I think where you went wrong is turning the heat to high at the end. If you allow the bits and pieces left to brown at all, you'll get the pork flavor.

Grandma always added the water, I don't anymore because then you just have to cook it off, but using it prevents your lard from sticking or scorching if you're doing it on top of the stove. I've had more luck running the fat through the grinder then putting it in the oven or the crockpot and letting it melt, much less chance of anything browning and adding that cooked pork flavor to the lard.

Annie

Thanks, Annie, I was wondering if that was the problem. So when you make it, does your lard turn out flavorless, or can you still taste pork in your pastry dough? I am up for trying it again, but I won't bother if it's still going to taste like pig.

Well, it isn't flavorless, nothing is flavorless, not even water, but it doesn't taste obviously "porky". It turns white in the jar but is actually a pale yellowish when I first strain it through cheesecloth and put it into the jars. It turns white when it firms up. I freeze mine because it will turn rancid if left out long enough.

You can also just ladle off the melted part as it melts, and strain it, you don't have to wait until it's all done. As I mentioned, the water will cook off but the fat will rise to the top anyway, so it can be ladled off and strained as it melts.

I get a better result when I grind the fat instead of just chopping it up in pieces, but do not let those bits cook. It will not all melt, there will be small meaty bits left. That's what gives it the pork flavor. You can take those bits and fry them until crispy and they'll be "cracklins" which can be added to cornbread.

Good luck!

Annie

What Annie said. Keep the temperature very low.

If you render often, you may want to get a lard press to get more out from leaf lard.

You will not be able to get lard as white as commercial ones because they bleach theirs.

dcarch

Aha, thank you both. The melted lard did get darker toward the end, so next time I'll keep your advice in mind and not let that happen.

My husband is appalled at this whole idea (he hasn't said a word but I can tell he's thinking it). He's concerned about his heart, so there is good reason for that. On the other hand, there is no such thing as a heart-healthy pie crust unless I suppose you use olive oil and whole grains, in which case you'd be better off forgetting the crust and just eating fruit compote. Which is what he does. I found coconut oil in the store this afternoon so may give that a try too, though I suspect it's not really great for the heart either. (I should hasten to add I am not trying to kill my husband -- pies are mostly for the kids and me.)

Actually, NC, there's a body of research out there that says that lard isn't as bad for you as originally thought, kind of like a lot of other foods.

Butter has more saturated fat than lard, but I think it tastes better.

Here is the nutritional information for one tablespoon of fat:
Butter 100 calories 12 grams fat 50% sat. fat 30% Mono
Lard 115 calories 13 grams fat 39% sat. 45% Mono.
Duck Fat 115 calories 13grams fat 33% sat. 50% Mono.
Olive Oil 120 calories 14 grams fat 14% sat. 77% Mono

So, it's not exactly health food, but I think it's still better for you than shortening, anything hydrogenated or trans fats. All things in moderation.

Annie

I had heard that about lard, though I hadn't seen those numbers before. I agree with you about veg. shortening. My husband knows this too, but it's not easy to get over that ick reaction when you hear "lard." That may change with the new stricter trans fat guidelines, as people try to find alternatives. (Funny to think of lard as an alternative to Crisco, when originally Crisco was supposed to be a healthier alternative to lard.)

Finally, we rendered lard. Well, sort of.

We could not find any pig fat other than pork jowl, so we used that.

It came out OK. We made a few mistakes, but it will work fine for tamales. The cracklings were awesome. I did save some for cornbread.

Then DH had the bright (?) idea of using venison fat from the last doe we butchered. Yes, I looked at him askance.

The venison lard (or is it tallow?) came out great. The doe had been eating near cornfields, an alfalfa meadow and a grassy field. I was actually very surprised how mild the taste is. Works great for browning meat and the mouth-feel is so different from vegetable oil. Good stuff that I would normally throw away or give to the dogs.

All in all, a successful experiment. The three jars on the left are actually the venison lard, which is whiter than the pork lard. We'll do better with the pork next time.

Because deer are ruminants (as are cattle), I'd say it's tallow, not lard. Not that it matters.

That's a very good idea, to render the fat for cooking, something I've not done because I tend to think of venison as not having fat, although it does.

Annie