Appalachian Dark Arts
Reviving the Past, Protecting the Future
The hills and hollers of the Appalachian Mountains have sparked imaginations for centuries—from the stouthearted Scots-Irish immigrants who settled here i...
Rendering lard might seem like a daunting task for the uninitiated, but it’s not as foreign of a process as you might think—Sandi Smith likens it to the still-thriving practice of saving bacon drippings, only on a larger scale. If you’d like to have a hand in returning this much-maligned fat to its traditional place in the Southern kitchen, you can follow Sandi’s method for rendering snow-white lard.
Ingredients
- Frozen leaf fat or fatback
- Water
- Crockpot
Preparation
Cut fat into 1-inch cubes with a sharp chef’s knife. Place in crockpot with 1 cup of water and heat on low, stirring frequently. As the fat renders, periodically remove and strain the liquid into a glass Mason jar. When all the fat is melted, strain any remaining liquid into the jar, remove the cracklins, and fry them up until they’re crispy as a snack. Since home-rendered lard contains no preservatives, store it in the fridge or freezer for the best shelf life.
Related Stories & Recipes
