I was raised at a time when general society was clearing natural fats and oils out of their diet and out of their homes. We were told it would lead to heart disease and clogged arteries, that consuming fatty foods would put our health at risk. I clearly remember the surge of low-fat cookbooks and low-fat diets that flooded our world at that time!
How the tide has turned! Today, studies are showing that unadulterated, unprocessed fats and oils actually nourish and feed the human body. Don’t take my word for it (please, no!). But do take time to browse this article if you find the thought of using fat in the kitchen, concerning!
As for me and my household? We eat fat and enjoy it too! But we don’t just consume it. Lard can be used in many ways.
Do you wanna learn how to render lard in the oven? Good! Let’s do it!
What Is Lard?
Let’s be straightforward about this, shall we? Lard is pig fat. Pure, white, glorious pig insulation, not to be confused with beef fat (tallow)! The fat of a pasture raised pig has good things to offer the human body (vitamin D, anyone?) and if you wanna delve into the details of lard, take time to read this article!
So what are the primary uses for lard?
What Is Lard Good For?
Lard is particularly suitable for frying eggs, potatoes and meat. Just be sure to keep the lard’s temperature below the smoking point. Burnt fat isn’t good for anyone!
Does your family enjoy savory meat pie or chicken and dumplings? Use lard in the crust! Do you cook with cast iron? Season it with lard! Make soap? Use lard as one of the ingredients! Need a skin moisturizer? Don’t. But know something? Longer ago, folks certainly did use it as such!
Lard has many uses in the kitchen. And if you can source it for free, it’s a great way to save money!
Where to Find Lard When You Don’t Raise Pigs
How does a person get their hands on pig fat when they don’t raise pigs? It’s an excellent question! Here are two ways we’ve sourced it in our area. Hint: it’s best to try in late fall when animals are being butchered.
Talk To Someone Who Does Raise Pigs
If you know someone who raises pigs, let them know you are looking for pig fat! Offer to buy the excess fat, or do some old fashioned bartering and trading. Many people are happy to find someone who will use it. This is how we (usually) source pig fat.
Check With Your Local Butcher
Sometimes local butchers are willing to let go of excess fat at low prices or sometimes, for free. Check around. Make a few phone calls or write a few emails. You might be surprised by what you find!
How to Render Lard in the Oven
A person can render lard many different ways: over a wood stove, on the stovetop, in a crockpot or the oven. This girl likes doing it in the oven. Let me show you how!
Cut the Fat Into Smaller Pieces
Lard melts faster in smaller pieces. If you have a meat grinder, send it through the ‘ground meat’ setting and it will really speed the melting process! As I don’t have a meat grinder, I just dice the fat into (approx) 1 inch chunks.
Fill An Oven-Safe Dish
As you cut fat down to size, toss it into an oven-safe dish. I use my turkey roaster for rendering lard. But you can use a dutch oven, a casserole dish or anything you’d baked food in.
Melt It Down
When your oven-safe dish is full, pop it into the oven without a lid. Temperature should be set for 350F. Stir every 45 minutes or so with a wooden spoon.
This process will take 2-4 hours to complete. Initially, the fat will have a translucent appearance which will slowly change over time. Bits in the pan (called cracklings) will brown and look as if they’ve been deep fried. When they do, it’s time to pull your lard out of the oven.
Carefully!
Let it Cool
Let the scalding hot fat cool on the stovetop for an hour or two before you attempt to pour it into containers. This is one substance you don’t want to spill when it’s fresh out of the oven!
Strain Out the Solids
After the lard has cooled a bit, line a large bowl with a cotton straining cloth (if you need one, you can get a package here). Pour everything into the bowl then gather up the 4 corners of your cloth, lifting the solids out.
Prep Your Containers
Clean, dry and set your lard containers out on the counter. I recommend placing a baking tray underneath them, just in case there’s a spillover!
You can use old yogurt or tupperware containers for storing your lard. Or glass jars (my preference).
