Rendering Lard & Tallow
Pure lard without preservatives is hard to come by these days.
And tallow is almost impossible to find.
I use lard in some baked goods and tallow for soap.
Lard makes a very flaky pie crust and tallow makes a beautiful, creamy white hard soap.
Rendering tallow and lard is simple.
The rendering process is basically cooking down pork fat (lard) and beef suet (tallow) until the all the fat has been melted away from the gristle or tissue, and the fat becomes liquid.
The liquid fat is then strained into a container and allowed to harden, resulting in a finished product known as lard or tallow.
The best results for both lard and tallow begin with the selection of fat from the butcher shop.
For lard I always try and ask for the leaf lard.
Leaf lard is the fat that surrounds the kidneys on a pig.
But any type of pork fat will do.
For tallow I like the big chunks of suet from around the internal organs of a cow.
The rendering process goes much faster if the fat is cut into small pieces before it is heated.
Some people save time by getting the butcher to put the fat through the grinder instead of cutting it by hand at home.
Once the fat has been cut into small pieces, it is placed in a pot with about a 1/4″ of water in it.
The water is so the fat doesn’t burn.
The pot is then heated very slowly until the fat starts to melt.
I try to do my rendering outdoors because the smell of the melting lard and suet can be very strong.
Rendering indoors will leave a layer of grease on the stove,walls and cupboards
As the fat starts to melt it needs to be stirred occasionally.
The suet will begin to turn soft and mushy as it is cooked down.
The smell is very strong – like a cheap prime rib dinner.
The lard acts and looks different than the suet while it is being rendered.
As you can see below, the lard seems to “fry” as the cracklings (bits of pork) start to settle to the bottom of the pot.
After the lard pieces have released as much fat as they are going to, the cracklings pieces are scooped out with a slotted spoon.
The cracklings can be salted and eaten or they can be feed to chickens, cats or dogs.
The clear lard is then strained and poured into containers.
Lard will keep in the refrigerator for well over 6 months and it will keep canned indefinitely.
To can the lard simply pour it into a clean hot canning jar, and apply a lid and band that has been simmered.
Once the jars have throughly cooled, remove the band and check the seal.
Straining the tallow is not as straight forward as straining the lard.
That’s because the tallow/suet won’t just pour into a container.
The softened beef fat will have a semi jelly consistency and needs coaxing through a strainer.
I use a fine mesh strainer and a spatula to work the hot beef fat into a pan.
Once the tallow is strained, I put the pan into the refrigerator over night so that it will harden.
The next morning the harden tallow is removed from the pan.
It is now ready to be used in soap, black power guns, candles or whatever else you need tallow for.
I keep my tallow in the freezer but plenty of people just keep it on the shelf or in the refrigerator.
Well rendered tallow will last a long, long time.
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I’ve done lard, but never tried tallow. Timely, as we are about to send a few steers off to freezer camp. I’ll have to ask for some of the fat and try it.
I’d love to hear how you use the tallow in soap. I have made my own laundry soap, but always with purchased supplies.
Welcome back, BTW. My sincere sympathies at the loss of your good friend.
Thank you for sharing this. We are raising 2 feeder pigs to process around February or March. I will definitely be rendering the lard.
I never knew what the process was for rendering tallow and lard. I hope to try to do that some day. But I have a question. Can you make soap with lard?? I thought you could use just about any fat or oil.
I would like to know how to use tallow in soap also.
Thanks!
Lona & Jennlala -
Tallow or lard is used exactly like any other oil in soap.
The only difference is that it must be re-melted before the lye water is added.
When I make soap I use a 30/50/20 fat mixture of tallow,olive oil & coconut oil by weight.
I have never made soap with lard. But the old timers did it all the time and in fact saved and strained ALL kitchen grease for soap.
It is my understanding that lard makes a perfectly good soap that is harder than a vegetable oil or shortening based soap, but not as hard as a tallow based soap.
I have heard also that lard leaves a slight "bacon" smell to the soap.
But really I don't know and have no personal experiance.
Tallow in soap makes an extremely hard, snowy white and long lasting soap that doesn't melt in the shower.
Mrs. Trixi -
It's worth the effort
I am a new reader and I just love your blog! I have learned a lot from you. I was just wondering if you also sell your soaps..Thanks
Fantastic and relevant information. Thank you so very much! The pictures really help for the newbies (me!) to understand how things are supposed to progress.
I’m seconding (thirding?) the request for more information on how you render the tallow/lye mixture into soap!
Kori -
No I don’t sell the soap I make.
It’s just for us
Kristi -
The tallow will melt again and turn into a liquid fat when heated.
When it is liquid again, other fats or oils can be added if you like.
