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To Try Out Leaf Lard

Leaf lard is rendered by cooking leaf lard pieces until fat separates.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 2 ingredients
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To Try Out Leaf Lard

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the leaf lard

  1. Skin the leaf lard and remove all blood particles.

  2. Wipe the leaf lard clean with a damp cloth and cut it into 2‑inch square pieces.

Render the fat

  1. Place the pieces in a large iron kettle, filling it about halfway.

  2. Optionally, add a little salt when first in the kettle.

  3. Cook gently on the stove for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring constantly.

  4. Add more leaf lard and continue stirring to prevent burning.

  5. Dip off the fat and strain it through a cloth into jars or tin pails.

  6. Keep the last of the fat separate as it will be darker but still usable.

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

Leaf lard
Is the fat itself; melting it renders out the clear, usable lard that becomes the finished product.

The step that matters

Keep the heat gentle and stir constantly. Lard fat scorches easily on direct heat, and scorched bits darken and give off off-flavours. Constant stirring and gentle cooking let the fat melt out cleanly while the connective tissue stays in the kettle.

“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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