How to Render Pig Fat
How to render pig fat you ask? You didn’t? Let me share anyway because you never know when you will need to.
Wilbur and Mabel lived a good life complete with back scratches, sprays with the hose on hot days, and lots of goat milk as treats.
Well, all good things must come to an end and that end was the butcher making a house call.
Not going to lie, it was pretty cool, and humbling, to see this come full circle.
Well, The Principal wanted to keep the fat so we could render it. Um. OK?
After some research I decided this wouldn’t be that hard to do.
It actually wasn’t hard at all, just made for a long day as we did 5 rounds for a total of 15 pints. Yes, we had fatty pigs and if we ever raise pigs again their diets will be different.
You want to start by cutting up the fat.
MUCH smaller than this. Like squares would have been more efficient.
Then you put it in your pot over medium heat.
We did this 5 times!
One article I read suggested using a crockpot.
For this post I did put some in my crockpot while we rendered the rest. It took MUCH longer than over the stove so we finished that batch on the stove. Difference being might be you don’t have to watch it quite so closely or only have a small batch to do.
You want to stir this about every 10-15 minutes.
It will start to melt and you will have chunks of fat left behind.
Those chunks will start to ‘pop’ and sink, that is when you know the fat is rendered.
You can use cheesecloth or, in our case, a paper towel in a METAL strainer. We strained it into our goat milk bucket because it is also metal. We used a plastic colander….it is now no longer. I am not sure WHY I didn’t think of this. Major fail.
This stuff is hot oil so please use precautions when pouring into your canning jars.
I put the empty jars on a cookie sheet and put them in a 175 degree oven to be warm when it was time to pour the melted fat into them. I didn’t want cold jars to crack or explode from the heat of the oil. I don’t know if that would happen, but I wanted to be safe.
We placed the lids and rings on and inverted the jars so the heat could seal them. We left them like this for about 15 minutes. Turned them right side up they would pop after a few minutes.
These are cracklins. I guess they are popular in the south. You can salt them and bake them. I am not sure what we will do with them.
The Prepared Bloggers Network is at it again! We’re glad you’ve found us, because the month of April is all about homesteading.
Homesteading is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. It is characterized by growing your own food, home preservation of foodstuffs, and it may even involve the small scale production of textiles, clothing, and craftwork for household use or sale. Most importantly homesteading is not defined by where someone lives, such as the city or the country, but by the lifestyle choices they make.
The Prepared Bloggers are passionate about what they do and they each have their own way of achieving self-sufficiency. Grab your favorite drink and enjoy reading about the 30 Ways of Homesteading!
Crops on the Homestead
Straw Bale Gardening from PreparednessMama
Crop Rotation for the Backyard Homesteader from Imperfectly Happy
Benefits of Growing Fruit from SchneiderPeeps
Succession Planting: More Food in the Same Space from 104 Homestead
Crops to Grow for Food Storage from Grow A Good Life
Winter Gardening Series from Our Stoney Acres
How To Build a Raised Garden Bed For Under $12 from Frugal Mama and The Sprout
How to Save Carrot Seeds from Food Storage and Survival
Animals on the Homestead
Getting Your Bees Started from Game and Garden
Homesteading How-To: Bees from Tennessee Homestead
How to Get Ready for Chicks from The Homesteading Hippy
Selecting a Goat Breed for Your Homestead from Chickens Are a Gateway Animal
Adding New Poultry and Livestock from Timber Creek Farm
Beekeeping 101: 5 Things To Do Before Your Bees Arrive from Home Ready Home
How to Prepare for Baby Goats from Homestead Lady
How to Prevent and Naturally Treat Mastitis in the Family Milk Cow from North Country Farmer
Tips to Raising Livestock from Melissa K. Norris
Raising Baby Chicks – Top 5 Chicken Supplies from Easy Homestead
Making the Homestead Work for You – Infrastructure
Ways to Homestead in a Deed Restricted Community from Blue Jean Mama
Building a Homestead from the Ground Up from Beyond Off Grid
DIY Rainwater Catchment System from Survival Prepper Joe
Finding Our Homestead Land from Simply Living Simply
I Wish I Was A Real Homesteader by Little Blog on the Homestead
Endless Fencing Projects from Pasture Deficit Disorder
Essential Homesteading Tools: From Kitchen To Field from Trayer Wilderness
Homesteading Legal Issues from The 7 P’s Blog
Why We Love Small Space Homesteading In Suburbia from Lil’ Suburban Homestead
Preserving and Using the Bounty from the Homestead
How to Dehydrate Corn & Frozen Vegetables from Mom With a Prep
How to Make Soap from Blue Yonder Urban Farms
How to Render Pig Fat from Mama Kautz
How to Make Your Own Stew Starter from Homestead Dreamer
Why You Should Grow and Preserve Rhubarb! from Living Life in Rural Iowa
It’s a Matter of Having A Root Cellar…When You Don’t Have One from A Matter of Preparednesshttp://mamakautz.com/render-pig-fat/http://mamakautz.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/30-ways-homestead3.jpghttp://mamakautz.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/30-ways-homestead3-150x150.jpgHomesteadingFrugal Living,Homesteading,preparedness,Prepping,rendering pig fat,self-sufficiencyHow to render pig fat you ask? You didn't? Let me share anyway because you never know when you will need to. Wilbur and Mabel lived a good life complete with back scratches, sprays with the hose on hot days, and lots of goat milk as treats. Well, all good things...Mama Kautz email@example.comAdministratorMama Kautz