What belongs in your Prepper Pantry Part 2

Fats and Oils.

Dang 2019 NCoV is making me lose time in writing these fun Prepping 101 articles!

Prepping 101. Fats and Oils

We left off talking about fats and oils in What belongs in your prepper pantry? Fats Oils and Proteins are vital for maintaining health. Even if you are pure Vegan you have to have those in your diet. The bad thing about those oils is, They go RANCID. Some faster than others. What makes oils go rancid? OXYGEN! Lets talk about oils and shelf life.

Oil Expiration Date Unopened

Tables courtesy of Eat By Date

Oil Expiration Date Opened

Tables courtesy of Eat By Date

Coconut Oil

Notice how coconut oil has its life listed in Months-Years? There is a reason for that. It all depends on the way it is extracted.

There are two types of oil; refined, which is either “expeller pressed” where a machine extracts the oil then uses steam to distill or RBD which uses chemical solvents to extract the oil and the other is unrefined, also called “virgin” or “extra-virgin” which contains the most nutrition. Refined, odorless coconut oil lasts approximately 18 months before showing signs of spoilage. Virgin coconut oil produced from a wet-milling process contains more antioxidants that help prevent spoilage; this type of coconut oil may last for several years without spoiling. Virgin or extra-virgin varieties have the longest shelf life after opened or the “best by” date, at least 3-5 years and some manufacturers say it is indefinite. The appearance of the oil will help to determine if it is still acceptable to use as well.

Animal oils

Lard are rendered fats from animals. Bacon Grease is another. Lard was the oil of this land and of Europe for thousands of years. Commercial lard is “okay-ish” . It will do. But home rendered lard properly canned and stored will out last ANY commercial oil, fat or lard.

My grandparents were poor Spanish speaking folk of Northern New Mexico. When they butchered a hog, they used everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. If they could have found a use for it they would have used the squeal. I had to ask how it was done, and the process my grandmother used is pretty identical as the ones on line. It is just easier to copy and insert then link than try to translate it from Spanish.

Grandma canned lard 2 ways. For lard that would go into the cellar for tiempos malos, Bad Times, she would pressure can. For lard that would be on hand til the next pig was butchered was poured into sterile jars, the lids put on and then allowed to cool. Sounds scary? Well not a one of us grand kids EVER got sick from Grandmas cooking!

Legal talk.

Now first things first. The USDA has NO instructions on canning lard. They even recommend that all fat be cut from meats about to be canned. Pagan Preparedness takes no responsibility for poorly canned foods. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Canning lard.

Be sure to read all of the directions for rendering and preserving your own lard as there are a few different steps you need to take in order for it to be successful.

To make your own lard—known as rendering lard—you’ll start off by retrieving it from your cuts of pork. Remove all of the skin and meat that you’re able to. The smallest bit of burnt muscle or skin will ruin the flavor of your lard. I like to partially freeze mine as they are easier to cut then.

Next, you’ll need a heavy, large, shallow pan. I suggest using a large a cast iron skillet that’s nicely seasoned. Also, just in case I keep a large pan lid by the stove “just in case” there’s a grease fire that I need to tend to. I cover the pan with a handy dandy spatter guard to help prevent

You’ll want keep the pan you use at a steady, medium low temperature. Start off by warming the pan on medium low heat and then add ¼ cup of water. Then toss in your fat pieces. Remember, you do not want to fill the pan to full because you don’t want to risk it boiling over and having a grease fire on your hands. Add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda as you begin. This will make your lard whiter when it’s finished.

You’ll want to stir the lard very frequently WITH A WOODEN or METAL utensil to prevent any meat bits (cracklings) from burning and anything sticking to the pan. Do not use ANY other type of utensil as it will melt. Your goal is to slowly melt the fat until it’s nice and clear. It will get a bubbly foam on the top of it, and then the bubbling with subside and what you’ll see are the cracklings that float to the top. As I see the cracklings develop, I spoon them out of the pan because I don’t want them to burn and put an unpleasant flavor in my lard. Once the bubbling had completely stopped, I turn off my oven heat.

The water helps the fat to not stick to the bottom of the pan and it boils off as the lard melts. USUALLY when the water has boiled off your lard is ready, but that’s not always the case. In fact, you may end up adding more water as time goes. Just watch for whether or not the fat seems to be sticking; if it is, then carefully add a little bit more water a ¼ cup at a time. You’ve got to be patient with this process as you don’t want to burn or scorch the pork fat.

I do this process in batches, never putting in more pork fat than what can be spread out in the pan and not be any deeper than ¾ to 1 inch thick. Again, never add new fat pieces to a batch that’s already underway. You need to hit a temperature of 245-255 degrees Fahrenheit for the oil and you will compromise that if you keep adding more fat to the batch not to mention the splattering that you’ll have to endure. Do not allow your lard to get above 255 degrees Fahrenheit. Do this process singularly, batch by batch.

As the pork fat becomes clear, I take a METAL ladle and ladle it out, over a small metal sieve that’s securely set on top of my canning jar. To prevent the jars from cracking and to ensure that they are properly sanitized, you’ll need to have your jars set in a warm oven at 100-200 degrees Fahrenheit. As you are ready to ladle the clear lard out of the pan, you’ll take a jar from the oven, place it on a tea towel, and place a metal sieve on top which will prevent any of the small bits from going in your clean lard.

You’ll want to stir the lard as it cools in order to avoid a grainy texture.

When the lard is completely cooled, meticulously wipe off the rims of the jars to ensure that no pieces remain. Then place a warm, lid right out of the boiling water on top of your jar. Fill each jar with just standard head space beginning right at the ring marks. Place a fresh sage leaf on the top of your cooled lard.

To preserve, you’ll use the pressure canning method of 100-120 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure. (Follow your manufacturer’s instructions for high altitude.)

https://www.preparednesspro.com/rendering-and-preserving-lard

The same methods can be done with Beef Tallow.

Now that we have some oils and fats our of the way, next time lets talk about proteins. Preserving mets is a bit more difficult than vegetables. But not beyond the scope of ANY prepper!