Pork Cracklin’, Cheddar, and Chive Scones
If you’ve been following along on instagram the last month or so, you’ll know that I have been rendering lard from our pastured hogs like my life depends on it! With over four pigs’ worth of leaf lard and back fat in our freezers, I’ve been on a mission to render and package as much of this precious resource possible in order to share it with friends and family. Lard is a magic food— packed with vitamin D, choline, and other valuable nutrients, it’s also heat stable and DELICIOUS, and it’s become a little bit of a passion project of mine to help folks fall in love with cooking with lard.
I’ve got a helpful little highlight demonstrating the process of how to render lard on my instagram profile, and if you should have the privilege of finding high-quality, pastured lard from your local farmer or butcher, you might want to venture into rendering your own, if for no other reason than the cracklings! Cracklings are the byproduct of the lard rendering process— crunchy, savory morsels of meat that was laced throughout the fat and is removed via melting. I personally find cracklings to be most delicious and versatile when the lard has been put through a sausage grinder before rendering. They’re basically little bacon bits just waiting to be savored!
This morning I whipped up a double batch of these scones to bring to a potluck (full of farmers, no less!) and they were quite a hit!
Pork Cracklin, Cheddar, and Chive Scones
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 teaspoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons butter, cubed
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh chives
1/2 pound pork crackings, cooled
1 scant cup buttermilk
Preheat oven to 425.
In the bowl of a food processor, add flour, baking powder, salt, and brown sugar. Lightly pulse to gently mix dry ingredients together. Add butter and pulse until mixture has a coarse, sandy texture. Add cheese, chives, and pork cracklings and pulse until just combined.
Move mixed ingredients to a large bowl and add buttermilk. Mix together with a wooden spoon (or your hands!) until dough comes together into a cohesive ball. Dump dough out onto floured countertop and press into a large disc, around 7” wide and 1.5” tall. Use a serrated knife to cut the disc into 8 triangular pieces.
Transfer scones to a parchment lined baking sheet, leaving an inch or so of space between them. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until fluffy and golden brown.