What does rendering lard do?

Rendering lard is the process of melting animal fat and straining it to remove the meat, veins, tissues, and impurities. The result of properly rendered lard should be white, creamy shortening (a fat that is solid at room temperature and liquid at warmer temperatures).

Can you render lard too long?

If you over-cook it or allow it to burn on the edges, the lard will begin to brown and you’ll end up with a lard that has a stronger porky flavor. It’s still completely usable for things like frying and sauteing, it’s just not ideal for making sweet pastries and pie crusts.

Is rendered fat the same as lard?

At its simplest, lard is rendered pork fat. Leaf lard, specifically, is a fine, soft, white fat rendered from the fat in the kidney region of pigs and hogs. It is mild in flavor, soft in texture, and particularly well-suited to pastry making. Lard that hasn’t been rendered is simply raw fat.

How do you know when lard is done rendering?

When the fat starts to melt, it will separate itself from the “cracklings,” (crisp residue left after lard has been rendered). At this point after about 1.5 – 2 hours once the cracklings start to settle on the bottom of the crock, it’s done!

Is tallow healthier than lard?

Lard: Nutrition. Both tallow and lard are healthy, especially if you can get them from pastured (pigs) grass-fed and finished (cows) sources. Pastured lard is rich in vitamin D (something more than half all Americans are lacking), while tallow is rich in a slew of pro-metabolic fatty acids and vitamins.

Can lard make you gain weight?

Lard has about half as much saturated fat as butter, but about double the saturated fat found in olive oil. Lard is fattening. Like any fat, it boasts about nine calories per gram.

What do you need to know about rendering lard?

Rendering Lard is a pretty simple process that transforms animal waste products into a stable and usable material. Rendering is basically the processing of any animal products into a more useful material or to be more precise, it’s the rendering of the entire animals fatty tissue into a purified fat like tallow or lard.

Why does rendering lard have a yellow smell?

Rendering lard is pretty much just heating up the pork fat slowly so that it melts and separates itself from anything else within the fat. If the fat is left too long the cracklings will start to burn causing your lard to turn a deep yellow and ends up having a piggie, chicharon type of smell and taste to it instead of being odorless.

Can a pig’s fat be used to render lard?

Lard can technically be rendered from any fat from a pig. If you, like me, save your fat after cooking bacon, then technically you are already rendering your own lard. (P.S.- This bacon grease saver is amazing if you do this!)

Do you need a slow cooker to render lard?

You also must be very careful in watching the lard rendering if you use this method because it will render very quickly and you will want to start straining quickly. If you have a slow cooker, then definitely use that for rendering your lard. It will give you low even heat and reduce the likelihood of browning your fat.