Rendering hog fat for lard

A couple weeks ago, we took our hog pig off to the butcher.  Yesterday Sam went and picked up the meat.   We kept half and sold the other half to a friend of ours.   She did turn out to be a nice hog, she weighed almost 290 lbs. and she dressed out at 210 lbs..  We ended up with 110 lbs of meat and the same for our friend who purchased the other half from us.  Not too bad, or at least I didn't so.  Last couple of times we had a hog butchered I  wasn't to get any fat back, not sure why, if Sam just forgot to tell our butcher of or what the deal was.  Well anyway, this time, I made sure he got some fat back from the butcher. lol   He ended up bring me back 45 lbs of hog fat to render down for lard. 

So last night, I started rendering it down.  I still have more to render, and will probably finish it up on Monday.   All I did was put the fat in a large roaster and a small amount of water to get it started and slowly cooked it down.   I added it to quarts jars.  The jar will seal on their own as they start cooling down. 

45 lbs of hog fat getting ready to go into a larger roaster. 

In the roaster, I add a small of amount of water and  I just let it cook slowly down.  The slower you let it cook down more of a whiter color it will be and the faster  you cook it  will be darker in color.

In the picture above it is slowly cooking down.  It will take a few hours, depending on how much you start with.   I was up to 3 in the morning working on this batch,  I should have started it earlier in the day.   I would love to  render some down over an open fire and see how it would turn out.   I didn't save any of  the cracklins from this batch. It was so late and I was ready for bed.

Here is the final  results,  9 quarts and 1 pint and half jars. 

I use lard in a lot different things.  I use it in my pie crusts and biscuits.   I love biscuits made with lard.  They turn out so tender. 

What have we been up to on the farm part 1

Been a little while since I have  done any updates or posted anything.   Time can sure get away with me.  I told myself, if I started another blog, I would try and stick with it and keep up with all that goes on the farm.  Well I'm already behind.  Fall is almost here and things are slowly starting to slow down and maybe, I will have more time.   So what have we been up to lately.  NBHA horse show for one.    Hannah and Cowboy have been doing so good this year after almost a whole year off from barrel racing.  Back about this time last year, Hannah was play softball and she tore her acl and had to have surgery in November.  Well, that meant 6 mos of no riding.  Longest she has probably went since she was little.

  Then she ended up working a new job and it was all weekends, that knocked her out of NBHA shows.  But she finally was able to get back into it and they had earned enough points to qualify for NBHA Youth World Championship in Perry GA.    Well her and cowboy placed 4th in 4d.   Pretty good, out of 44 states and 7 countries.  Over 1,200 kids from all over competing in it.     She was a very happy young lady.  

Well our garden was taken over by the deer this year so we didn't have  any green beans or tomatoes.  I  really wanted to  can tomato juice this year but oh well, I will plan better for next year. We do plan on building a fence around our garden area before we plant again.    We should have done it years ago but kept putting it off.   I did however  get to can green beans, my brother in law had some and he let us pick some for canning.   I did get corn from my garden and was able to can corn. 

Well, it is getting late and I have to be up early in the morning to take Sam to the hospital for some testing.   So I will do this in a couple different parts to catch everyone up with  what has been going.   I have a whole lot  more canning  to share and we have more goats.    I have some recipes I want to share, as well.  

Hannah and Cowboys run at the 2017 NBHA Youth championship.

Making Hot pepper green tomato kraut

Saffron and Hickory

Hay Balin time

Preece wedding

Back to raising meat rabbits, New Zealands

Bonnie

Meet our newest addition to the farm.  Our breeding pair of New Zealand meat rabbits.   We raised rabbits in the past and decided to get into them again.    We just didn't to start out with as many as we did the last.    I'm also looking into getting a breeding pair rexes.    I like the fur on them better than the New Zealand's.   I'm going to have to take a refresher course on raising them again.  I have forgotten  so much in the last two years.   Maybe, now that we have them again it will all come back to me.   I look forward to sharing our journey with rabbits again.

I will do another post on our set up for them and what feed will are feeding.  More on our plans for them.

