How to Make Lard (Pies vs Chinese Food)

A jar of pure white lard on a tablecloth next to a bowl of lardons.

5 from 32 votes

How to Make Lard (Pies vs Chinese Food)

Singapore is famous for its street food and learning how to make lard is the secret ingredient in most traditional Singapore Chinese hawker dishes. It's also the key to super flaky pies and pastries, but the process is a little different (vs rendering for Chinese cooking) so read on to find out more!

Prep Time20

Cook Time3 30

Cuisine: Chinese, singaporean, Southeast Asian

Servings: serving

Calories: 18kcal

Author: Zen

Equipment

Dutch oven Substitute: heavy-bottomed pot
Metal strainer or cheesecloth
Airtight Glass jar Sterilised
Kitchen towel for scratchings

Ingredients

2 lb Pork Fat I say 2 lb but, really, use as much as you can get without over-filling your pot! Rendering pork lard doesn't get significantly quicker if you reduce the amount of fat, so make sure your time is well-spent. It also lasts for months in the fridge, so it makes sense to batch make!
Aromatics and spices such as ginger, scallions, sichuan peppercorns etc Optional, only use if melting pork fat to use in savory dishes such as Chinese Noodles. Not to be used when rendering lard for pies and cookies!
¼-½ Cup Water Optional, only for wet rendering. Also not necessary if rendering in the oven.

Instructions

Optional pre-step: blanch the lard in boiling water before rendering. Chinese cooks believe this reduces the sour pork smell! Also, rendering lard produces a strong smell. Make sure to open your windows and shut bedroom doors!
Cut your partially thawed or chilled pork fat into equal sized, small pieces. (For easier cutting, put the fat in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to firm it up. Don't work with room temperature fat as it's slippery.) Alternatively, get your butcher to grind it or blitz it in your food processor.
Add the cut-up pork lard (and water and aromatics, if using) to a heavy-bottom pot which allows for even heating. Use a Dutch Oven if you have one. (A flimsy pot is also dangerous, as you can easily overturn it and the rendered lard is HOT.)
On low heat: melting pork fat needs to be a slow process. (Using high heat gives the lard a stronger porky taste.) Set the fire on 2 (mine's a Bosch induction with a maximum of 9.) Stir the fat to prevent sticking and burning.
When you see the fat melting/ oil oozing out, reduce to 1 (lowest heat possible.) Note that it is more difficult to tell when the oil is oozing out with wet vs dry rendering.
Stir every 30 minutes or when you hear sizzling. Don't let the fat stick to the bottom or sides of the pot, or your lard will taste porky!
The lard will eventually start bubbling so don't be alarmed. (The bubbles indicate that there is still moisture in the fat. You're always using low heat so you should never be boiling the lard.)
The fat will take 2-4 hours to completely render. Make sure that there are no more bubbles and the crackling (pork bits) have risen before switching off the fire.
Remove the golden brown scratchings. I recommend sieving using a strainer or cheesecloth. You can also crush the scratchings to get every bit of oil out.
Place the pork scratchings on a kitchen towel to absorb the excess oil. If not as crunchy as you like, pop them into a dry pan, air fryer or oven for a few minutes (350F/ 177C)
Filter the pork lard into a sterilised, heat resistant glass jar- this is particularly important if you've added aromatics to your lard. Allow it to completely cool before covering and refrigerating.
Keep it for up to 6-9 months in the fridge and do not use if rancid (smells bad) or moldy. (Some people say 12 months- I like to err on the side of caution! You can freeze if it you want it to last longer.)

Notes

In the Oven: you want to use low heat so a temperature of about 200-225 F (93.3 C- 107C.) You don't need to add water for oven rendering. Don't cover the pot or the moisture can't evaporate. This can take up to 8 hours so only do this if it's not that expensive to run your oven! (Tip: if you have a heat-proof colander, put the fat in the colander then the colander in the dutch oven. The whole set-up goes into the oven. The rendered lard will drip out of the colander into the dutch oven, saving you the work of straining! Just use the back of a spoon to gently crush the crackling in the colander, to get all the oil out.)
In the Slow Cooker: This is probably the easiest way to render lard. Set on high for 30 minutes. Then reduce to low, cover but with the lid ajar (to allow steam to escape) and stir every 20 minutes or so. (If you hear sizzling, definitely stir so that it doesn't stick!) The lard will sink at first and your pot will look less full. After a few hours, the cracklings will settle at the bottom, and you know your lard has been rendered.
In an Instant Pot: I don't have 1 so no comment from me on the method. (I've found some online but can't reasonably recommend something I've not tried!)

I do not recommend removing the scratchings using a metal slotted spoon. It's easy to miss small bits this way, and impurities will result in mold in your lard.

Pies vs Chinese Food

The lighter the color of the oil, the better it is for making pies. Below 93-113F, your lard will solidify into (hopefully) pure white fat. Yellow-ish lard should be kept for savory foods. (Unless you like pork-flavored cookies.)

Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its accuracy.

Nutrition