Lardin' and Nuttin'

How's that for a title? Lately, that's about what my life has consisted of - nuts and lard. Walnuts and pig fat, to be exact. Interesting times at the Hooter Ranch.

As many of you have probably noticed, this is the time of year for big fat walnuts to litter the ground, and this is a boomer of a year! Not only are the trees really producing, but the nut company is paying very well for black walnuts at hulling stations. After my first load - $92+ dollars worth, every time I see walnuts on the ground I now see little dollars. Unfortunately, I can't get every nut, but I'm sure going to try. Between our place and the neighbor's, I have plenty to keep me busy. I'm pretty sure my neighbor thinks I'm as nuts as the ones I pick up.

In between picking up nuts, I've been making lard. Yes, making lard. Whitey and Petunia, after a happy life lazing in the shade and mud, not getting injected with antibiotics and who knows what else, getting to eat yummy corn and table scraps (unlike factory pigs, I might add), made their journey to the processor, and we picked up the meat last week. You can sure fit a surprising amount of pork in a Toyota Prius.

I had been drilling every old person I could think of on the topic of rendering lard, as well as doing a fair amount of consulting the internet, and after deciding that it maybe wouldn't be too hard, I requested the butcher save me the fat. He was more than happy, and even ground it up for me. A question I've been asked by numerous friends has been "WHY would you WANT lard?" Well, aside from a wide consensus that it makes the absolute best pie crust, from reading about lard it seems that it's one of those foods that has been demonized, but now research shows it's actually not that bad. Matter of fact, it seems it's better than most fats, containing essential "stuff" a person needs, but without the trans-fat and no preservatives. Not that a person should just sit and eat a bucket of lard, but compared to the Crisco you get in a tub, it's downright healthy. And you do have to wonder about a product so full of preservatives you can leave it on the shelf nearly indefinately.

Not to mention that lard-making is getting to be one of those lost skills, and a the knowledge is just good to have.

On what I dubbed "lard day", I stood staring at three large frozen-turkey sized lumps of ground fat wrapped in plastic, wondering if I should proceed, or just feed it to the dogs. I decided to be adventurous and at least give it a try. I dug out my biggest dutch oven, put it on the grill over hot coals, added a bit of water and a big lump of fat, and waited. And waited. Stirred a bit. Waited. I quickly came to the conclusion that this project was going to cost a fortune in charcoal, plus the wind was blowing stuff into the pot, and I was incessently pestered by over-interested dogs and cats. So, against my better judgement, I moved the whole operation indoors to the stove. Eventually the fat melted and started to cook down, and after a few hours I started to see brown "cracklins" and the liquid turned clear, so according to all my information, it was done cooking. I felt like Ma Ingalls straining out the cracklings, but I'm pretty sure she did not strain her lard into GladWare. After a few hours of cooling in the fridge, I had honest-to-goodness lard!

Part of me is still surprised it even worked - talk about a feeling of accomplishment! And doesn't this pic speak for itself???