Don rendered lard a few days ago. Not in conjunction with our annual hog butchering, though. We were simply out of lard so Don pulled four bags of chunked-up fat from the freezer, allowed it to thaw, then cooked it down.

Over the years, our butchering process has been refined. No longer do we render all the lard at one time. Early on, we used a large cast iron kettle and an old crank-handled lard press. It was tricky to coordinate the right combination of fire temperature and liquid lard consistency before scorching occurred. At the exact right time, the lard had to be ladled out and packaged or the batch would turn brown and take on an off flavor. Now, while butchering, we cut the fat into one inch chunks and freeze them in one gallon quantities. Rendering can be done as needed on the stove top using a heavy, 12 quart pot.

As a side note, we still have the kettle and the press. Both are still in good working condition. The kettle, in fact, is used on occasion to pop up some kettle corn when friends visit.