Ok I'm impressed right at step 1, I hate my KA grinder, and assuming (based on the picture) that's what you used to grind up 22 pounds of fat, that alone might have taken me four hours!

But I'm glad to hear coffee filters don't work well for you, as I can't get anything to go through them either, like frying fat, or this morning's cold brew coffee. So frustrating. The other day it took about four filters to get through a quart of coffee. This time I tried to filter out some dust out of my course grind coffee before brewing, but thus far (I'm on my second filter now) it hasn't seemed to help.

I had to look up cracklin' corn bread, and see it's something I've been missing all my life. Sounds delicious!

FOAS, I've never tried any other grinder, except the food processor, so I guess I don't have a comparison! It works OK, but does take a while, as it only grinds small amounts at a time. I had to turn it off once and let it set to cool down too, it was becoming hot to the touch.

The coffee filters worked better when the fat was very hot, of course, but the cheesecloth was much, much better. I used 6 layers, to be sure I filtered out the bits, but it still drained several times faster than those coffee filters, and I wasn't even using the thick Chemex ones!

Definitely give the cracklin' cornbread a try, the grandkids love the stuff. I never had it growing up either, but Elery did. As I said, how can fried pork fat be bad? (grin)

I don't use a LOT of lard, but I want it for my pie crusts and tamales and refried beans, and the stuff at the store is bleached and stabilized and who knows what else. Plus, if an animal dies to feed me, I'm going to use it all, I'm not wasting any. It seems disrespectful to be wasteful.

Annie

Beautiful looking lard!!! I bought a few pounds a few years ago from a Mennonite farmer and it isn't as pure as yours. It smells porky, and it's tan coloured. It does make good pastry though, and hubby loves it when he makes fried potatoes.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks coffee filters take forever. Even putting milk kefir through for cheese, it's time consuming. But the cheesecloth nowadays is nothing like the days of old. The holes are so big, it definitely takes multiple layers. Then I have to scrape the cheese off of it, a real pia. How do you clean your cheesecloth of lard? Do you soak it in hot, hot water, and get the bulk of it off?

My thought bubble screams: "Yum."

Is that weird?

AnnieB., next time, stop by the fabric store and pick up a yard of lightweight muslin to strain it all, instead of coffee filters. Then, wash and re-use. Muslin holds up much better than cheesecloth or paper.

Sol

Thanks, Sol, I'll try that. I'll have to do it when I go out of town, though. Would you believe that Big Rapids has exactly zero fabric or craft stores? Walmart has a few fabrics, threads, really basis stuff and there is none anywhere else. It's crazy!

Jasdip, I'm sorry to say that I've given up even trying to clean the cheesecloth. I buy it in a package and use it up, it gets thrown away after use. I get enough in a package for a couple of dollars to make 4 or 5 batches of jelly or yogurt cheese or lard, then I have to buy another package. I also use it to make "spice bags" for some pickles and syrups that I can.

Brown is definitely "porky", which doesn't mean it still isn't delicious. I didn't even think of frying potatoes, I have chicken fat in the freezer that I've saved from canning stock and I use that for potatoes, but I'm thinking the pork would be really good too. In addition to the 10 pints of lard, I have 2 quarts of the fat that cooked off while frying the cracklings. Those are in the freezer because I thought I'd make "suet" cakes for the chickens this winter when they need some extra fat for warmth. Now I'm rethinking that.....

And it wasn't even a very fat pig, it came from a neighbor who raised a litter and was kind enough to sell me one, since we did not raise our own this year. Hmmmm. I wonder how many chickens I'd have to raise to swap him for a pig this year?

Annie

I haven't done lard. I can understand it can take forever to filter such high viscosity liquid.

If I were to make lard, I probably will try to use my clothes washer. Yes, crazy idea, but I am crazy.

Basically pour your rendered fat into plastic bottles, balance them and run them thru the spin cycle. You may be able to get good lard in a minute or two.

Modernist chefs use centrifuge to get ultra clear liquids.

dcarch

You lost me, Dcarch. After I render the fat, I filter it, and then it's done. So the centrifugal force would separate the "floaties" out of the lard? They'd still be in the jars, so skim them out afterward? And how would that be easier than filtering the rendered fat? Or would it just be more fun? (grin)

Annie

The idea is not having to filter at all. Using centrifugal force to quickly separate pure fat and other impurities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sqUmOV_NvM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDNS3rl-Eh0

dcarch

Annie, I don't recognize the open-center kitchen and paddle, what do you use it for?

Lisaam, I'm sorry, I don't know exactly what you are asking. What do I use the lard for? Pie crust, mostly, and some frying.

Or did you mean the KitchenAid and paddle? The top picture shows an attachment on the KitchenAid, a white plastic piece that attaches to the front. That's the meat grinder attachment. The open center of the Kitchen Aid is where the bowl usually goes. The paddle is actually a "stuffer" that is used to push the pieces of meat/fat into the grinding mechanism.

Did that help, or am I just totally confused?

