Saturday, February 9, 2013

Another Job Down



With rainy weather Wednesday night and Thursday morning it gave me plenty of time to finish off another inside kitchen chore. I had started rendering the lard the day before melting it down slowly in my large roaster. As it rendered and cooked down I ladled it through several layers of cheese cloth to strain and then poured it into hot sterile jars. Once it has cooled it will go into the freezer for cooking, baking and soap making. This is actually only half as I gave the other half to grown daughter Fred for her household. Another thing accomplished and marked off the list.



Notice the very white lard which is the first to be rendered off and the purest. This is what I use for pie crusts, biscuits and soap making. The darker jar to the left is the last to be jarred and is the oil left after the cracklings are removed. This is the lard that has a stronger bacon taste and can be used for frying and such. 




And the best part are the cracklings, crisp and brown. Once drained these crispy morsels are put in pint jars and frozen for use in cornbread, on top of casseroles and just as snacks.


I do not seal any of these jars. I simply allow the food to cool and then place in hot sterile DRY jar and place lid on it. Once cooled down they are labeled and placed in the freezer. 



The two dogs will take an arm off for one of these .   


As soon as they get up from their nap.


Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter


7 comments:

  1. CQ, I would love to try my hand at rendering lard but have no pigs. Is the lard somethin I could get from my local grocer or market? Also, would I be able to process this or is the freezer method the only way to go? Thanks in advance!

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  2. Your best try would be a butcher shop. Our small town still has a town butcher. Very few people render fat anymore and butcher shops in this area actually have to pay to have fat hauled away. I always freeze my lard although I do read of people that simply store it in jars in the pantry.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks CQ! :) You've been such a help and inspiration to me!

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  3. Work, work!!! I know work accomplished does leave you with a feeling like no other.

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  4. That lard looks beautiful & I would fight the 2 napping pups for one of those jars of cracklings!

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  5. Busy , busy lady ! Nothing like getting it all done ! Have a good day !

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  6. Congratulations, CQ. Everything looks great!

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