Originally Posted by Merpig

I just chop it up into about 1-inch cubes and put them all in a 9x13 casserole dish. Then I set the oven to about 300 and put the dish in, and check on it pretty often, but after about 45 minutes to an hour the dish contains just pure liquid with little chunks of crispy cracklings floating in it.

Remove from the oven *very carefully* (that fat is HOT and can burn). With a slotted spoon I scoop out all the cracklings and put them in a bowl. Then I use a ladle to transfer the melted fat into a large glass mason jar. By the time most is ladled out there is just a little left and I can pick up the casserole dish without spilling and pour the rest into the jar.

Put it in the fridge to chill and voila, you have lard. And the cracklings are delicious to eat!