Rendering Fats

I recently saw there is an article in a popular homesteading magazine about how to render lard.  In response, I thought I'd offer up my method for rendering to all of you for FREE!!!  That's right, spread the word, I charge nothing for sharing my skills and knowledge.  I'd love to have a few more followers as well. ;)

This is my method for rendering fats: tallow and lard.  Tallow comes from beef fat, lard from pig fat.

Step 1: Talk to your local butcher or meat grocer person and ask them to hold back beef or lard scraps for you.  The beef fat scraps will be easier because most places like groceries still do their own meat cutting.  I usually ask for 10 lbs, as little meat as possible.  Ask them to run the scraps through their grinder, 1 pass should do fine.

Step 2: Pick up the scraps and place in a large pot, I use a 12 qt steel.  Start out on low to medium-low heat to begin the melting process.  If you like the scent of cooking meat, you'll love this step!  Stir constantly at this point to keep anything from sticking or scorching.  When the 'meat' is brown and all the fat is liquid, pour through a strainer into a second pot.  You could actually can or use the cooked meat as well for other purposes.

Step 3: Place the second pot back on the burner and add about 2 quarts of water to the liquid fat.  Cover and bring the pot to a slow boil over a medium-high heat.  Remove the pot from the heat and allow it to set for awhile.  When you can handle the pot, put it into the fridge to cool completely.

Step 4: After several hours, remove the pot from the fridge and check the contents.  The fat should have hardened on top of the water and should be firm to the touch.  If not, put it back in the fridge.  If it is, use a long knife and cut the fat into wide squares.  Push down on one of the squares into the water below to gain access to the others.  Use a slotted spoon to carefully remove the squares of lard/tallow into a bowl or another pot.  Try to disturb the water below the squares as little as possible.

Step 5: Add 2 more quarts of water to the second pot and repeat the process of heating the lard/tallow to a boil and cooling rapidly to harden.  The idea is that any impurities in the fat settles to the bottom of the pot while it is cooling.  So when you lift out the fat squares, it should be pure white and hard (tallow will be harder than lard) with little to no impurities.  After this second rendering, your tallow/lard should be ready for use.  I personally recommend keeping it refrigerated to extend the usable life, but I know plenty of folk that do not.

The very best tallow and lard is made from the internal fat usually found surrounding the heart and kidneys of the animal, but the scraps from your local butcher will work just fine as well.  Tallow is wonderful used in soaps and sometimes candles.  Lard is awesome for both soaps and cooking.