Praise the Lard and Pass the Biscuits!

Right before we took the pigs to the butcher, I read a newspaper article about lard which turned around my thinking on this much-maligned kitchen staple.  The internet is a great source to learn about the benefits of lard and the fact that pasture raised pigs make the healthiest lard.  I realized that our pastured pigs would give us lard that was FAR healthier for baking than highly processed commercial lard, shortening, or even butter.  No more need to use olive oil in my biscuits in an attempt to make them healthy!

Here's how we turned 9 lbs. 5 oz. of fat scraps into some heavenly lard:

Teamwork made short work of a big job, separating the fat from the meat scraps.

We got 6 lbs. 11 oz. of fat pieces . . .

 . . . and 2 lbs. 10 oz. of pork scraps to put in the freezer.

We heated the fat in a heavy stainless pot over low heat for several hours, stirring occasionally.

It worked!  The fat scraps melt into lard, leaving cracklings behind.

Ready, aim, pour!  A wide-mouth funnel holds a strainer lined with a coffee filter, ready to ladle the hot lard into sterilized pint jars.

This strains out any fibrous bits . . .

. . . leaving pure, clear lard.

As it cooled, the lard began to turn from clear yellow to cloudy yellow.

The nice, crisp cracklings cooled in a colander before we froze them.

In the morning, five pints of snowy white lard greeted us.  Four went into the freezer while Jenny immediately dug into the fifth jar to make some amazing biscuits!

When it comes to lard, I'm a believer!