Lard

   We've been eating our pigs now for a couple of weeks, and to say they are delicious would be an understatement. The pork chops, which I've always considered the cheapest of the cuts, tasted like lamp chops, or a nice steak. When I put them on the grill, they were falling apart when I picked them up with the fork, they were that tender. Even the kids get a kick out of it, they always want to know which pig we are eating. We’ll defiantly be raising the Duroc breed again next year.

  





 Along with all the meat, we also saved all the lard to use in soap making. This Thanksgiving, I was asked to make some apple pies, and I decided to use some of the lard in the pie crust. Lard comes from a big piece of fatty tissue that surrounds the kidneys. It’s different than the fat everywhere else on the pig, in that it doesn't have any bacon taste or color to it. First thing I had to do was render the big pieces of lard into cooking lard. I did that by cutting up the lard into small pieces and putting them into a crockpot.  I then put a ¼ cup of water in there, and left it on overnight. I made sure to stir it up every now and then. In the morning, when it was all melted, I poured it through a strainer lined with cheese cloth. I then poured it into a glass jar and put it in the refrigerator until I was ready for it. I didn't get right to it in the morning and left it on a little too long, that's why it's not completely clear.

   










When it came to making the pie crust I went in a little different direction. I normally just use the standard flour, salt, water, and shortening. This time I took 3 ½ cups of flour, a teaspoon of salt, and 1 ¼ cups of the lard and mixed them together until it turned into a coarse meal. In a separate bowl I mixed together an egg, 6 Tablespoons of cold water, and a teaspoon of vinegar. Then I mixed the two together, just until the dough came together in a ball. I then divided the dough into four balls, wrapped in saran wrap, and put them in the fridge for about a half hour. Then I rolled them out and filled them with my apple filling. Before baking them, I brushed them with an egg white for a glazed look. I was very happy with the results, and so were all of the guests at Thanksgiving. The crust came out very flaky. As long as my wife doesn't use up all the lard in soap making, we will continue to try using lard in other things we cook.