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To Cure Lard

Cured lard by boiling lard pieces in water until cracklings brown and crisp.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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To Cure Lard

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Wash the lard pieces clean and press out the water.

  2. Place the lard in a pot with 1 gallon of water for every 4 gallons of lard.

Cook

  1. Boil briskly until nearly done and the cracklings begin to brown.

  2. Reduce heat and cook slowly to prevent burning until the cracklings are light brown and crisp.

  3. The cracklings will sink to the bottom when done.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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

Lard
Its fat renders out and carries flavor, while the browning solids crisp into cracklings.
Coarse sea salt
Seasons the fat and helps preserve it by drawing out moisture.

The step that matters

Reducing the heat once the cracklings begin to brown. Once the cracklings start to brown, their proteins and sugars can scorch quickly at high heat, turning them bitter before they become crisp. Lowering the heat lets the moisture finish evaporating and the pieces dry and crisp evenly.

“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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