Make your own lard

Lard has gotten a lot of bad press over the years from health nuts who say it will kill you. There are conflicting reports dealing with the heath effects of using lard for cooking, and to tell you the truth, I don’t know which to believe. For the first half of the twentieth century, lard was America’s premier frying grease, but now vegetable oils and shortenings have replaced common lard as the grease of choice.

My grandmother always used lard. She would buy the stuff in the 25lb plastic tub and use it for just about everything. And boy could she cook. Money was always tight, and everything that could be reused, was; lard was no exception. She would take the lard, after use and still hot from the heat of the stove and pour it into a large mason jar. After it cooled it would reset to a thick white goo, ready to be used in cooking the next meal.

Due to a limited shelf life it becomes nearly impossible to store an indefinite amount of lard or other cooking oils. At some point the pantry will run dry and the need to resupply with become imminent. But the shelves at the local food mart will have been emptied within hours of the first signs of trouble, conventional sources of resupply will no longer be available, so we must look for alternate solutions.

Melting Animal Fat

Melting animal fat is called rendering and it’s really a simple process, albeit it is a dirty job. The most common animal fats used are those of pig and cow which is called tallow. But other fats can be used in a pinch. Bear, sheep, goat, beaver, opossum, raccoon and groundhog. I have used groundhog and it’s quit good with a slight gamy taste.

Cut the fat into small pieces about an inch squire, and put into a pot adding about an inch of water and cook over a low to medium heat, get it to hot and it will burn. This can be done outside using a Dutch oven or other good sized pot. Gradually add the pieces of fat to the pot, stirring to keep the fat from burning.

Most of the fat will turn into a liquid, look for the small solid particles and dip them out they are called cracklings and are great mixed with gravy. Allow the rendering to cool for about five minutes and strain through a clean cloth, storing in a sealed container. Mason jars work well for this. I hope this helps solve the cooking grease resupply problem after tshtf. If nothing else it should generate discourse.
Related:
Food Storage Prep
Survival 101

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