Does anyone know if you put rendered lard into plastic tubs, if that is ok?

Also, any input on HOW TO render it would be gratefully appreciated.

thanks!

Idaho Cher

-- Cher Rovang (fullcircle@nidlink.com), October 14, 2000

Answers

Cher, I grew up on a hog farm. Though I dont know if that means anything.We always cut the fat in one inch squares and cooked over low heat for several hours. You have to stir all of the time. The product was strained through a colander,(to get craklins)then it was strained through cheese cloth and poured into quart jars, HOT, and sealed. Kept for several months in a cool dry place. If it a stange odor, get rid of it. We never put it in cans. I have no input on that. But I will tel you this, the BEST biscuits you ever wanted.

-- Terri Perry (stuperry@stargate.net), October 14, 2000.

Hey Cher! About a bazillion years ago or so, we'd render lard. A 40 gal iron kettle was used for that task. Woodfire and a big paddle made of white oak would be used to stir it with. As Terri said, stirrin constantly to keep it from stickin and burnin. After most of the day of "cookin" the cracklins were removed with a pan and dumped into a strainer. The lard was then dumped into new lard cans, made of metal, and left to cool outside. It was always fall when we butchered anyhow so the wood fire felt good as well as the lard bein cooled by mother nature. Cracklins were spread out on a table with an old sheet to soak up any left over lard. Lard was stored in those same cans in a cool room of the house or back porch--as long as it didn't freeze. The cracklins were also kept in lard cans too. They were kept cool to keep'm from gettin "strong". Cornbread with cracklins, milk and sugar. How about just boiled cracklins? They were fit to eat too. The good old days are almost gone now, only a few hanger-on'ers left of the old heads but we have a new crop of young people that are doin a rite smart job of carry'n on the old ways. I think the old ways are in good hands now. A few years ago I didn't really think so. Well anyhow, hope this gabbin helped you some without makin your ears tard. I'm long winded sometimes. Hows bout fresh hog liver fried with onions, mashed taters and liver gravy! Think I'll go see if'n I can rustle up somethang to et. Matt. 24:44

-- hoot gibson (hoot@pcinetwork.com), October 14, 2000.

Cher: Using advice from this forum, I rendered some a couple months ago, using my oven and a roaster pan. Just put the cut up pieces of fat into the roaster, cover it, and cook on low about 200 for several hours. You may need to adjust the heat up a bit, but otherwise, just be careful not to spill any on yourself when you remove it from the oven! I believe I was told to add a little water, too. The little cooked pieces sink to the bottom. Cool this, then scrape off the melted fat from the top, removing the cooked meat scraps if any, and reheat the top fat once or twice more until it is pure, then pour into suitable container. I poured mine into canning jars and sealed them. Jan

-- Jan in Colorado (Janice12@aol.com), October 14, 2000.

Well, I rendered my first batch.

I ended up with four quarts of lard. However, I didn't have any cheesecloth and since we live 17 miles up the mountain from town, I improvised. I used a coffee filter. Started out with two, then it worked better with one.

Strained the cracklins through a colander and let the lard seep into a bowl. Poured the lard thru the coffee filter into the jars.

Also...I didn't have any lids for my jars...I can't believe this! (We are in the middle of building and I can't find ANYTHING!!)SO, I covered the jars with aluminum foil until I can find the lids.

Hope this will be okay.

Now as for the cracklins...I was going to feed them to the chickens, but I guess I might try some cornbread tomorrow after church and see what the family says about it.

So...what amount of cracklins do I use? any recipes out there? Or any other recipes for cracklins?

thanks to those who responded already! Appreciate it a lot!

Idaho Cher

-- Cher Rovang (fullcircle@nidlink.com), October 14, 2000.

