How to Render Lard-Nature's Purest Cooking Oil

Lard, nature's purest cooking oil, is making a return to healthy cooking. Crazy how research keeps changing and all of the things that were determined to be unhealthy in the later part of the 1900's is now determined to be exactly what helps our bodies function the best! It really is quite simple since God created natural food for our bodies. It wasn't until preservatives and processed foods were introduced that we started to see the growing trend of weight gain and cancer.

Getting back to natural cooking and eating has been a goal of ours over the past few years. We still enjoy adding some white flour, sugar, and processed butter to some treats. But, on the average day, we strive to eat clean. Between the two of us, we have lost over 45 pounds over a course of 18 months.

Recently, I've had an interest in learning to make the perfect pie crust for the strawberry/blueberry pies we enjoy making every spring from fresh berries picked in a field.

I remember how good pie crusts and buttermilk biscuits tasted when I was a child. What was the difference in how I've been making pie crusts? LARD, that white thick substance that looks like shortening. Even though I have not used shortening in many years, I definitely used my share of shortening for cooking while raising my family. With the healthy trend, I switched to Virgin Olive Oil.

Recent studies have determined 'clean' lard is actually a very healthy choice and contains many health benefits. Lard contains no transfat and is a good source of monounsaturated fat; it increases HDL (good cholesterol) and lowers LDL (bad cholesterol), making it a heart healthy choice. In addition, Lard is a great source of Vitamin D, minerals, and other vitamins if lard is rendered from hogs who ate naturally from pastures and forests. Healthy lard is even making a trend into skincare since its ph is similar to humans. Lard is produced from leaf fat, the fat surrounding a hog's kidneys. Since toxins are stored in fat, you want to make certain you choose leaf fat from hogs that have been chemical free and fed quality, natural food. This is why it is important to make your own leaf fat vs. buying it in a grocery store, where you have no idea of the health of the hogs.

Making leaf fat is an easy process. Once you have chosen high quality leaf fat, the steps to make leaf fat are time consuming, but not difficult. Thaw the frozen leaf fat in the refrigerator. Place 4-5 pounds of leaf fat in a large crock pot. Add 1/4 cup of water. Cook on high for 2 hours (uncovered) and then turn to low for the remaining 4-6 hours. It will be necessary to stir it about once an hour to prevent from sticking and add a little more water only if it looks like it may start sticking. You want to add as little water as necessary to keep it from sticking and refrain from covering the crock pot because the moisture will produce a lesser quality of lard at the end.

When most of your fat turns to liquid, simply spoon it into a large glass measuring cup covered in cheesecloth to sift out any chunks of meat or fat. The liquid will be clear to slightly amber colored and will turn white when it cools and hardens. Store in the refrigerator for weeks to months or store in the freezer for long time storage.

We also made beef tallow using large cuts of fat from cattle that had been produced from natural food. Beef tallow is made the same way as lard. Because beef tallow has a strong meat flavor, it is best used for cooking meats and vegetables.

We put our lard to test on Mother's Day Weekend and made the best Strawberry/Blueberry Pie that I have ever made! We also had delicious buttermilk biscuits stuffed with savory meat from short ribs. Moderation is the key! We plan to use lard for special baking. However, we will implement beef tallow and small amounds of lard into our daily healthy recipes. I sure enjoyed the pie and biscuits made with lard, but I haven't been able to slather it on my body yet!

I'm thinking most baby boomers grew up eating something amazing made from lard. What were some of your childhood favorites made from lard? Will we see the industry trend back to using natural lard again? What are your thoughts?