As I mentioned in a previous post, I have been wanting to render some lard and make homemade lye soap the old fashioned way. A few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to render out some lard from a hog that we processed. We borrowed a gigantic cast iron kettle that was used by the Rowland family for years and years for rendering lard. This thing is huge! You'll be able to get a better perspective in some of the other pictures.
Keith found a lard stand at an old country store and bought it for me. I had been holding off on rendering the lard until I had a suitable container to hold it. When he found the lard stand, he couldn't stand to wait any longer and did it without me! LOL
We decided to get to work on a Saturday morning. By we, I actually mean Keith. Keith first started by cutting the fat into 1 inch cubes. The size does not have to be exact, but it must be cut up into smaller, uniformly sized pieces to make the process go quicker. The concrete blocks were there to block some of the wind. It was blowing wood ash everywhere.
Keith found a lard stand at an old country store and bought it for me. I had been holding off on rendering the lard until I had a suitable container to hold it. When he found the lard stand, he couldn't stand to wait any longer and did it without me! LOL
We decided to get to work on a Saturday morning. By we, I actually mean Keith. Keith first started by cutting the fat into 1 inch cubes. The size does not have to be exact, but it must be cut up into smaller, uniformly sized pieces to make the process go quicker. The concrete blocks were there to block some of the wind. It was blowing wood ash everywhere.
Our youngest daughter had friends sleep over the night before, and since the mom is usually responsible for entertainment for these things, I had taken the girls to the park for a picnic lunch. Keith and Gary had just gotten the fat into the pot when I got back home with the girls. He is such a good husband. I get a wild hair and want to do something and he finds a way to make it happen. :)
After the fat was rendered down, they separated the hot lard from the cracklings. He had about 8 layers of cheesecloth pinned to the top of the lard stand with clothespins. (FYI: if you do this, save clothespins for just this purpose. I had to buy new ones for my clothes, because my other ones were a tad greasy and I didn't want to stain the clothes.)
The next time we render lard, we have decided that we will pour off the fat sooner so it doesn't cook too long and get dark. I don't think it will really affect anything other than the color of the soap. It will be a little darker in color than if it had been made with snow white lard.
After the fat was rendered down, they separated the hot lard from the cracklings. He had about 8 layers of cheesecloth pinned to the top of the lard stand with clothespins. (FYI: if you do this, save clothespins for just this purpose. I had to buy new ones for my clothes, because my other ones were a tad greasy and I didn't want to stain the clothes.)
The next time we render lard, we have decided that we will pour off the fat sooner so it doesn't cook too long and get dark. I don't think it will really affect anything other than the color of the soap. It will be a little darker in color than if it had been made with snow white lard.
A big ol' pot of cracklin's.