Boiling pork fat ( Making Lard)

So i am trying a method that is new to me.

I put about 4 pounds of ground up pork fat into a stainless steel pot.

I than added about 1 liter plus of water to the pot.

Than i added some thyme and rosemary.



I am now boiling the pork fat and i am wondering how long to boil it for? I had very little success looking on duck duck go for the answer.
Since the water will only boil at 212F it can go a few hours at least?

Anyone have any suggestions?

Not to say it's the only way, but every time I've rendered lard, I've added a small amount of water (a cup or two for a few pounds of trimmings), and cooked low and slow until all the water boils off and the scraps are super crisp and fully rendered (can take a couple hours, I like doing it in a crock pot out on the porch, because it smells a bit). Then, after straining, if you want cleaner fat (will be pretty clean already), boil with a lot of water for ten minutes or so, and then let cool and harden for removal and storage.

thank nick.

I am trying a new method this time. I always try to get white lard instead of slighly brown lard which has a smell to me. After I have cooked it for few hours I am going to strain it and than let it cool. Than once it has cooled I will put it in the freezer so they can separate. Water will freeze and the fat will harden on top I believe.


I cannot find where I read the way I am doing it. I believe my method is done commercially.

What I like about is it, I can leave it on the wood stove and do other things without worry of it getting over cooked or boiling to hot and becoming brown. This is especially important when there is not enough solar to use the crockpot..


Maybe no one makes their lard this way and I will just boil it for 3 hours or so. The fat pieces/cracklin are still white.

Interesting problem! Boiling always brings out some of the pure fat. No doubt you are stirring periodically.

I wonder: after boiling, will slow roasting bring out more?

I should probably open a new thread for this: do any of you make lard from beef fat? I guess it’s not called lard but tallow.

Would the process be the same?

Liv Smith wrote:I should probably open a new thread for this: do any of you make lard from beef fat? I guess it’s not called lard but tallow.

Would the process be the same?

Yeah, works for any of the animal fats. I prefer tallow over lard truth be told. Little more pleasant mouthfeel to me and a little bit firmer at room temperature.


Lamb fat is straight up funky tasting though. And I say that as someone that loves lamb, the rendered fat is not nice.

Now I have to ask: how do you guys eat the lard or tallow?

I make bacon grease from fatty ends and pieces by microwaving. Moisture comes out first then pure fat. I let it settle down then pour the grease to a container. It is clean, white in color and keeps the bacon flavor. I usually use it for scrambled eggs.

Liv Smith wrote:Now I have to ask: how do you guys eat the lard or tallow?

I use it almost anywhere i would use butter. I would eat it on bread but i haven't tried it. If i fried the bread in it I would eat it that way. I have yet to really bake with lard. I put it in some buttermilk biscuits i made recently.


After the lard/tallow is rendered I put it in wide mouth pint size mason jars and put them in the freezer. When i take one out I keep it on the counter with the lid on. I make sure to use it as soon as possible.

Liv Smith wrote:Now I have to ask: how do you guys eat the lard or tallow?

If you're making a pie crust, use lard instead of any other fat. The crust will be flakier and with better flavor.  Any baked good, really -- biscuits (as mentioned), bread, ahh, maybe not sweet breads or cookies, unless the lard is really clean.
Use it in whatever Asian dish you're cooking instead of oil or butter.  The dish will have a more robust flavor.
Fry eggs in lard. Hash browns too.
Swipe a pan with lard before you fry up steaks, ham, cutlets, etc.
I think fried bread is much better than toast. Add some lard to a pan, get it hot but not smoking, lay in then turn over bread slices. Give it about 2 minutes on one side and flip it. If it's crispy around the edges or a bit brown great! give it less time on the 2nd side.
I would use it where ever you would normally use oil.

Keep the cracklings and add them to sauteed, boiled or however you're cooking vegetables. Add them to soups and stews. Sparingly, add a bit of salt and enjoy it as a snack with your beer.

Here's 10 things to do with bacon grease (essentially, lard).     https://www.wideopeneats.com/bacon-grease/  With a bonus #11 --a bacon-smelling candle!

jordan barton wrote:thank nick.

I am trying a new method this time. I always try to get white lard instead of slighly brown lard which has a smell to me. After I have cooked it for few hours I am going to strain it and than let it cool. Than once it has cooled I will put it in the freezer so they can separate. Water will freeze and the fat will harden on top I believe.


I cannot find where I read the way I am doing it. I believe my method is done commercially.

What I like about is it, I can leave it on the wood stove and do other things without worry of it getting over cooked or boiling to hot and becoming brown. This is especially important when there is not enough solar to use the crockpot..


