Rendering Lard

wilsonfamilyhomestead

How to render lard in a crockpot the easy way

5 from 1 vote

Cut or grind the fat into small pieces. As you are doing this, trim off any pieces of blood or meat. You don’t have to be too fastidious about this, just get the big stuff.
Place fat in slow cooker. Also add the 1/4 cup of water now to keep the fat from burning – it will evaporate during the rendering process. Place the lid on top of the slow cooker and set it on low.
After about an hour or so you’ll start to see some liquid in the bottom of the slow cooker. Give the pot a stir every once in awhile until the fat is completely melted. It’ll have to go for quite awhile – I sometimes will start it before bed and let it go all night.
Strain the lard. When the lard is ready you’ll see brown bits of “cracklings” resting on the bottom of the pot with a layer of fat over them.
Pour the contents of your slow cooker over a cheesecloth lined colander to separate the lard from the cracklings.
Pour the lard into jars and set aside to cool on a counter.
Take the browned bits and sprinkle them with a little salt and put them in a pan over medium heat. As they cook some of the excess fat will melt away and they’ll become crispy. They’re called cracklings because they often pop and sizzle as they cook. Once they’re crispy remove them from the pan and serve. They are wonderful in scrambled eggs, or in biscuits!