Pork Fat – Differences Between Rendered Pork Fat, Lard, and Bacon Fat

For applications such as these where I really want a fine strain, much more than any of my strainers can handle, I line a larger-hole strainer with cheesecloth (if I have trouble with the cheesecloth staying I use a rubber band to hold it in place).

Although I have not tried it with rendered lard, I have used it in a lot of other places (stock immediately comes to mind) where I have a lot of little particles that make it through my finest of strainers. A quick search for a lard/cheesecloth/strainer keyword combination shows that a lot of recipes for home-rendered lard seem to suggest this so I think it would work.

You can find a picture of a cheesecloth-lined strainer here or just Google image search it if the link dies.

Oh, and as an aside, I find that purchasing the cheesecloth in bulk at a fabric store (such as Jo-Ann Fabrics in the USA) is much, much cheaper than buying small packages in a kitchen store (such as Williams-Sonoma).

To answer what I think is the question (you put all of the grease into a container and there's a residue at the top), bacon drippings are not 100% fat. There are also solid pieces of bacon in there and other "impurities" from the curing process.

When rendering bacon fat, you should line the container with a paper towel first (or cheesecloth if you have it). Pour the bacon drippings onto the paper towel and the fat will drain out the bottom; the solids will be left behind and you can dispose of them. You'll be left with (mostly) pure fat.

The rendered fat will most definitely congeal; the vessel, once cooled, should contain only a solid, off-white substance.