Home Made Lard

I finally got around to making some more lard last week.  I will tell you about my experience, direct you to more information on the web, and tell you about what I learned from this to do differently next time.

Fill the Slow Cooker with Fat

Here is my slow cooker full of fat.  Next time, I will grind the fat or at least cut it into very small chunks.  I will show you why in a moment. I know, some of you are wondering why in the world I would be making lard, aren’t you?  If you do a quick internet search, you will find many articles talking about the renewal in interest in and use of lard.  We have been told for years that animal fats are bad, we should cook with vegetable oils, right?  Well, as use of the vegetable oils has increased, so has the rate of heart disease.  Our ancestors ate large amounts of animal fats without the rate of heart disease, cancer and other health issues from which our society now suffers. Real foods are what kept them healthy, and real foods do not come in a box.  Real lard is made at home, it does not come from a shelf in the grocery store. Check out this post from Earthy Delights, or this post from Nourished Kitchen, and this one from Healthy Diets and Sciencefor more information.

Fat Heating

There are several methods of rendering lard.  Some people use a large, heavy stock pot in the oven or on the stovetop.  I was happy with the results I got from the slow cooker (set on low – this is important).   Some people don’t like the smell of the heating fat, but it did not bother me.  Our fat did not have a “gamey” odor in my opinion.

Solids Sink to the Bottom

As the fat cooked and the liquid came out, I found that my large pieces retained a lot of the liquid.  This is when I decided smaller pieces or grinding would have been a good idea.  I stirred the pieces and broke them up at this point to release more of the liquid, but it would have been easier and more effective to have done it to begin with. As the fat is released, the solids begin to sink to the bottom.  At this point it becomes easy to ladle off the liquid, and you can do so at any time.  I found that as long as I did not stir up the solids, I could ladle the golden liquid without needing to strain it.

Clear Golden Liquid Lard

You want your liquid lard to be clear,

Cooling Lard

then as it cools, it will turn white.  Overheating the lard will give a tan color. Here are three jars at various stages of cooling, from warm and clear, to cooling and cloudy, to cooled and white . It is important to remember that this is not the same product as store-bought, hydrogenated, shelf-stable lard.  This lard needs to be refrigerated.

Finished Product

It can also be frozen for long term storage. The final product, a white, solid lard, is wonderful to cook with.

We basically no longer cook with olive oil.  We use our lard, butter, and are trying to use more coconut oil (which makes great fried yellow squash, by the way.)

Butternut Squash Soup

I do not even remember where the original recipe came from.  Somewhere in the internet, I am sure.  It is very rare that I follow a recipe exactly, quite often because of lack of advance planning.  Most things in our life end up being the wing-it variety.  We usually don’t know what our plans are until they’ve already happened.  Wait, I was talking about soup, wasn’t I?

Butternut Squash Soup with Sausage

Butternut Squash Soup.  It has become a favorite at our house.  The first time I made it, Kent was less than enthusiastic about soup for a meal.  It turned out to be one of his favorites, and he now lets me know when we have not had it in awhile.

One thing I remember about the original recipe is it called for nutmeg, and I don’t like nutmeg.  So I substitute ground cinnamon (because that is what I had).  Sometimes my substitutions work out, sometimes they don’t.  Eating my experiments is often quite an adventure at the very least.  Some of them are definitely inedible.  Not this soup, though.

I bake a butternut squash, sliced lengthwise and face down in a quarter inch of water, for 30-40 minutes until tender to a fork.  I’ve tried peeling them and boiling the chunks, but I like to keep the skin on my hands.  Peeling a butternut squash is a monumental task, I find baking them to be much easier.   Then I can just scoop out the cooked squash with a spoon.  I put it in the blender and puree it until smooth.

Soup bones cooking to make stock

Stock is jelly-like when cold (the good stuff is anyway).

Normally, I add an equal amount of home made chicken stock.  Tonight it was beef stock made from our soup bones.  I made beef stock for the first time yesterday.  For this soup, I think I prefer the chicken stock, but I will try other things with the beef stock.  I also got a large amount of tender meat out of the stock pot, which Sky has been eating.  There was enough for Kent and myself to have it for supper last night also, these are very meaty soup bones.

Browned Suasage

So, you have pureed squash and stock in the pot. This is when I sprinkle with ground cinnamon and add a bit of Redmond Real Salt and black pepper.  I heat over low heat to liquify the stock and simmer the two together to blend.  At the same time, I brown a package of sausage, usually venison sausage around here.  Whatever bulk sausage you like, our pork breakfast sausage would work great.  We just didn’t bring any of it home because we have so much venison in the freezer already.

