Rendering lard at home is an ancestral skill that gives us a chance to get cooking fat from a local source. Homemade lard also lets us utilize a part of the pig that sadly, many people discard.
I’m all for going whole hog! Stove top lard rendering is a simple process. With the rising cost of olive oil (and everything really) these days, making your own cooking oil saves money while also being sustainable.
Below I’ve detailed everything you’ll need to know to produce a great cooking fat source for you and your family. You’ll find a pork lard recipe and other tips for rendering pork fat.
Step-by-Step Guide: Homemade Pork Lard
Unrendered leaf lard from my neighbor's pasture-raised pigs that I bought
Things to know before rendering pork fat
Choose the right type of fat
Pasture-Raised: If you are obtaining pork fat from a butcher, ask for lard from a pig that was pasture-raised. It has high levels of vitamin D and healthy monounsaturated fats.
If you’re a baker: If you want to bake with it, go with leaf lard. It won’t give your pies a porky taste.
Time commitment and planning
Start Early: Do this on a day when you can start the process early in the morning and will be home most of the day.
Monitor the Process for the Full Day: Depending on quantity, the process from start to finish will likely take at least 4 hours, or as much as 8-10 hours.
Dedicated meat cutting board (I’ve also used a stainless steel sheet pan)
Sharp knife
Pork fat
Canning jars and lids
Large stock pot
+/- 1/2 cup of water
Fine mesh strainer(s) or cheese cloth
Large bowl
Ladle (helpful but not necessary)
Step-by-step instructions with photos:
Remove anything that isn't pure fat: skin, meat, and even hair might be present
Prepare the pork fat
Trim and Clean: On a washable cutting board, carefully trim off any meat, hair, or skin. I’ve learned from experience that your hands will get slippery during this process, so be careful as you cut. If you have leaf lard from the butcher, this step may not be necessary.
Discard Off-cuts: Place the offcuts into your stainless steel bowl. I like to freeze these to make dog treats with later.
Cut Down: Cut the remaining fat into smaller pieces. Try not to have any piece be more than 4 inches in any direction. Place them in your large stock pot as you go.
Fill the pot no more than 3/4 full so that you can stir it easily. Low heat is best.
Render pork
Fill Pot: Start rendering when your stock pot is 1/2 to 3/4 full.
Add Water: Add 1/2 cup of water to the pot. While you want all of the water to evaporate out, you also need some water to help the lard not burn as the rendering process starts up.
Heat: Turn your burner on medium-low heat.
Stir: As the it starts to boil, stir occasionally. Watch out for the hot oil, and be careful that it doesn’t splash onto you.
Reduce Heat: Turn heat down to very low.
Monitor: You’ll notice that the once creamy pieces of pork fat will turn almost translucent as the liquid is released into the pot.
→ Transformation: As the solids start to go back to a cream color and get crispy, you know your lard is ready to be filtered.
The finished product!
Filter Liquid from Solids
Cool Down: Turn the heat off and let the liquid cool for a little bit.
Prepare Sieve: Set up a fine mesh sieve over a mason jar. Alternatively, you can also do this over a clean stainless steel bowl. For extra filtration, I will eitehr stack two fine mesh sieves over each other, or line one with cheesecloth.
Ladle Liquid: Carefully ladle the liquid from the stock pot through the sieve.
Second Round (optional): When all of the liquid is removed from the stock pot, I will turn the heat back on to see if anything can be rendered from the solids. Usually I get another jar from this!
Jar Transfer: If you were pouring into a large stainless steel bowl, carefully transfer the liquid into fully dry mason jars.
→ Color Change: The liquid will start out yellowish. As it solidifies, it will turn from buttery yellow to creamy white.
Optional: Make Cracklings
Fry Solids: Take the solids and pour them into a frying pan or other stove-safe pot to turn them into cracklings.
Cool & Store: Put the stove on low to medium heat. The solids will turn into delicious cracklings that you can enjoy. Let them cool and store them in ziplock bags in the freezer for a tasty dog treat.
→ More Lard: This process usually gives me more liquid, which I strain out and store in mason jars as well.
Pork fat fresh from the butcher
Where do you get raw unrendered pork lard?
I’ve had the pleasure of working with lard after I have purchased pasture-raised pigs from neighbors. I had a butcher come to process the meat.
I’ve found that it’s typical for butchers to ask you what parts of the pig you’d like.
You can request any left over pork fat to be packaged up for you. Organ meat, bones, feet, and ears are also options that I always opt to take home.
For me, I want to honor the pig and use as much of it as I can so that nothing goes to waste.
The bones and feet get made into bone broth, while the organ meats and ears get turned into treats that my dog flips over.
→ Call Your Local Butcher: If you don’t have access to a pig, you can call up your local butcher and ask them if they have pasture-raised pork fat available. It’s often an inexpensive product to purchase.
Common Mistakes People Make While Rendering Pork Lard
Liquid in jars
Once the lard has solidified in the glass jars, check the bottom for any water or liquid.
I store these jars in the refrigerator and use them first.
If you can, try to use less water in the rendering process, or let it render for longer. I’ve found it’s a fine line.
Lard is yellow instead of creamy white
If your end product has a slight yellow tint to it, you might need to be more cautious about how you are trimming up your pork fat.
You may have also cooked it for too long on the stovetop.
Lard from a second or third rendering will sometimes be a creamy yellow color.
I try to use these jars first as well, and for cooking meals instead of baking, as they’ll have a more porky flavor.
Lard burns or sticks to the bottom of the pot
Make sure your heat is on medium-low to start with and then turn it down to the lowest setting as the liquid starts to boil.
Stir your lard more frequently.
Add a small amount of extra water to the stock pot.
Lard won’t solidify
If you’re doing this on a hot day, it might not fully solidify.
Place jars of lard in the refrigerator overnight to see if that helps.
If it’s too watery, it also won’t solidify. Store it in the refrigerator and use within 1 week.
Benefits of Rendering Pork Lard at Home
Health benefits of homemade lard
Of course, lard should be used in moderation, like any other fat source.
You can also store it in the freezer if you have freezer safe containers. Be sure to pour the liquid below the fill line.
How to Cook with Lard
Smoke Point
Homemade lard has a smoke point of 370 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Serious Eats. There’s often a misconception that lard has a very high smoke point, but it’s actually on the lower end of the spectrum.
For reference, olive oil’s smoke point is 325, and butter’s smoke point is 350.
I always cook with lard on low to medium-low heat. For baking, I use it in recipes where the oven is set to 350 degrees F or below.
Is Rendering Pork Lard on the Stove Still Worth It?
It’s true that the whole process is a time commitment - it usually takes a full day of tending.
While time is valuable, and there is some electricity usage in the process, the end result is a low cost product.
If you’re already buying a pig from a local farmer, chances are the butcher will give you the fat at no extra cost.
Additionally, I love that it’s a local product. Chances are, your materials are from a 100 mile radius of you. The carbon footprint is quite low, and it helps us to make the most of all that the pig has to offer.
