How To Render Lard and Get Crispy Fried Lard (Using Pork Fat)
Course: Condiment, How To
Cuisine: Southeast Asia
Prep Time: 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 1 hourhour30 minutesminutes
Total Time: 1 hourhour35 minutesminutes
Author: Marvellina
Learn how to render lard using pork fat and get the crispy fried lard (bak eu phok) at the same time. The lard can be used in cooking or baking and the fried lard is great as a topping for many dishes.
500grpork belly fat or pork fatbackabout 1 1/2 lbs
Water
Instructions
Cut the pork fat into similar size cubes:
Cut the pork fat into small cubes. Try your best to cut into similar size as much as possible so they will cook at approximately the same time
Render the fat:
Place the pork fat cubes in a large pan or wok without any oil. Spread them out and pour water, just enough to cover the fat. Bring the water to a boil and then maintain the heat on low to let it just gently simmer. Do not rush to boil it. We want it to slowly render on low heat
Fat cubes turn into crispy fried lard:
The water will continue to evaporate and it eventually dries up and when the water dries up is when you will start to see the lard started to render out slowly. Maintain heat at low
You will notice more and more lard is coming out and the fat will continue to turn golden brown and get crispy and pretty much "frying" in its own lard
The whole process may take somewhere around 1-1 1/2 hours to let it slowly render and to get the fried lard (bak eu phok). Once the bak eu phok is crispy, remove from the lard into an absorbent paper towel
Filter the lard:
Filter the lard into a clean glass jar and let it cool down before covering the lid. It will turn white once it's cool down completely or when you refrigerate it
Storing:
Keep the bak eu phok in an air-tight jar and they can be kept at room temperature for up to a week or longer in some cases. You can store the lard in the refrigerator and it will last for a really long time, for about 1 year in the fridge. If you see anything black growing on the solidified fat, that's mold and you shouldn't be using it and that's also a sign that the lard was not properly rendered