I also sautee some onion in another skillet.  When the sausage and onions are done, add them to the pot.  Add water to get the consistency you like.  Simmer for a bit to let everything blend, then serve.

Sky Likes Butternut Squash Soup!

Tonight, we tried adding creme fraiche.  It gave a nice creamy taste and was pretty good.  We also added our cottage cheese.  This was hands down the favorite.  Kent, Sky and I ate about 3/4 of a 16oz. container of cottage cheese tonight.  In the soup, it got soft and then had a definite squeak when chewed.  If you don’t understand what squeak is, you’ll just have to try it.

This soup is a very flexible recipe.  I want to try it with sweet potato next time.  It stores well in the refrigerator, just reheat and add water as needed to get the texture you want.  We like it pretty thick , but you could thin it down to stretch it out.  It is quite filling (I am still stuffed as I write this at 11pm).

Another New Baby

Summer is not the best time for babies to be born on a farm, but it seems to be happening quite often around here lately.  Next year we plan to separate the boars and the sows so we won’t be having piglets in the hottest months.  Giving birth and nursing babies is very hard in high heat.  We have not lost any mama pigs this year, but it could definitely happen.  We pull the bulls out from the cows so they calve from September through May for the same reason.  When they calve in this heat, they are under way too much stress and the cows can even die.  They also do not give as much milk because of the heat stress.

Come On, Prissy, Let's Go

I had one mare bred this year, and she should have been due in June, but she held out until today to give us a July 4th baby.  It is a little boy (a colt) and he looks like he will be black (or a dark chocolate brown like his mother).   Kent called me this morning when he left out to let me know she had finally decided to have the baby.  When Sky got up we headed out to check out the new addition.  Even one of the cats went with us.  Here’s Prissy as she accompanied us.

Let's Take a Break

Sky had do stop and rest in the shade.  Even at 9am it was already getting hot out there.  Of course the dogs had to go too.  That’s Ranger (my Standard Poodle who needs his haircut finished).

 

 

 

 

The colt was only a few hours old when we got out there.  Molly, his mother, just wanted to rest.

Tired Mama

She’s a great kid horse, very much the babysitter, and she loves Sky.  I can put Sky on her out in the pasture without even a halter and Molly will stand very still.  Of course it only takes a short time for Sky to be ready to get down.  I was able to get right up to Molly and the baby, even carrying Sky.  Molly was less thrilled with the dogs wanting to see what was going on, but she let us come up and pet the baby while he nursed.  It’s always good to get your hands on a new foal as soon as possible so it accepts people easily.

When we got closer, she got up and I got a better look at the new boy.  Last year’s filly out of Molly, with the same father had a beautiful blanket over her rump when she was born.

Vacera, Last Year's Baby

The father of these two is a beautiful, cream colored horse with beautiful Appaloosa markings.  He is registered as a Tiger Horse, a registry for gaited horses with Appaloosa markings.  Gaited horses have extra gears.  They may trot, but they also do some smoother gait or gaits between a walk and a canter.  If you are not a horse person, that probably doesn’t mean much.  If anyone is interested, contact me and I’ll be happy to elaborate.

This year’s colt shows signs of developing spots.  He has stipes on his hooves, and the sclera of his eyes are white (most horses have brown pigment around the “colored” part of the eye, the “whites” of their eyes are not truly white.)  It will be fun to watch this boy’s coat change color.  Some of them develop spots over several years, sometimes changing every year of their life.   Here he is up close.

I'm So Hungry!

Whoa! How Do These Legs Work, Again?

Where Are We Going, Mom? 

 

Walking Home

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

Yesterday was Grandpa’s birthday.  Sky helped him blow out the candle on his cake.  Of course, she helped him eat it, too.

Pork Products: Chorizo Sausage, Sliced Ham, and Smoked Sausage Links

Fresh Chorizo Sausage

Fresh Chorizo in Eggs

As we try the new pork products, I am attempting to take pictures so you can see them.  I will try to post here to tell you how they cooked up, what we did with them, and what we think about them.  So far I have pictures of the sliced ham and the fresh chorizo sausage.  For one thing, the chorizo said links in the store, but I have changed that.  It is not in links, it is bulk sausage.  I browned a package, then put half of it in the refrigerator (and have been snacking on it).  To what was left in the pan, I added some fresh tomato, fresh onion, and scrambled eggs into the mix.  Then I grated mild colby cheese and melted it in just before serving.  Here’s what it looked like.It may not look like much, but it packed a lot of flavor.  I am not a wimp when it comes to hot stuff, and this chorizo got my attention.  It is not a mild sausage.  Be careful when looking at recipes, this is a fresh paprika chorizo.  Many recipes call for a smoked version.  This would have been nice with some refried beans and rice, maybe some nice homemade tortillas.  No, I don’t make homemade tortillas, but we do have a local Mexican restaurant where I can buy some good ones.