Everyone gave you the right answer about rendering..small pieces, and low heat. I've always used clean coffee cans for the lard, and always froze all but the one I was using at the time...but we rarely have freezing weather here (Western Washington). Have always heard of using cracklins in cornbread, but have never seen a recipe. We've always just salted them and eaten them...they're delicious! The slaughterers and butchers around here no longer will save the lard for you off your pigs, Bummer! Be sure to try pie crust with the lard, it's the best ever!

-- Kathie (twinrosefarm@worldnet.att.net), October 15, 2000.

Hi Cher, here's a recipe from one of my cookbooks....

Hazel Creek Cracklin Bread

1 1/2 cups cornmeal

1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup finely diced cracklins'

Mix and sift together dry ingredients. Add milk, stir in cracklins. Pour into greased pan and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until done.

The cookbook also mentioned that when using cracklins, you usually add 1 cup of cracklins for each cup of meal. So if you have a favorite cornbread recipe, this would probably work.

Also, alot of old timers would add cracklins to hominy. Here's what the book says...

"We loved hominy and cracklins'. Mama would put equal parts hominy and cracklins' in a large skillet. The cracklins' usually had enough grease in them but if not we would add a little. You didn't want it too greasy. Since the cracklins' and the hominy were both already cooked, all you had to do was heat them up with salt and pepper. Stir constantly to avoid overfrying".

Enjoy!

-- Annie (mistletoe@earthlink.net), October 15, 2000.

Back to Basics! There is lard and there is (what we call) "leaf lard". The latter is rendered from the internal fat surrounding the kidneys and is of a much higher quality. Or at least I think so, and many agree with me. "Regular lard" is rendered from the side and back fat, and is very good, just not "AS GOOD". Procedure: For backfat, cut away the skin. Cut fat into 1" cubes. At this point, you can begin rendering, but I find it goes better and quicker if you run those cubes through your meat grinder. I do this in a large stockpot (depending upon the amount) on the top of the stove. Put enough of the "fat" in the pot to cover the bottom to 1" at most. Turn on burner to low. (Here, a wood stove is great - use a warm part. Gas is good, just a little flame. Electric, in my opinion sucks - I have never figured out how to cook ANYTHING on an electric stove!) Anyway, after a while, the fat will melt, and you can add more fat, and the more you render, the higher the temperature you can handle, but NEVER "boil" it. After you have rendered it, strain it through the medium of your choice. Coffee filters are wonderful, but incredibly slow. Cheesecloth, in several layers, works well, if you have it. I, personally, use (clean) worn out t-shirts in 2 or 3 layers. Now you have the liquid lard in your pan/pot. I then pour it into cans. We rarely have vegetable cans since we put up most of our vegetables. But, feeling wealthy from time to time, we buy a few cans of Walmart's "Special Kitty" canned cat food for the cats who have kept the barn rodent-free for many years. We clean and save the cans. Fill them with the liquid "lard" and cover with a bit of freezer paper held by a rubber band. Then into the freezer, where it keeps literally for years. We use it mostly for the best pie crust in the world (recipe available). Crisco is only good for the over bullet seal in percussion black powder revolvers. GL!

-- Brad (Homefixer@SacoRiver.net), October 16, 2000.

I grind up the lard in the meat grinder (with the bigger holes). Then put it on the woodstove where it isn't too hot and it will slowly melt. When the little meat things (what are they called - grizzles- everyone is talking about them on the above posts!!) are brown I strain the lard with a fine sieve. One nice little trick is to put the lard into plastic bottles and the in the freezer. When you need it you just cut off a piece of the bottle. Otherwise I put the lard in glass jars and when it has cooled down I fill the last 1/4 inch of the jar with salt water. it keeps fine this way.

-- kelly (kellytree@hotmail.com), October 20, 2000.

I was given a 30 gal cast iron pot that has removable tub. It is called a Farmers Kettle and it was made to scald hogs in and rendering the lard. I just found out that it us worth $4000.00 dollars. I use it in the yard to plant flowers.

-- Janie Cole (twcole@ctcweb.net), December 05, 2000.