a 5 gallon bucket of lard page

[solstice]

I picked up my half (pastured) hog last weekend and insisted that they save the fat for me! Instead of having to render it myself, I was presented with a 5 gallon bucket of lard. Holy smokes...that is nearly 40 POUNDS of fat. i've been trying to partition it into glass quart-sized mason jars and freezing. What do you do with a lionshare of lard? I think I need to learn the art of soapmaking on the side? With bacon fat and coconut oil, I have no idea how long it will take to eat through that much fat. I only have a few friends that are lard-happy, like myself, and can donate extra to!

[Ayla2010]

Share it around to the rest of us
LOL.
I don't know exactly, but I guess freezing some would work.

[Gorbag]

Try to eat it it by spoonful six times a day, and make some primal "lard-coffee" as well, and inform us how long time it lasted!

[solstice]

I've made some GF lard-cakes in the past that are FAR superior to any lard-less cake. Cakes are my downfall though and I cannot make them and keep them in the house.

[JoanieL]

Will birds eat it?

[ssn679doc]

The suet cakes you see in home improvement stores etc are basically just seeds mixed with fat and formed in to whatever shape you want, so yes birds will eat lard. The lard will keep for a long time if it is sealed and kept in a cool dark environment. It can go rancid if left exposed to air and warm temps.

[solstice]

great idea on the suet!

[huskerbob]

My Mom used to always tell me that when she was a little girl during the Depression she would take a lard sandwich to school for lunch in the winter. She went to a one room country school. She said it was made of home made bread, lard and a big slice of onion. Til the day she died she always told the story with a BIG SMILE on her face. She said they were the best sandwiches she ever ate! (I was always perfectly willing to just take her at her word!)

Mix some with a health dose of bird seed, form it into cakes, insert a piece of wire and freeze it. Hang the cakes a tree and you'll be the quite popular with all of the local birdies.

[Crabbcakes]

Freeze it. At this point, the Family Crabbcakes goes through a 4-lb tub between three and four weeks. And that is in addition to all the olive oil, butter, and tallow we use (a family of 6). So my suggestion is to freeze it and eat it yourself - I would kill to get my hands on pastured pork lard! It will be safe in the freezer.

[Crabbcakes]

Ohmygosh, solstice - I just looked at your location. If you can get to Pittsburgh easily, I will buy some of that off of you! Pitt takes just under two hours for me, and we sometimes go just for date night or museum visits with the kiddos. If this sounds like anything interesting, PM me.