LARD ASS SOAP

My parents were Iowa farmers. While I didn’t get to grow up on the farm; I did grow up hearing stories of collecting eggs, processing hogs, and rendering lard.  So, when I got invited to help process a hog I jumped at the chance to catch up on an opportunity missed.  There is a tremendous amount of fat on a hog (because they are “lard asses”).  Fat is used as energy storage. The energy, in the form of long chemical chains, is stored in cells called “adipocytes”. If you save it and render it you can use the lard for baking or soap making.  My frugal, “I can do anything”, farm girl attitude kicked in and I saved a Yeti full of fat.  If you are wondering why a frugal person would have a Yeti, please review the blog post “A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS”. 

Let’s talk rendering.  Rendering is when you heat the hog fat up enough to melt the fat (found in adipose cells).  I like to do this in my crockpot, so I can work on other things.  Set your crockpot on a low or medium setting so you don’t burn your fat.  Once rendered, the fat can be strained and frozen or canned in a sterilized glass jar.  The melted fat will solidify to form a white lard.  Lard is great for pie crusts and frying things!  Alternatively, you can save your lard and make old fashioned lye soap.  The recipe I used is from www.brambleberry.com.  They have a series of safety videos and how-to videos that you MUST watch before you begin this process.  Lye is caustic meaning it can burn or corrode.  Therefore, you MUST watch the safety and how-to videos before you start.  DISCLAIMER – You MUST watch the safety and how-to-videos before you try this.  I’m not responsible for any damages to you, your loved ones, friends, enemies. or stuff.  Overall, I’m not responsible for your lard ass soap.