Annie

Yes I guess its part of the meat grinder (sitting in the kitchen aid bowl). thanks and many flakey pie crusts to you!

Ha - Lisa that's a wrench to help take the grinder apart. The pieces tighten up when using.

ETA - Looking at the pic and reading Annie's response again, it looks like her wrench doubles as a meat pusher. Mine's not like that, separate tools.

FOAS, I've never used it as a wrench, even with my carpal tunnel problems, I've never had a problem getting it together or apart. The meat grinder also doubles as a pasta making attachment, now THAT'S a pain, I've never gotten it to work well, it's nearly impossible to feed dough in the top, catch it when it extrudes and cut it into usable pieces, all simultaneously. I finally just gave up and use the Atlas and crank it by hand!

Annie

Whenever I see all those jars sitting on a countertop, I just get a big, satisfied smile on my face!

loonlake, thanks. Me too. I also tend to leave my canning on the counter longer than absolutely necessary, just so I can look at it. Evidence of all my hard work, I guess, or just a sense of accomplishment.

Annie

I picked up some leaf lard at the farmer's market a couple weeks ago, and am looking forward to rendering it down. It's only a couple of pounds, so I'm going to chop it by hand.

Cracklins for cornbread... hmmm.

artemis, it'll be so worth it! You won't get many cracklins with a small amount, but I'll bet you'll get at least enough for a batch of cornbread. I got about 8 cups with my 22 pounds, so you might get from 1/2 cup to a cup, that would be enough. Elery also likes me to add some cheese and jalapenos, so southern Mexican?

Annie

>>>Plus, if an animal dies to feed me, I'm going to use it all, I'm not wasting any. It seems disrespectful to be wasteful.

Good for you, Annie! This is how we all used to live. The $1500 sandwich story is a reminder of how far removed we are from the origins of our foods. I grew up on a farm, and I guess if I had to, I could still slaughter a hog. But it is a hard, nasty business.

We had a dear friend who grew up on the Mainline in Philadelphia and became a videographer. One of his first jobs out of graduate school was making a safety video for a group of Iowa meat processors. He was so traumatized, he hasn't eaten meat in almost 50 years now, and still talks about it as if the experience were fresh. He is forever saying that if people knew what went into slaughtering animals for food they would never eat one again. I don't know about that, but I think everyone should understand the process, and respect what the animal gave.

Your lard looks amazing!!! I am green with envy.

MizLizzie, I agree, we are far from the origins of our food, or at least most people are. I also raise grass fed beef and I've often said that if I had to eat commercial beef, I'd give up eating beef, I'm so offended by the way the animals are raised, fed, treated, housed and slaughtered. It's horrible from beginning to end. My animals are born here on the farm, have acres of pasture to wander about in, get regular treats. They are never hurt, never chased or scared, never confined in small stalls or areas. When it's time to slaughter, they are killed here on the farm, not trucked off to some place where they are held without food or water for hours or days to "clean them out". Their death is as quick and painless as I can arrange it, and I sniffle, always.

Chickens I do raise and slaughter myself, but the cattle are just too much. So Dallas comes to the farm to slaughter and a very small and very local packager does the cutting and packing for me.

I know that not many people have the ability to raise their own food that I have, and I try to remember to be appreciative when I'm standing in snow up to my rear, filling water tanks and moving hay!

I don't have a picture of the pigs, but here is my old Red Cow with this year's baby,,,

And here is baby #2, the first baby for this cow, Jamooson

Why don't I have a picture of baby #3 with his mother, Mookayla? I dunno, I'd better rectify that!

Annie

Gonna wait for life to be a bit more settled before I render my lard, but what's your recipe for southern Mexican cornbread with cracklings?

Sure, Artemis, here it is:

Jalapeno and Cracklin' Cornbread

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon butter or lard or bacon grease

• 1 cup pork cracklings (fried pork skins)
• 1 egg
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

1. Preheat an oven to 425 degrees. Stir together the cornmeal, salt, and baking soda; set aside. Place the butter/lard/bacon grease into a 9 inch cast iron skillet, and place into the oven until the skillet is hot and the shortening has melted.
2. Meanwhile, beat the egg in a bowl along with the jalapeno pepper and buttermilk; stir in the cracklings. Stir in the cornmeal mixture until moistened, add cheese and stir, then pour the batter into the preheated skillet.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until the top of the cornbread is brown, and it feels firm to the touch, 30 to 40 minutes. Turn out onto a serving plate and cut into wedges; serve immediately.
4. Sometimes I add the cheese, sometimes not. I also like to melt a little lard, add some chopped onion, maybe 1/4 cup, along with the jalapeno, saute until it's starting to brown and use that. I've added a can of chopped green chilies instead of the jalapeno when I didn't have anything else. I've crumbled some bacon in instead of the cracklins. It's very forgiving, LOL.
5. I see that most of the recipes call for boiling the cracklins and I'm not sure why, maybe homemade ones are different than commercial ones? I like the nice crunchy pieces in the cornbread for texture, so I never boil mine.