“It’s all in the goddamn suet.” This is a quote from one of my favorite literary heroines, Eva Waldvogel in Louise Erdrich’s novel The Master Butcher’s Singing Club. Suet is a form of lard made from a sheep’s kidney fat. We don’t have sheep here on the farm but we do have pigs.
These past couple weeks we’ve set out to make lard. In part because we want to be more sustainable and have lots of beautiful pig fat we’d like to use. Chef Rick Bayless calls lard “the voluptuous fat,” and says it rounds out food’s flavors. The only way to test the truth of this was to make my own lard.
What is lard, exactly? It is rendered pig fat. It used to be North America’s primary fat source until the 1950’s, when butter and margarine took over. Apparently in the 1950’s, doctors began to associate saturated animal fats with high cholesterol levels, giving lard a bad reputation. But this reputation is undeserved.
Good, pure lard is nearly 100 % fat. Butter is 81% fat and 19% other stuff (water, solids, yellow coloring, salt). According to a New York Times article on lard from October 2000, lard has less saturated fat than butter. “According to the Agriculture Department Nutrition Database, lard is composed of 42% saturated fat (which may increase cholesterol levels in the blood) and 54% unsaturated fat (which may decrease cholesterol in the blood). By comparison, butter is 43% saturated fat and 30% unsaturated…” Lard is not a villainous fat at all. But like any fat, is not bad for you as long as it’s used in small quantities.
So, why not render some lard? I read a book about farm life a few years ago when I was still living in the US, and the author was extremely earnest and energetic, to the point of being self-righteous. In one chapter, she scolded modern mothers for not making fresh mozzarella for their families. “It’s easy!” she said, and proceeded to list about two dozen ingredients and tools needed for such an “easy task.” At this point, I threw the book down. Making lard is probably unrealistic for most people. But if you have the time, some good pig fat, and a cast iron pot, it’s worth a try.
Pure pig back fat--should be white, thick, odorless, and look a little like fish.
Cubed back fat
Here’s what I needed to make lard:
3 kilos of pig’s back fat, cut into cubes
1 large cast iron pot
Water
A large metal strainer
Cheese cloth
A rectangular roasting pan
1. First, cut the pig fat into 1-inch sized (or smaller) cubes. The smaller the cubes, the faster they will melt.
2. Place the cubes in a large, cast iron or ceramic pot. Put 1/3 cup water for every 450g of lard. And please make sure your pot is large enough to hold all of the melted lard! You do not want an overflowing pot here. If in doubt, render less lard.
3. Place the pot in an oven set at 200 degrees F. After 30 minutes, stir the lard. After this, check your lard every 45 minutes or so and stir it with a long metal or wooden spoon. Be careful, this stuff is hot. My fat bits took about 4 hours to melt. The fat bits will never melt completely; they will turn golden and crispy. These are called cracklings. If you leave the lard in the oven too long, the cracklings will turn the liquid fat yellow and give it a bacon flavor. If you are using lard for Mexican food, this is exactly what you want. If, however, you want to use your lard to fry regular foods, make pie crusts, or bake, then you want the lard very white and practically odorless and flavorless. This means you must take the liguid out of the oven before the cracklings get really golden. My first batch came out better (clearer) than the second because I took it out earlier, even though the cracklings looked underdone. They weren’t.
Cracklings floating on rendered lard.
Cracklings after being strained and squeezed.
When it’s time to remove the lard from the oven, please be careful. This is hot oil—like, the kind of stuff Medieval people used to throw off castle walls to maim (and kill) their enemies. Don’t get Medieval with your lard.
I like a little held with this next step—someone sensible (as opposed to air-headed) and strong to hold either the strainer or to pour the lard. Line your metal strainer (I actually used a metal vegetable washer) with cheese cloth and set it on your roasting pan. Then pour the lard over the cloth-lined strainer. Once it’s poured, carefully use a spoon squeeze the cracklings against the cloth to get more fat out of them. Discard the cracklings (or eat tem if you want; whatever gives you a thrill.) Let the lard get to room temperature, then set it in the refrigerator. By the next day, it should be a solid snow-white block. You can scoop the lard from his block into small plastic containers, or cut the lard into blocks and wrap them in parchment paper and cling warp. Lard keeps for one year in the freezer and several months in the refrigerator. After the lard is made, what can you do with it? Well, I’ve made some really good stuff with my homemade lard. I’ll show you what, exactly, in the next few posts.
Rendered and strained-it looks quite yellow but will turn white as it cools.
Lard, the morning after.
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