Lard vs Fat Cap?

[dougmays]

Hey guys...i was thinking the other day that i usually throw the fat cap trimmings away when i smoke Boston Butts...so i was wondering...can i use the fat cap and make Lard from it?

What's the difference between lard and fatcap? Or are they one in the same. I read online that lard is from the belly region and obviously fatcap is from the shoulder...so maybe the fatcap is to tough to use as lard.

 

[chef willie]

Why not? you could put the trimmings in a pan in the smoker on low and slow and render it out as you smoke the butt....Lard in the stores now is hydrogenated which many feel is an inferior product than it was and more apt to clog your artery......Willie

 

[pineywoods]

Doug I believe when the old timers rendered lard they threw most of the fat into the pot and used it not just the belly fat

 

[foamheart]

Rendering lard was just always called makin cracklins. All the fatty pieces and the skin were cut fairly small and crisscrossed like a Tic tac toe board to cause efficent cooking.

You start in a big cast iron pot, dumb in the all the scraps, a little water to get ya started (It will evaporate), and pull to the paper covered table when its done to wick away excess oils. You then spirnkle with spice.

You start pulling the cracklins when you see the first whisps of blue smoke comming off the pot. never thought about that but I guess that is thin blue smoke.

Whats left in the pot is covered and cooled. And it doesn't taste like that store bought purified stuff.

Someone here showed in a Q-View, baking off the fatty pieces in the oven, then said they could actually later deep fry the pieces making a cracklin. I have not tryed it though. Good cracklins are readily available in all the stores here so we don't make 'em too much anymore.

Throw the butts away, make sure and cook that fat.....LOL

 

[dougmays]

ok cool...i might try in my skillet first. i read online that 190F is ideal for slow rendering of lard

 

[rmiller]

Lard, is just fat, like butter or shortening, and the fat cap may have solids in it, and would not melt exactly how lard would. But you can render the fat from it. Just put it in a pot with a small amount of water, and cook it gently until all the water has evaporated and you are left with just fat. Use a large enough pot as it will like to spit and bubble. If you're doing this after you already smoked the butts, it might have a smokey bbq-esque flavor, but that might be a good thing!