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Lard is a versatile product made from rendering pig fat. You can think of rendering lard as a refining process that allows for the separation of pure fat from cracklings (bits of meat, skin, and fat that remain after rendering has been completed).
Lard can be used in place of oil for cooking, baking, and deep-frying and to make skincare products like soap, lotion, and lip balm.
You can buy lard, or if you have access to pork fat, it isn’t difficult to render your own. The purest (and least stinky) lard is rendered from leaf fat which is found around the animal’s kidneys, but lard can be rendered from back or belly fat as well. We butcher our pigs at home, so during processing we vacuum seal packages of fat to be rendered along with the meat.
Materials Needed for Rendering Lard in a Slow Cooker
- Pork fat (partially thawed)
- Kitchen knife
- Slow cooker
- Rubber spatula
- Mesh strainer
- Cheese cloth
- Large measuring cup with a spout
- Mason jar and lid
The pork fat is easier to cut into small pieces when it is partially thawed. You will want to use a slow cooker on the lowest setting, some run too hot even on low so make sure you keep an eye on yours. The rubber spatula is used for stirring the pork fat periodically as it renders and for scraping any bits that stick to the sides of the slow cooker.
Once your pork fat has rendered, you will pour it through a mesh strainer lined with cheese cloth into a large measuring cup with a spout (you want the spout so it is easy to transfer the lard into the container that you will store it in). After straining, you will have hot lard in the measuring cup and cracklings in your strainer. The cracklings can be fried up and eaten or disposed of.
You will pour the lard, while it is still hot, into the storage container of your choice and allow it to cool. I store my cooled lard in a Mason jar with a lid in the refrigerator, where it keeps for a year. If you leave it in your pantry at room temperature, it keeps for 4-6 months. If the lard smells bad (like rotten meat) it has gone rancid and should be thrown out.
Directions for Rendering Lard in a Slow Cooker
- Plan for spending 4-6 hours on this endeavor
- Cut your pork fat into small pieces (the smaller the better) with a kitchen knife and put them into the slow cooker
- Set the slow cooker to low
- Every 20-30 minutes, stir the pork fat with a rubber spatula. Scrape the sides of the slow cooker to loosen anything sticking to the sides
- Continue cooking until all fat has rendered. You will know it is fully rendered when there are dry cracklings floating on top of the liquid lard
- Line a mesh strainer with cheese cloth and set in on top of a large measuring cup
- Carefully (it will be very hot!) pour the rendered fat through the lined strainer into the measuring cup
- Collect the cracklings from the top of the cheese cloth if you want to use them
- Using the spout on the measuring cup, pour the hot lard into a Mason jar
- Allow the lard to cool, you will see it turn from a yellow liquid to a white solid
- Once it has cooled, put a lid on the lard so that it is airtight and store in the refrigerator or pantry
- Use your lard for cooking, baking, frying, or skin care!
Mother, farmer, author, and teacher by trade… She loves tending to things and watching them grow!