One of our more attention-grabbing products is our handcrafted bar soap crafted with lard from Sus scrofa, the invasive feral hog. Now, it may sound strange, but hear us out. Sus scrofa has reigned destruction down on the Texas landscape for decades. These secretive, standoffish animals can reach over 100 pounds, and reproduce like crazy. They destroy human property, and habitat for native species. They out-compete game and non-game animals for resources on our trying landscape. Many control methods include dropping and leaving them where they lay.
Here at Hambone’s Mercantile, we work with invasive species specialists and local hunters to turn at least part of these animals into something useful and beneficial. Lard as a soap ingredient has a long list of desirable attributes in the qualities it conveys to the resulting soap, and to the end user. We combine feral hog lard with botanical oils like olive, coconut, and avocado to create a hard bar with a rich lather and luxurious feel. Essential oils are incorporated for fragrance and a finishing touch. The resulting bar is a customer favorite.
Sus scrofa leads a much more active life than the typical domestic swine, so lard is not always available. Therefore, this product is created in small batch runs, and has limited availability. Hot process soaps like the ones crafted at Hambone’s Mercantile can take several weeks to cure after creation (this is just the process of allowing the lye and oils to fully interact, and giving the remaining excess moisture time to evaporate out of the bars resulting in a hard, long-lasting product). Of course, we offer other versions of our soaps, including a milk and honey, and a pure castile bar.
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