Maybe no one makes their lard this way and I will just boil it for 3 hours or so. The fat pieces/cracklin are still white.

I make my lard this way (usually in the crockpot. Works great for getting snow-white stuff suitable for 1:1 replacement for butter. The crackling will still be soft. I often have the crockpot going 6-8h with the lid on on the back deck. I start with 2cm of water in the bottom of the crock. When the water has almost completely gone, and the liquid has gone from cloudy to clear, use a measuring cup and scoop it out through a strainer into a hot jar. Put a lid on right away and it will usually seal. Jars of lard or tallow that seal can be stored at room temp for a year or more with no ill effects.

After you get your snow-white lard, keep rendering down the crackling in the bottom of the crock. Let it get a bit crispy this time. It should go clear and all the water should be gone. Strain this for a slightly brown lard. Suitable for frying things (onions, meat, falafel, hand-cut hot chips, the world's your oyster), but not baking unless you're making savoury scones.

In my climate, an open quart jar of lard will go rancid in a couple months of being stored at room temperature. Tallow doesn't seem to go off. I usually use tallow for frying, 1 part tallow to 1 part olive oil, as I don't like the mouthfeel of pure tallow when it cools (makes amazing falafel and hot chips though). Falafel is one dish that actually benefits from being fried in sheep tallow if you happen to have some--right flavour profile to benefit from that muttony-ness.

Best of luck, everyone!

How do you treat the fat prior to rendering it with this water method? Grind it, chop it, etc? Any guidelines you all can recommend on adding seasoning (if I were to try a lardo-style batch)?

Here is the method that I use to render lard and it works well for me:
1. Grind about 5 lbs of fat chunks, or chop fine. This allows the fat to come out of the bits easier. The amount of fat used is very approximate. Depends on what you have on hand but for me it's usually lard from a half hog.
2. Heat in a stock pot with about 1 inch of water in the bottom.
3. Add about 1 Tbsp salt, preferably canning or kosher salt.
4. Heat gently until just bubbling. This will take a while. If you crank the heat on high it will boil faster but you'll start to flavor the fat quicker.
5. Start skimming oil as enough comes to the top. This first "cut" will have the least porky flavor and is good for sweet dishes like pies. I number my jars of lard so I know which is porkiest.
6. Keep skimming and numbering jars until there is just fat bits and very little water left.
7. Cook above boiling to crisp up the fat bits. Let it cool a little and pour through a metal colander. Let the fat bits air dry to crisp up more. These make good toppings for various savory dishes.
8. The fat from this last step is the porkiest because the fat browned in it. Let it settle since there seems to always be a little moisture and pork sludge in the bottom. Skim off the fat and store. The bottoms of this "cut" is the only thing I toss out.

I store my lard in the freezer but I don't think it's always necessary to do this if you use it up in a reasonable amount of time.

I do something similar to Robin's method above but I use a heavy cast iron Dutch oven over a low fire. Something about the fire makes the taste richer somehow...or maybe I just really like fire! Also that last bit of fat and 'meat sludge' can be used to fatten up a sausage recipe made from really lean meat like venison or rabbit or you could make your favorite canine companion verrrry happy!

The only thing I didn’t see mentioned is that I use my tallow for getting an excellent cure on my new cast iron cookware. I have no idea about smoke points and what’s recommended but tallow seems to leave a really good cure.

jordan barton wrote: I always try to get white lard instead of slighly brown lard which has a smell to me.

If I’m remembering correctly, there are 3 different types of pork fat/lard, and only one is a pure white, less odorous variety. Leaf lard, I believe it’s called? Michelle Visser of Homely … Rested or something discusses it on her blog! I’ll see if I can find it…



I’m back. It’s Souly Rested. Ha. Anyway, check this out!! It’s great info.

https://soulyrested.com/2022/03/17/complete-guide-to-rendering-lard/

Not all of us can handle a pig right now... so thanks to that link from Soulyrested, I officially rendered the fat from the goose I processed Dec 31st. The processed goose weighed in at almost 5 kilos, but I'd pulled out a lot of the fat that was in the cavity and put it in a separate jar. The pictures of rendering it are posted here:
https://permies.com/wiki/150377/pep-food-prep-preservation/Press-Render-Quart-Oil-Fat#1731481
I got ~1 liter of rendered fat (I measured based on 500ml canning jars, not chemistry beakers!). My son stopped by and wheedled the rest of one jar from me that I'd already partly used for baking biscuits.

I consider it a very healthy option to "grow your own fat/oil" because it's one of the commercial products that I worry most about, both from the contamination side, and the way it's produced to make it "shelf stable".

