Go Back
–+ servings
Print

How to Make Lard From Scratch

It isn’t difficult to render fat. Learn how to make lard easily, either on the stovetop or in a slow cooker.
(Yields around 1 quart/ liter)
Course DIY Pantry Foods
Special Diet Dairy free, Gluten free, Low Carb, Paleo
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 64 Tablespoons
Calories 140kcal
Author Tracy Ariza, DDS

Ingredients

  • 1 kg Pork fat

Instructions

  • Cut the pork fat into small cubes, and add to a pot for stove cooking or the pot of a slow cooker. If you are having a hard time cutting the pork fat and skin, you can try placing it in the freezer for a little while to help stabilize it and make it easier to cut. (Don't freeze for too long, though, or it will get too hard to cut)
    cubes of pork fat in a pan, ready for rendering to lard
  • Heat the fat over low heat, stirring occasionally.
    slightly cooked cubes of pork fat during the lard rendering process
  • After a little while, you will start to see a transparent, slightly yellowish liquid forming. That liquid is your rendered lard.
    Liquid forming during lard rendering process
  • Ladle and strain the liquid lard into a glass storage container.
    Straining the home rendered lard into a jar.
  • As the yellow liquid starts to cool, it will start to solidify a bit and will get whiter and whiter.
  • The leftover solid bits, the cracklings, can be baked in the oven and then used to add flavor to dishes or sprinkled on salads (or just eaten alone as a snack).
    cracklings being strained out of the lard

Video

Notes

Nutritional information is based on obtaining 1 quart of lard from 1 kg of pork fat. This is all dependent upon the type of fat used. It also includes eating the proportional amount of cracklings (1/64th), and isn't just accounting for the lard itself.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Tbsp. + cracklings | Calories: 140kcal | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 14mg