Note on glass jars: always preheat jars before pouring hot liquid into them. I like to flip the jars upside down in the sink and run hot water over them for 15 seconds. Why not fill the jars with water? If you’re freezing the lard, you can. But if you want to keep a large amount out at room temperature, avoid getting water in your jars. It may lead to mold down the road.
Pour Liquid Lard Into Containers
Once the containers are ready, pour liquid lard into each one. You might want to use a funnel for this task.
Leave lids off of your containers until the lard cools and sets up. You know it’s ready when the golden liquid solidifies and turns snow white. Seal with lids. You can leave one container by the stove. Put the others into the freezer, refrigerator or into cold storage.
Now You Know How to Render Lard in the Oven
It’s there for you, anytime you need it! For soap making, when your cast iron needs re-seasoning, if you’re frying eggs for breakfast or making savory pastries, enjoy that snow white lard. And think of me. 🙂
I'm Autumn. Join me in the simple cottage life and learn how to keep a traditional kitchen, garden and pantry!
I rendered about 21 pounds of at into lard for the first time, using the oven method, oven set at 275 degrees. it was in the oven for approximately 6 hours. I let the rendered fat cool for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours before putting into jars. I did not put the covers on but left them on the counter overnight to completely cool. in the morning there was only a small amount of the fat that had solidified, the rest was amber liquid. I removed any scraps of meat that was on the fat. There was, however, some pink “spots” that i did not remove. Any thoughts of why this would have happened would be appreciated. Thank you so much.
Your kitchen temperature isn’t cool enough to allow the fat to solidify. Go ahead and pop it into the fridge and it will set up. 🙂
In your video, you keep the lid on the roasting pan — yet the written instructions tell us to render with the lid off. Does it really make a difference?
When I first started, I always did it with the lid off. But I made the video several years later and had learned by then that I could also leave the lid on. 🙂 You’re right. It really doesnt matter either way!
If it’s late can I leave it in the oven overnight at a low temperature?
I’m not sure; I’ve never tried it that way!
Can you render the lard twice? I mean taking it from a deep fat fryer after it’s become contaminated with tiny bits of food so it ‘fizzes’ up too much? If not, is there anything it can be used for. It seems such a waste
Hi Cloe!
I’ve never used a deep fat fryer for rendering lard. You want to be sure to keep temps low (between 300F & 350F) so you dont burn the fat or destroy its beneficial properties. But yes, old timers would keep the leftover bits and add them to cornbread or add them to cooking beans, etc.
Hi again,
From what I’ve read on-line, and from your pictures of white and meatless fat, whether all of the little bit of meat were supposed to be included. I cut off every bit of meat and cooked it separately. Actually, I over-cooked it separately. It was very crispy and tasty, but a few pieces were not edible due to the hardness and being over-done. I should have watched that pan closer. The rest of it is still being rendered.
Here it is the day after:The liquid lard turned out golden and beautiful. By mistake I put the covers on the jars and the lard didn’t get white, or hard. I assume it is still good. The Cracklings are really tasty, though.
Hi Kay!
You don’t have to trim all the meat from the fat. But may people do because leaving meat attached results in stronger-flavored lard. Rendered lard should be stored in a cool place, and then it will go white and solidify. While you can keep small amounts by your kitchen stove in the summer, you’ll want to keep the excess in the fridge or else freeze it. In the winter, I often keep mine in the cold room and that works well too.
Cracklings are my favorite!
Hi there!
I am going to try this tomorrow. I have 10# pork fat from a good reliable source, and am excited to make lard from scratch. I can hardly wait!
How exciting! Good luck and best wishes!
Thank you for the information. I will render some very soon.
this is awesome. This is pretty much how I do it but usually no hotter than 300 and it does take a long time. Do you have any idea why some of my batches have turned out more liquidy than others? I wondered if it was from grinding the fat. I usually cut in cubes.
It’s worth the wait though, isn’t it? I don’t know why some batches would have more liquid. I’ve never noticed this issue!