Help rendering lard...might have cut fat too small?

[pqtex]

Hello all,

 

This is my first time to render the fat from a hog into lard. I read all the instructions about cutting the pieces small and thought I had a good grip on how to do this. Simple, right? I used a food processor because I don't have a grinder, and I ended up with more of a fat puree than bits and pieces. I put it all in the cooking pot anyway, but was wondering if this would still work. Any advice or suggestions on this?

 

Thanks...

 

Jill in Texas

Edited January 31, 2013 by pqtex

[homeschoolshe]

About one inch pieces would have been sufficient. But, anyway, you are basically getting it to melt. Usually the left over pieces will curl up and get sort of hard. The lard will be clear until it cools. Leftovers chunks should stay white or even brown like cracklings. I did mine in the microwave for a few minutes at a time. You could try that for a small batch to see how it's going to come out for you. Let us know.

Edited January 31, 2013 by homeschoolshe

[pqtex]

So far, so good. It has been melting nicely and I've been dipping/pouring it off. It looks like I'll get about 3 pints from this batch. thanks for the input. Next time I'll either cut it by hand or use a grinder. The food processor was definitely overkill!

[homeschoolshe]

Glad it turned out for ya!

[pqtex]

I stored the 3 pints of the rendered fat in the refrigerator overnight, but it never solidified. It's a lovely clear color, but flows just like liquid oil. Is than an effect from not rendering long enough, or from the type of fat used (back fat, not belly fat)? Try to reheat for longer, or just keep refrigerated and use as-is?

 

Jill in Texas

[homeschoolshe]

That is odd, someone else will have to help you there.

[Darlene]

I just rendered about 30lbs of pork fat into lard yesterday. I cut mine in cubes and cooked it on low until the pork pieces turned golden brown. I ladled it into mason jars and as it cooled it solidified and turned an off white. That's just letting it cool on the kitchen counter. I have no idea why yours didn't solidify in the fridge...that makes absolutely no sense.

 

If you got oil from your pieces then it should be lard. The only way you can 'under process' it is if you don't get all the lard from the fat pieces which shouldn't affect the extracted lard.

 

Alot of people do it in the crockpot on low. It takes longer but doesn't require as much attention.

[pqtex]

Thanks for the reply. I let it cool on the counter in mason jars, then refrigerated it. It is still liquid, after more than 24 hours. I searched the internet trying to find a reason with little success. I saw a reference to the difference between belly fat and back fat as maybe the reason, but no further explanation of it. The oil is fine...I've already used it in a couple of cooking applications, but it isn't a soft solid like I expected. This was also from the fat on a wild hog, not a farm raised one, if that makes any difference at all. It was my first time to do this, and found it quite easy...the small size I started with didn't seem to make any difference...it just didn't take the end form I expected. I will keep this refrigerated and use this as I would any oil until it's used up. Maybe next time will turn out differently! :-)

 

Jill in Texas

[Jeepers]

That is really strange! I save bacon grease and it always firms up in the fridge. If you have too much, you can always freeze it. I do that all the time with bacon grease.

 

I remember my grandma's lard. It was always firm but not too hard. A little firmer than peanut butter I guess. And it was snow white.

[sassenach]

It does sound weird, wish there were some hunters on here who have rendered up wild pig fat before. Never heard of it not solidifying!

[Mt_Rider]

Not sure I can add more than Darlene and the rest have said --- since I was helping when Darlene did this in October.

But....did you strain out the non-fat? I only ask because your pieces got blenderized? Can't really think how that would make any difference tho.

 

Hope you figure out the oddity.

 

MtRider

Edited February 4, 2013 by Mt_Rider

[pqtex]

There wasn't anything except fat, to the best of my knowledge. I was worried about it at first, but I don't think the food processor had anything to do with it since I was left with a pot full of crackling crumbs (instead of bigger pieces). I started with just enough water in the pot to keep the fat from sticking, per instructions. That should have all cooked out, but even if it didn't, the fat and water would have separated in the jars. I've since read that hog is "soft" fat and beef is "hard" fat, but even those distinctions don't explain why it is a liquid oil. I was working with only 3 lbs of fat and it rendered to 3 pint jars. I had trimmed the fat very well. I had never done this before, so I don't know what is "normal" and what isn't, but it seemed to do what it was supposed to do...except firm up! I may take one pint of it, reheat it for a bit, strain it again, and see what happens. Or I might just use it as is and wait until next time to try again. I'm just curious to know what happened and why!

 

Thanks,

 

Jill in Texas