Hello Everyone. 

Suzanne inspired me with some of her recipes calling for lard.  I found out I can purchase pork fat from the processor near my home.  I pay 50 cents a lb and have been getting about 25lbs from them at a time.  I cut it up in small cubes and freeze it till I need it.  I then can pull out a bag of fat and make up a new supply, which I store  in mason jars.  I have been reading the benefits of using animal fat, verses man made.  The good fats are higher and bad fats lower.  Lard also is a great source of Vit. D.  It is so easy to do, you can even render it in the oven overnight.  If anyone wants to know how I have a great link. 

http://cookandeat.com/2008/02/…..d-help-me/  Another good help with great pictures.

It really is easy.  One key is to cool it fast for great texture.  Once you make it you will not go back to crisco, lol.  It is amazing stuff. 

I do add about an inch of water to my fat at the start of cooking it.  I mash it while it cooks with a potato masher.  As it cooks it looks amber in color, but cools pure white.  You can tell it is done when the cracklings lay on the bottem of the pan.  I use a strainer lined with cheese cloth and pour it through and into the jars.  I put the lids on and stick them in the refridgerator.  You can freeze it.  The main thing is to cook it slowly.  The cracklings are wonderful, so dont through them away!

I think i am becoming, not only a chicken pusher, but a lard pusher, too! lol.

I was reading Suzanne's post today about wondering if she can eat her piglets… I bet once she sees those jars of lard lined up on her counter (cuz I bet she is out rounding up some pork fat today, lol,) she will get over her wondering, lol.  If I recall, you get something like 30lbs of good fat from each hog.  I hope everyone will give it a try.  I have never had such nice pie crust, cookies, etc.  The sticks of lard in the store are nothing like this stuff.  I bet Georgia can tell Suzanne how to render lard (and be the director of the lard rendering.)

Ask your local butcher to hold some back for you, even if it is just 5 lbs or so.  Some people are hooked on phonics… I am hooked on lard, lol.  Take my advice, DON'T WAIT, lol.

Mo olelo said:

This really does sound so easy to do.

The links posted all talk about either keeping the lard in the fridge or freezing it.  Does anyone know if it can be canned… as in pressure canned?

Our freezer is completely full.  We bought three turkeys on sale before Easter, used one but that leaves two in there.  And then on Friday, Food Lion had whole boneless sirloin roasts on sale for $1.87/lb, so we bought two big ones and brought them home and cut them into steaks and stew/stir fry meat.  We had the butcher trim all the fat and grind 70 lbs of it, which we then packaged at home into meal sized portions as well as made up and froze patties for bbqing.  Add to that the chicken I got on sale last month plus bags of perogies and frozen leftover meals and Dave has told me that he doesn't care how good the sale is, his organizational skills only go so far and there's no more room in the freezer. 

Here is the how to on canning lard…

http://stason.org/TULARC/food/…..-used.html