Quote:
Originally Posted by Starlight
I remember when a lot of our stuff was sealed with paraffin wax.
The lard, does that come from off your meat before you smoke it? Do you just boil the fat pieces down and than strain them?
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Yes. Lard comes from the trimmings. A nice sized hog will make 4-5 or more gallons of lard.
The fat trimmings are then cut in to small pieces and cooked to render the lard from them. When the fat pieces float to the top and start making a crackling noise the lard is done. The pieces are then called cracklins'..While the lard is still warm, the cracklins are dipped off, and it is strained through a cloth to remove small bits then stored in containers until used. A "lard can" was traditionally used to store lard. Lard cans are still available, but I find it much more efficient to seal it in jars while it's still warm.