Bugs

Old time vinegar pie

                                        Old time vinegar pie


1/4 c. vinegar
2 c. water
4 tbsp. corn starch
1 tbsp. flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. sugar
pinch of salt
1 tsp. Lemon flavoring
1tbsp. butter
 

Boil vinegar and water.  Mix flour, cornstarch, pinch of salt and 2 beaten eggs until smooth.   Cook until thick, then add lemon flavoring and butter.  Cool slightly.  Pour into baked pie shell.  Beat egg whites for topping.

Tip for beating egg whites.   Beat them at room temperature.

Old Time Stack Cake

Growing up I can remember my Mamaw Ross making her dried apple stack cakes.    Seems like she made them all the time.   I think, they must have been a favorite of our whole family, well next to her fruitcake.   I can remember my papaw building her a place outside so she could dry out her apples and he would build a fire underneath and she would lay her apples on top of this thing he build.  I really no idea what to  call it, but it worked.   The apples she dried had a smokey taste that was different but really good.

In the picture above is  an apple stack cake I had made a couple years ago.  I used some homemade apple butter I had made.  It was good but not near as good as I remember my mamaw's being. It had to be the way she dried her apples and used them.  It's the little things in life you miss.  

These are better if you wrap them in saran wrap  for  a day or two.  The longer they set the better they taste.

Old time stack cake, recipe as used by Mollie Ross.

3/4 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
1 c. sorghum
1 c. buttermilk
6 c. flour plus a little extra for rolling
3 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. ginger

Preheat oven to 375
Sift dry ingredients together
Cream shortening, sugar, sorghum, eggs and milk.
Add flour mixture until stiff dough.
Put dough onto floured board
Small portions at a time, roll thin.
Cut out with a 10 in  lid or pie pan.
 Bake 10 mins. or until golden brown
Put layers together with dried apples or applebutter.

Makes 12 layers.

Canning carrots and potatoes in onion soup mix.

I had been watching a couple youtube videos about canning and came across  a video on Linda's pantry.  She was canning carrots and potatoes and was adding onion soup mix to each jar.   Of course, that made me want to try it and I'm so happy I did.  I not sure how they will taste but they sure smelled good coming out of the canner.    I do one of the disclaimers on this is its not an approved canning method.  I don't know why it wouldn't be, unless it has something to do the with the beef broth in the onion soup mix.  But anyway, I will share the how-to-do with this or at least how I did it.


Cut up your carrots and potatoes.  The potatoes do need to be blanched for about 10 mins to get some of the starch out of them.   Once your done blanching your potatoes, add them along with the carrots to your jars.  Then add a tablespoonful of soup mix per quart jar or two teaspoonful per pint jar.  Then add hot water, put your lids and rings on and into the canner.   Depending on where you live, determines your time and pressure.   I did mine at 10 lb pressure for 40mins.   I did what the time is given  for canning potatoes.   I hope you find this helpful and want to give it a try yourself.  Happy canning!

Our journey on building our log cabin home

Welcome to our new blog and a little bit about our farm and life in Kentucky.  We live on a family farm that my grandparents purchased back in 1942.  My grandfather worked for a local steel mill, and farmed.   He and my uncle were tobacco farmers for many years, along with raising cattle, horses, gardens and they cut hay.  

I grew up on the farm, later married and moved away for a couple years but my husband and I eventually moved back to the farm.   My mom and stepfather moved back to the farm back in 2008 and remolded my grandparents house.  My grandmother passed away in 2006 and my grandfather passed away in 2009.   They were married for 71 years and they lived be in  their nineties.   Had three children, Thurman, Mary and my mom, Dee.  All three of their children still live on the farm to this day.  My uncle Thurman's son and his wife also live on the farm.  So when I mean family farm it truly is.  

In 2010,  my husband and I started building our second home on the farm.   That was definitely a journey of it's own.  We built a log home ourselves, we did have some help from some good friends and family.  It was a lot of hard work but so worth it.  Not sure I would take that journey again building a loghome  ourselves again.

I hope you follow along, with us on this journey of life.  I hope to share stories,  and just our everyday life on the farm and how we do things and live.