Och, I'm so pleased for you, Jay! What a success story for you. As one of my favorite book series says, "There is nothing greasier than goose grease." Enjoy the heck out of that!

the rinds sound terribly unhealthful, but in truth they're very high in collagen.

and delicious.

Liv Smith wrote:Now I have to ask: how do you guys eat the lard or tallow?

Its a high heat cooking oil. We use it to cook most of our food. Can also bake with it if you are able to render it without it tasting like bacon. Could probably also use it to make soaps. And ive made suet cakes with it for chickens.

My process is to dice the fat up, fill a slow cooker, add enough water to wet the bottom, cover  and turn on low. Stir every couple hours or so and cook until there’s not much left to cook. I usually start in the morning and by afternoon I can ladle off rendered liquid fat from the top if theres still solids melting underneath. Then once it gets down to the end the bits can be finished in a cast iron pan and fried crispy.

Mom always had 3 enamel mugs in the fridge at any given time. As I grew up on a sheep farm with  some cows as well, we always had a mutton roast on Sundays. She would add a couple of generous scoops from the "current" mug to the pan before adding the leg/shoulder/whatever. At the end she'd carefully decant the "drippings" back into one of the mugs. Of course she always got more this way than she used so we always had lots.

We'd use that for any type of frying that we did, though I never remember her using any in other cooking .

Pork lard has high amounts of oleic acid, an omega-9 monounsaturated fatty acid that is credited with many of the health benefits of its namesake olive oil. High-oleic oils are healthier for you than vegetable and even canola (rapeseed) oils. (Hydrogenated oils like commercial "vegetable" soy/palm oils are just terrible for you; they can wreck your stomach lining as well as hinder mitochondrial ATP production, i.e. your body's energy. I have personally significantly reduced symptoms of ulcerative colitis by eliminating hydrogenated oils, replacing it with peanut oil, fresh lard, and ghee aka clarified butter [a lactose-free product]. Bonus tip for fellow ulcerative colitics: flaxmeal is your friend--put it in anything!, as is oatmeal!!)

Use white (the most clarified) lard in place of any high-heat oil or as a shortening (butter) in baking. Darker lard has a lower smoke point and porkier flavor; keep it on medium heat and only for savory pork-compatible dishes.

My favorite use for fresh lard is making refried beans, a staple of my diet. Boil/simmer pinto or black beans until cooked as normal for stews or what-have-you. Heat lard on medium. Add seasonings of choice (I go for a "Spanish taco" seasoning of cumin, oregano, powdered chilis, black pepper, garlic powder or fresh, onion powder or fresh, paprika, cinnamon, salt, and a pinch of sugar) and stir-fry until fragrant, about 30seconds or less. Add the prepared beans. Stir and mash until cooked through and all is homogenously colored i.e. all starchy paleness is gone. You may add water or more lard for desired paste consistency. If mashing is daunting and/or you desire a perfectly smoothe paste, you may puree beans before adding them to the hot pan. I never do, and I like them kinda chunky. Served with pico de gallo and cheese, this is a decent meal in itself, one of my go-to easy dishes! Otherwise, add them to tacos, burritos, nachos, etc. or enjoy them as a traditional side dish with rice.

Leaf lard is to be found around the internal organs. The very best fat is the veil of pork, which is the membrane that keeps the intestines from tangling up. If you spread the intestines out a little, you can detach the pork veil, which is a very thin double membrane which encloses little blobs of fat, so when you hold it up it looks like a lace tablecloth. Mom used to use it to wrap a pork loin, after inserting cloves of garlic and bay leaves into the meat. The veil bastes the meat throughout cooking and adds a thin crust to the roast. I’ve also used it to wrap a turkey.

I use lard for everything requiring fat or oil, including cookies, cakes, roasted vegetables, etc. mom used to spread it on her bread like butter, adding a little salt.

Sandy Bradley

If anyone likes a good video on the process, The Homesteading Family did one on YouTube in the later part of last year. I have never done any rendering myself, but I've had interest in learning especially for duck fat.

Liv Smith wrote:Now I have to ask: how do you guys eat the lard or tallow?

Tamales are traditionally made with lard.

You basically mix 2# cornmeal with a tablespoon of baking soda and a teaspoon of salt, the mix in half a # of lard, smear the dough onto a corn husk soaked in water, put some cooked pulled spiced pork* in the middle, wrap up the tamale with a strip of corn husk & tie it, then steam them all on a rack in a pan w/water in the bottom & covered for about an hour.

They freeze well. To thaw/reheat steam them just like you were cooking them the first time, but not as long.

When I lived in South Austin, it seemed like every local family would make up a massive amount of these just before Christmas, and sell them frozen door-to-door.  

I suppose the timing of the making of the tamales is when you slaughter & render a hog, and harvest the corn. So you already have the stove going to keep the house warm as well.

