jana called the Butcher and Larder on Friday and placed an order for some pork fat for rendering into lard. the butcher there told us he would be butchering that evening and would hold some of the best stuff for us. what he told jana when she inquired about back fat is that it is less desirable than many of the other pork fats for rendering. they always use the back fat in sausage and salumi. whatever he gave us did render out quite nicely, though the first batch gave off a moderate gamey smell. this could have been from some stinky hairs that had touched the fat.
we got 5 and 1/2 pounds of fat, with almost no meat on it, and this yielded almost two quarts of lard. the second batch i rendered, on sunday, went for longer than the first and was not scorched. i am learning how to tell when it's done. the cracklings should look almost translucent and golden brown all over. if you have it on a low enough heat, and stir regularly, there should be no problem with letting it go until you reach that stage.
this is the first batch...
... and after a night of cooling.
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