I have this nice bag of pig fat waiting to be turned into lard. I was told to gently melt it. But, I was also told a bit of extra information, and don't have any books on it....

1) the foxfire book mentions adding some water to it to keep it from sticking to the sides of the pan, which my friends have never done. is this helpful?

2) they mentioned, after all is melted and you have scraped off the tops, heating it HIGHER STILL for a bit to .... "getting the cracklings" out..... or something like that.... and it is supposed to then make it possible to store it out in the kitchen without it needing to be refrigerated or frozen to keep it from going rancind. She said that supposedly this helps "preserve it", but if you get it too high, it can burn the lard or catch it on fire. So, if this is important, what is the temperature!?!?

I was hoping to do this today.......

thanks for your help!

-- marcee (thathope@mwt.net), March 11, 2002

Answers

cut it into chuncks,,, slowly heat it up,, adding a bit of water doesnt hurt,, and does keep it from scorching,, keep an eye on it,, stirring it occassionaly,, when its mostly done,, you can ladle it off the top, and into whatever your going to store it in,,seal while still hot,, keep in dork cool place,, will last a LONG time. Thats how I do it

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), March 11, 2002.

The temperature to hit is 255°F. Rendering to this temp will eliminate the water in the lard which causes it (along with air and light) to go rancid when stored.

-- Julia (charmer24@juno.com), March 11, 2002.

The "cracklings" are the fried pig skin (chicharrones) and the increase in heat is to make the pig skin crisp after the fat has been melted out. So melt the fat out(render it) from the chunks of pig skin & fat, pour it off, but leave a little and then raise the heat to fry the remaining chunks of pig skin.

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), March 11, 2002.

They are all right, Marcee. I make my own lard for soap and cooking. Use the water as it does help. Also remember , this will make your house smelly for a few hours, so I do mine in the great outdoors. Have to take the bb gun to keep the neighbors dogs at bay, but I would rather this then the complaints from the household. LOL.

-- Kristean Thompson (pigalena_babe@yahoo.com), March 11, 2002.

Yep marcee..they are all doing it the way I have in the past. Good luck..I cannot think that you will have any problems...except..like some one said .. the varmints may fall in love with you if they get a whiff of it!

-- Sher (riverdobbers@webtv.net), March 11, 2002.

Whan you get done put some of those cracklins in the Microwave and watch tham turn into big fluffy pig skins. GOOD!

-- Mel Kelly (melkelly@webtv.net), March 11, 2002.

After melting my pig fat I poured it through cheesecloth to get all the lumps and bits out then poured it into mini loaf pans lined with wax paper. After solidifiying, I removed the paper and wrapped the "bricks" of lard in freezer paper then a plastic freezer bag and froze them. It sure was nice and clean looking.

-- Kathy (homefarmbc@pacificcoast.net), March 12, 2002.