Sliced Ham

Sliced Ham, Smoked, Uncured

This is not your deli sliced ham.  These are some planks of ham, and they fry up very nicely in the cast iron skillet.  They are over half an inch thick.  Smoked but not cured.  No nitrates or nitrites added.  Yum, yum, yum.

Smoked Sausage Links

These are nice big links of sausage.  Smoked, uncured, with no added nitrates or nitrites.  You can feel comfortable serving these to your children.  We have cooked them a few times.  The first time I overcooked them (not an uncommon occurrence.)  The next time, I turned the heat down lower and covered the skillet.  That worked better.  Next time I want to try slicing them in half lengthwise and see how they cook that way.  Or I might slice them crosswise, they should cook really fast like that.  Here’s what they look like in the package.  I haven’t remembered to take any pictures cooking these.

Smoked Sausage Links

Petunia and Sky

For comparison, this first picture is Sky with the piglet the day Petunia was born.   She was so tiny.  It is just amazing how quickly she is growing.   Of course, the rest of her littermates are growing much faster, but they are drinking mother’s milk free choice.  Petunia is getting goat’s milk several times a day, and the little stinker is still growing like a weed.  She has gotten to the point she will follow me around the yard, but does not appreciate being picked up.  Not that she ever really liked it, I guess she has just gotten big enough to object more effectively.  Here she is this morning 

Since we took her to Galveston with her, it of course was imperative that she go to the beach.  Here she is helping Sky pick up shells.

Ok, I’ll stop with the Petunia posts for now, especially since I have some pork posts to put up.  It just doesn’t seem right, somehow, to do both in one post, so there’ll be another one shortly.

This Little Piggy Went to Market…

Oh, that was just too easy.

Petunia in the Cat Crate

Yes, when you are feeding a critter every 2 hours, you pretty much take it everywhere you go.  And I picked Petunia up on a Friday, so Saturday morning, off we went to Coppell for the Farmers Market.  And so did she.  In the cat crate.

She was quite a hit at the market.  People thought we had a very strange puppy.

I Want More, More, More...

The kids (and quite a few of the adults) were fascinated and wanted to pet her.  Since she was so young, I was a little cautious with her.  I was afraid too much handling would be more than she could deal with.  She came through like a trouper, though.

Sky loves Petunia, when she was still living in the cat crate, we could not leave the house without the pig.  It was just not allowed.

Here are my two little piglets.

Sky Loves Petunia

Our New Mascot?

Sometimes you just end up in the right place at the right time.  I guess that’s one way to look at it.  There have been times, though, in the last two weeks that I have thought otherwise.  But I am getting ahead of myself.

Now What Am I Going to Do With You?

Two weeks ago, I went out to get some pictures for the new website.  One of the sows was having babies, and I wanted some pictures of the little piggies.  Mama stood up while I was standing there, and one little squealer fell

Tiny Little Piggy

into the hollow where she had been laying.  It was much smaller than the others and obviously very weak.  I knew it was going to get laid on and squished.  So what did I in all my brilliance do?  I grabbed it up and saved it.

Boy, oh boy.  That meant I was the proud new custodian of what was now an orphan pig.  There were 10 in the litter, and the rest were about twice her size, so she didn’t stand a chance, particularly being as weak as she was.  Here’s little Petunia when I first brought her home.  She fit into the corner of a milk crate.

OK, so what do I feed a newborn pig?  I wasn’t going to go milk the sow, that was for certain.  I did a little research and decided the neighbors’ goat milk would be the best option.  Thy are still waiting for their milk barn to be finished so they can get graded on.  Then we can buy milk from them to sell and make cheese (watch for updates).  For now they are just feeding baby goats, calves, dogs, whatever.  So I got permission to snag milk for my new pet.  First, though, we had a bottle of cow colostrum (the first milk with lots of antibodies and other good stuff).  That’s what I fed her the first 48 hours.  Every 2 HOURS.  The every 2 hours thing went on for about the first week until I finally figured out I could prop the bottle up at night and she could drink when she wanted to.

You will be hearing more about Petunia…

Welcome to the New Blog

Well, I am on my way to simplifying the website.  Hopefully this format will allow more interaction and less confusion.  I hope to be posting regularly, with pictures and updates on what is going on around the farm.

Ramy Jisha

Texas Daily Harvest