Want to learn how to make herbal salve with pork lard? Discover 9 amazing herbal salve recipes with pork lard.
Pork lard has been a staple ingredient in making herbal salves in parts of Eastern Europe. I remember my grandmother making her own calendula salve by frying fresh calendula flowers from her garden in rendered pork lard to make a salve that she used to treat her burns after scalding with hot water. She followed her old recipe rigorously and had a fresh batch of herbal salve to tend to her wounds and scars.
Pork lard is one of the oldest ingredients for making herbal salves and ointments, and here is how to make herbal salve with pork lard. For these recipes always use fresh herbs, not dried ones. Here are not just one, but nine amazing salve recipes with their uses.
In This Article You Will Find:
How to Make Herbal Salve with Pork Lard – 9 Fantastic Recipes
1. Heal-All Herbal Salve Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 g pork lard (rendered)
- fresh yarrow flowers and leaves
- fresh calendula flowers and small leaves
- fresh raspberry leaf bud tips, and small leaf buds
How to Make
Take a handful of the herbal mixture (equal parts of yarrow, calendula, and raspberry leaves), chop them finely, and set aside. Heat the pork fat, add the herbs, stir, and let it simmer on low heat for 4–5 minutes. Stay by the stove and don’t leave the mixture unattended, as it can easily burn. Then, remove the pot from the heat and allow it to sit for 3–4 days. After that, reheat it once more.
Strain the salve through cheesecloth placed over a strainer, squeezing the cloth well to extract all the infused fat, then pour it into glass jars and seal. Store the herbal salve in the refrigerator. Don’t prepare too large a quantity to avoid it becoming rancid, as the ointment should be fresh.
Uses: for almost all skin issues, including lesions and wounds caused by hemorrhoids (topically).
2. Calendula Salve with Pork Lard
Ingredients
- 500 g pork lard (rendered)
- 1 large handful of freshly picked calendula flowers, leaves, and stems, chopped
How to Make
Heat the pork fat and add the finely chopped calendula. Simmer slowly on low heat for about 10 minutes, then set aside to sit for three days at room temperature. On the fourth day, heat the mixture once more and strain it through cheesecloth. Pour the herbal salve into glass jars and let it cool. Seal the jars and store them in a cool place. Always prepare only the amount of calendula salve you plan to use within a short period, as it has a short shelf life.
Uses: for inflammation of the tonsils, throat, and oral mucosa, as well as for ulcerative stomatitis; for laryngeal conditions or hoarseness (internally).
3. Sage Salve Recipe
Ingredients
- 250 g pork lard (rendered)
- 2 tablespoons fresh salve leaves
How to Make
Chop the fresh sage leaves finely, then crush them in a mortar. Heat the pork fat in a pot, add the sage, and let it simmer slowly for about 4–5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit for three days. Reheat it, strain it through cheesecloth, and pour it into glass jars. Seal with lids and store in the refrigerator. Prepare only a small amount of salve to use up quickly.
Uses: for skin infections (topically).
4. Yarrow Salve with Pork Lard
Ingredients
- 500 g pork lard (rendered)
- 1 handful of fresh yarrow
How to Make
Take a handful of fresh yarrow and simmer it in pork fat for 4–5 minutes on low heat. Stay by the stove! Remove the mixture from the heat and let it sit for three days. Then, reheat, strain it through cheesecloth, squeeze the cloth well, and pour the herbal salve into glass jars. Once cooled, seal the jars with lids and store them in the refrigerator.
Uses: for hemorrhoids (topically).
5. Juniper Berry Salve Recipe
Ingredients
- pork lard (rendered) or unsalted butter
- green/fresh juniper berries
How to Make
Crush the juniper berries, and mix them with an equal amount of unsalted butter or pork lard. Use the ointment immediately after preparation by massaging it onto the affected areas. Always prepare a fresh batch, as this herbal salve has a short shelf life. It can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days.
Uses: psoriasis (topically).
6. Lady’s Bedstraw Salve
Ingredients
- 500 g pork lard (rendered)
- 4 handfuls of fresh lady’s bedstraw
How to Make
Heat the pork fat in a pan, add the herbs, let it simmer briefly, and stir well before removing from heat. Cover the pan with a lid and let it cool overnight. The next day, reheat until the fat is liquid enough to strain through a clean linen cloth. Press the remaining herbs in the cloth firmly to extract all liquid, and pour the resulting salve into small, glass jars. Seal and store in the refrigerator.
Uses: excellent remedy for age spots (topically).
7. Mistletoe Salve Recipe
Ingredients
- pork lard (rendered)
- fresh mistletoe berries
How to Make
For best results, harvest the mistletoe berries beginning of October un until the end of December. Put the mistletoe berries in a porcelain dish, and combine them with a little pork fat until you have a homogenous salve. Apply the herbal salve to frostbite and leave it on overnight.
Uses: frostbite (topically).
8. Black Bryony Root Salve
Ingredients
- 250 g pork lard (rendered)
- 4-6 black bryony roots
How to Make
Heat the pork fat in a pan, add the finely chopped roots, and simmer for a few minutes. Stir well and remove the pan from the heat. Cover with a lid and let it cool overnight. The next day, gently reheat it, strain it through a clean linen cloth, squeeze well, and pour the herbal salve into glass jars. Use daily.
Uses: for corns (topically).
9. Common Agrimony Salve Recipe
Ingredients
- 250 pork lard (rendered)
- 2 handfuls of common agrimony leaves, flowers, and stems
How to Make
Heat the pork fat in a pan, add two handfuls of finely chopped plant, and simmer for a little while. Stir well and remove the pan from the heat. Cover with a lid and allow to cool overnight. The next day, reheat, strain it through a clean linen cloth, squeeze well, and pour the herbal salve into glass jars. The ointment should be applied daily in a thick layer to the varicose veins on the calves.
Uses: varicose veins (topically) – you can use the remaining leaves, flowers, and stems and apply them to the calves as a poultice for varicose veins.
Read Also: 5 Herbal Salve Recipes and How to Make at Home
If you’ve enjoyed learning how to make herbal salve with pork lard like in the good old times, please share this article with like-minded people who’d love to put their salve-making skills to the test. Let us know in the comments below what is your favorite herbal salve that you make and use most often. Stay healthy, naturally!
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