I'm still working on freezer space for the chickens.
Today I rendered lard. I have done it several different ways and tried a new one this time. I did it stove top in cast iron and heavy stainless steel pots. This is the way I'll be doing it from now on. It was the quickest and produced the most beautiful end product. I cut up the slightly frozen leaf lard fat into small cubes and put it over very low heat. Some people add water, I did not. After it started to melt I adjusted to temp to keep at a very low simmer.
I let it simmer until most of the fat was melted out, stirring occasionally. The picture below is about halfway through the process.
It took about 2 hours for it to render. I didn't wait for the cracklings to get totally crispy. I strained it and put it in hot jars with hot used lids and rings. They all sealed and are just lovely! Though it should be shelf stable I will be keeping it in the fridge because my pantry can get a little warm during the summer. Today's yield was 4 pints. I will let you know how the biscuits turn out!
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