To Make Lard
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash the leaf fat with warm water and remove the skin.
Cut the fat into small pieces.
In a large pot, dissolve the baking soda in the water.
Fill the pot with the cut fat and place it on the fire.
Render and finish
Stir constantly to prevent scorching.
When the cracklings are light brown and begin to sink, the lard is done.
Strain the lard through a coarse cloth.
Store the lard in tin cans or stone jars and seal tightly.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Leaf fat
- Provides the fat that melts down into the lard itself.
- Baking soda
- Dissolved in water to help the fat render cleanly and firm up impurities.
- Water
- Carries the baking soda and helps the fat heat gently without scorching.
The step that matters
Stirring constantly over the fire. Fat and the water sit close to the heat, and without constant stirring the solids can scorch on the bottom of the pot, giving the lard a burnt flavour and dark colour.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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