I've taken to rendering lard of late. Mostly I've been making lard from the kidney fat (aka leaf lard) of pastured pork from Highland Hills Farm. Soon I will be experimenting with the kidney fat from lamb. I've was leafing through the pages of a James Beard cookbook from the 1970s when I was in high school. The book is entitled 100 of the World's Greatest Recipes and many of the recipes call for lard, suet or marrow bones. I remember at some point cooking with fat a la James Beard falling out of favor and now, thankfully, there seems to be a culinary embrace for fat once again. Real lard isn't as unhealthy for us as we have all been lead to believe. And kidney fat lard is the most prized for baking (and makes the best oven-roasted potatoes).
Rendering lard isn't difficult: it's just a bit of a time-consuming two-day process. But in the end, there is that satisfying moment of having participated in some time-honored, ancestral process that goes beyond mere food. (Plus lots of good, creamy-white lard.)
And yes, I've taken to selling the lard — wrapped up in small 4 oz packages. It's available both at the Berkeley Farmers Markets and at the farm store.
