It draws out moisture from the fat, which speeds up the rendering process. It also helps reduce impurities, neutralizes any unpleasant odours, and acts as a preservative, extending the shelf life of your rendered lard. Adding salt makes the lard smoother and more suitable for use in both savoury and sweet applications.
How To Render Pork Fat – Make Lard at Home
Prepare the Pork Fat: Store your pork fat in the freezer and remove it about 30 minutes before you plan to start rendering. This helps make the fat easier to chop.
Chop or Grind: Cut the pork fat into small pieces as uniformly as possible, without spending too much time on it. Alternatively, you can use a meat grinder to grind the fat, which speeds up the process.
Add Fat to Pot: Place the chopped or ground pork fat into a large, heavy-bottomed pot.
Sprinkle Salt: Add some salt to the fat. This helps draw out moisture, reduce impurities, and neutralize any odours.
Start Rendering on Low Heat: Turn the heat to low and begin the slow rendering process. Stir the fat every 5-10 minutes to prevent it from burning at the beginning.
Increase Heat: Once you notice that some fat has accumulated at the bottom of the pot, you can safely increase the heat to medium. This will help speed up the rendering process and allow the fat to simmer, releasing any impurities.
Stir and Monitor: Keep stirring every 10-15 minutes, and monitor the temperature to maintain a steady, moderate heat. The fat should be simmering, but not boiling or overcooking.
Rendering Time: This process typically takes a couple of hours, depending on the amount of fat. You’ll know it’s done when there are no more smalls bubbles coming up and there are only small crispy bits left in the pot (these are called cracklings).
Set Up Straining: Place a large fine sieve over a 2L glass measuring jug to catch the rendered fat.
Strain the Fat: Pour the melted fat through the sieve into the jug, allowing the crispy bits (cracklings) to be caught in the sieve. Set the jug aside to let the fat cool slightly.
Use a Smaller Sieve: To further purify the lard, place a smaller, extra-fine sieve over one of your storage jars. Slowly pour the lard from the jug through this smaller sieve to catch any remaining small impurities.
Cool: Let the rendered lard cool in the jars with the lids off. As it cools, it will solidify into a smooth, creamy texture.
Seal and Store: Once the lard has fully cooled and solidified, put the lids on the jars tightly. Store the lard in a cool, dark place. If you want to keep it for a longer period, you can refrigerate or freeze it.
Notes
The smaller the pieces of pork fat, the faster it will render.
The ratio I do is 1lb pork fat to 1 tsp salt.
Max fill would be filling your pot 3/4 of the way with pork fat pieces.
Homemade Lard
Ingredients
- 1 lb Pork Fat leaf lard and/or back fat
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- 1/2 cup Water optional
Instructions
- Prepare the Pork Fat: Store your pork fat in the freezer and remove it about 30 minutes before you plan to start rendering. This helps make the fat easier to chop.
- Chop or Grind: Cut the pork fat into small pieces as uniformly as possible, without spending too much time on it. Alternatively, you can use a meat grinder to grind the fat, which speeds up the process.
- Add Fat to Pot: Place the chopped or ground pork fat into a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Optional: add water to the pot to prevent burning at the beginning.
- Sprinkle Salt: Add some salt to the fat. This helps draw out moisture, reduce impurities, and neutralize any odours.
- Start Rendering on Low Heat: Turn the heat to low and begin the slow rendering process. Stir the fat every 5-10 minutes to prevent it from burning at the beginning.
- Increase Heat: Once you notice that some fat has accumulated at the bottom of the pot, you can safely increase the heat to medium. This will help speed up the rendering process and allow the fat to simmer, releasing any impurities.
- Stir and Monitor: Keep stirring every 10-15 minutes, and monitor the temperature to maintain a steady, moderate heat. The fat should be slowly simmering, but not bubbling or overcooking.
- Rendering Time: This process typically takes a couple of hours, depending on the amount of fat. You’ll know it’s done when there are no more smalls bubbles coming up and there are only small crispy bits left in the pot (these are called cracklings).
- Set Up Straining: Place a large fine sieve over a 2L glass measuring jug to catch the rendered fat.
- Strain the Fat: Pour the melted fat through the sieve into the jug, allowing the crispy bits (cracklings) to be caught in the sieve. Set the jug aside to let the fat cool slightly.
- Use a Smaller Sieve: To further purify the lard, place a smaller, extra-fine sieve over one of your storage jars. Slowly pour the lard from the jug through this smaller sieve to catch any remaining small impurities.
- Cool: Let the rendered lard cool in the jars with the lids off. As it cools, it will solidify into a smooth, creamy texture.
- Seal and Store: Once the lard has fully cooled and solidified, put the lids on the jars tightly. Store the lard in a cool, dark place. If you want to keep it for a longer period, you can refrigerate or freeze it.
Notes
The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. Please consult your health care provider before making any health care decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition.
Storage
If done properly, lard can be shelf stable for months in an airtight container.
If you feel like the batch you made may contain some water, store in the fridge or freezer for long-term storage.
I store my lard in the freezer just to be safe.
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