*the stuffings range from spiced pork, beans, onions & chopped peppers of various varieties, whole corn, salsa...range from super-spicy to super-mild.  You can also not put any stuffing in at all.  

Liv Smith wrote:Now I have to ask: how do you guys eat the lard or tallow?

Beef tallow in a cast iron skillet heated up before you put cornmeal batter in is next-level.


Good for frying potatoes too...

I use tallow, lard, or schmalz for almost all my pan cooking, depending on what protein or flavors I have going. Chinese food is delightful when you use lard as the base fat for frying up your garlic and spices (adding a wee bit to soup or noodle broth is also transcendent), and if you make schmalz with onions it's gorgeous even spread on bread, but makes things like soup next-level. Tallow can have some mouthfeel issues so I always put it on something that we will eat hot. I also am always happy to use tallow on my skin, thanks to Carla's suggestion.

I usually render lard and tallow in the crockpot as described above-- schmalz I prefer to do in the frying pan on the stove.

Sandy Bradley wrote:Leaf lard is to be found around the internal organs. The very best fat is the veil of pork, which is the membrane that keeps the intestines from tangling up. If you spread the intestines out a little, you can detach the pork veil, which is a very thin double membrane which encloses little blobs of fat, so when you hold it up it looks like a lace tablecloth. Mom used to use it to wrap a pork loin, after inserting cloves of garlic and bay leaves into the meat. The veil bastes the meat throughout cooking and adds a thin crust to the roast. I’ve also used it to wrap a turkey.

I use lard for everything requiring fat or oil, including cookies, cakes, roasted vegetables, etc. mom used to spread it on her bread like butter, adding a little salt.

Sandy Bradley

Very interesting facts about the “veil”. I’ve noticed that in deer before and thought it’s unique shape could be good for something but didn’t know what. So apparently that same type of fat is present in other animals as well.

Not sure where I found instructions but I rendered both pork and beef fat without water in a slow cooker. It came out nice and cream colored, nearly white. We were happy with it. I use it for cooking mostly. Maybe I can try some of the techniques listed because the only downside was I could not figure out how to get the cracklins crispy!

When I was a child and everyone used margarine instead of butter (horrors!) I used to insist that my mother butter my bread with chicken schmalz instead. She indulged me. But I don't recall her rendering the schmalz. Maybe she got it at the deli?

Ellen Lewis wrote:When I was a child and everyone used margarine instead of butter (horrors!) I used to insist that my mother butter my bread with chicken schmalz instead. She indulged me. But I don't recall her rendering the schmalz. Maybe she got it at the deli?

My great grandmother would always save the grease left over from roasting a goose in a jar. Toast up a piece of sourdough, rub a clove of garlic on it (nicely toasted sourdough makes a great grater) and smear it with goose grease.


Make your breath something terrible, but pretty excellent...

What would be the life expectancy of a jar of rendered fat sitting on the counter or in the fridge? I did see one post where someone keeps it in the freezer for longer storage, does it need to be frozen for long storage or is a cool room sufficient?

Depends on the fat. The harder it is at room temperature, the longer it will keep since it will have more saturated fat in it. Lard and tallow will be fine on the counter for quite a while though, especially if they don't have any water or solids in them. Just give it a sniff and if it's starting to smell rancid, time to turn it into firestarters or mix with birdseed to make fat balls.

I'd always refrigerate schmaltz though...

I put 1-1 1/2 inch cubes of lard into a large roast pot, set temp to 230 F in the oven and stick it in. It takes all day and I periodically take out rendered fluid fat and pour it into pasta sauce (Classico) jars via a strainer. Ends up being pristine white, sealed (close it while hot) and is good for 1+ year in a room temp. This is my third year doing it and I stopped using veg seed oils for any hot applications that cause heart disease (oxidants) ...just olive oil for salads.

thanks for that tip, rob

I never render fat with water, just gentle heat in a cast-iron pan or pot, depending on how much I have.  
The cracklings crisp up when left till the end to brown. Definitely sprinkle some salt on.
My late father-in-law added salt and paprika to rendered lard and then kept the jar in the fridge, to use as a delicious spread on fresh dark bread.
When I'm making chicken soup from a whole fryer, I remove all the fatty bits under the skin, chop them up and render for a snack.
Rendered tallow is awesome for when you're braising any cuts of beef.
Fat from pastured animals is healthy!

I added no water. I put the fat in the largest cake pan I had and let it on 250 (lowest setting on my oven) for hours. I checked it every hour or so. This method is really hands off. The fat just pours into a quart jar via the corner of the pan. I got about a gallon and a half from about a 200lb pig.