About two minutes ago I uploaded a video about hot to render lard. I included some time lapse stuff so you can see it go from fat to oil and cracklins. Then from oil to lard.
The gal in the video talks about lots of ways she has rendered lard, and this is her favorite.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cveJczI65Ao
When I was a kid I helped render lard
Mostly it was easy and warm (they always picked a really cold day) cause I got to tend the fire under the cast iron pot
and dip out the crispies
good memories
Ick.... I hate cracklings...
We render bear fat every year in our sap boiling pan, basically the same way she does....make around 30 gallons of oil on a good year. Great for frying, baking and certain kinds of lamps.