How to Make Your Own Lard from Pork Belly

It’s simply and easy to make lard. You only need one ingredient, common tools, and 10 minutes hands-on time.

What’s Lard

Lard is the fat of non-bovine stock such as pigs. This as opposed to tallow, which comes from bovines such as cows.

Why Use Lard

Lard in its purest form is 100% fat, and so provides a lot of energy. A tablespoon has about 130 calories.

It can be stored for long periods of time. Therefore, it is useful to safe for later moments when you need the energy. As a short-chain fat it provides energy much quicker than longer chain fats such as olive oil

Furthermore, lard contains vitamin E which is important for skin health and anti-aging effects.

As a saturated fat it is heat stable and so suitable for cooking at high temperatures.

Last but not least, there is some evidence that short-chain fats are beneficial against Candida albicans.

How to Make Lard

Repeat the following 2–3 times:

• Microwave for 12 minutes at low power 450 g pork belly (1 pound)
• Drain the liquid through a sieve into a cup
• Turn the pork belly

Now you have a liquid of fat and other stuff. Refrigerate the liquid in the cup overnight (at least 6 hours) until solid.

To get a pure lard, stuff other than fat needs to be removed (i.e. water and proteins).

Purification

Repeat the following 2–3 times until nice and white:

• Turn the solids upside down on a plate
• Scrape off the brown and jelly stuff
• Melt the white solid in a cup until liquid
• Drain the liquid through a sieve into a cup
• Refrigerate the liquid overnight (at least 6 hours) until solid

Weeh, that’s it! Nice and white lard. This keeps well up to 3 months in the refrigerator. Touch and look. If it’s hard and white it’s lard all right!