Once the fats have been allowed to cool, the cooled down lye water is then slowly stirred in and before you know it….you have soap
Oh, and one more thing…I love your blog, and blogged about it here:
http://shadysidefarm.blogspot.com/2008/10/i-love-your-blog-too.html
I just learned that tallow is make this way and thats why bears love candles so much. People laugh at bears for going for candles and soap but they (bears) are not as stupid as we might think…
Thank you for posting this. I just found your blog about a week ago and am enjoying reading your posts. I am going to pick up my hog from the butcher next week and I asked for the leaf lard. I can’t wait to try rendering my own lard soon.
Thank you! Now I know the difference between tallow and lard!
If you’re not processing your own animal, can you go to a butcher/processing facility and purchase the fat?
Homesteads Herbs -
Yes.
Ask the butcher or meat cutter for leaf lard (kidney fat on pigs) or clean suet from a beef or dairy cow.
If you happen to get a really nice butcher… you could maybe get them to grind it fine like hamburger.
Smaller pieces of lard or suet makes it easier to render.
Very interesting site, I’m glad I found it. The reason I was looking in the first place is for my neighbor (no computer). Her husband and sons went bear hunting and were successful. They saved the bear fat for her to make soap. Would she render the bear fat the same as for beef?
Hi Darla -
I have no direct experiance with bear fat.
But I would imagine that it would be very similar to pork fat/lard.
Lard is a softer type of fat than beef fat/tallow and is used in soap making.
If it were me I’d give it a go, and render it like lard.
Just take care to keep the heat low and don’t forget to add a little water to the bottom of the kettle.
I have no idea how bear smells when it’s cooking.
If the smell is strong it might be a good idea to render the bear fat outdoors.
Good luck to your neighbor.
I sure would be interested in hearing how it turns out
Thanks for the question
Hi, it’s me again. When she begins working with the bear lard, I hope to help her and I will sure let you know how it goes. I have looked through many posts and blog entries but I haven’t come across directions for making soap. Would you please post your directions for making soap? Thank you.
Hi, I just tried rendering lard but while I seemed to follow each step as you present in the blog mine did not come out white but is a light brown color. it is also not as thick/dense as I expected–not like lard I have purchased.
Did I perhaps scorch or overcook the fat while rendering? I tried to be careful and used an enameled cast iron pot. I followed the directions in a cookbook by Damon Fowler.
If I reheat what I have now and skim/strain it again can it be saved? any help is much appreciated!
Anonymous -
I don't know who Damon Fowler is.
I would try and reheat the lard again very slowly over a lower heat.
See if any more cracklings or bits will cook out of it & strain it again.
You may have indeed scorched it.
Well rendered lard should have a constancy & texture somewhere between soften butter & vegetable shortening, and be a creamy white color.
If you can't get the lard where you would like it, I'm sure that there is a dog or cat that would appreciate it doled out in small amounts
Don't be discouraged if it didn't turn out on the first try.
Pork fat is cheap – just try again.
Use leaf lard from around the kidneys & keep your heat low.
On rendering..I process deer tallow, and here’s how I do it: chop up fat into small pieces, put into a stock pot, cover with equal amount of water, add a couple bay leaves and a few cloves. Add a pinch of salt to help impurities fall to the bottom. Simmer for a couple hours or so. Strain into another pan or bowl; let cool, refrigerate or set on your porch to solidify. When hard, cut out of pan, scrape off the bottom of the chunk (the debris), rinse with cool water, and put back in to another pot to repeat the process. Second time, I strain through a finer strainer. Cool, solidify, scrape the bottom again, rinse, dry off, weigh finished product, and store in refrigerator or freezer until using. Sometimes you may have to do this as many as 3 times, but not if your fat is trimmed nicely, with no flesh attached.
Use as a small percentage ( I use 5 to 10 percent) with other oils for making the most beautiful soaps. Recently I even made a lovely lip balm, using deer tallow, beeswax, and Sweet almond oil. Very nice..
I’m going to try bear fat the same way soon.
The process with the venison is actually not too hard, nor is it unpleasant. Something about how nice it looks and feels when finished..
Lucy -
Thanks so much for the comment.
I have never known anyone who rendered deer tallow.
I was always under the impression that deer fat was unpleasant to work with.
Good to know that it is valuable and does have practical use (more than dog or bird food)
Is there a way to do this inside and not have grease everywhere? Is it just from splattering that is gets everywhere? Can I keep the lid on the pot and not have such a huge mess? It’s really cold outside and I’d rather do this inside! I’m so excited to do this!
Sarah -
You could try rendering with a lid on the pot…but I'm not so sure it will work.
I think with the lid on the pot, water will be trapped & not able to escape into the air..
I have rendered tallow & lard indoors.
It is a real mess to clean up.
Grease from ceiling to floor.
Last time I did it indoors I swore I'd never do it again.
I had the house dogs prancing in the kitchen & circling the table like Indians on a covered wagon
Good luck
I just made lard yesterday for the first time. I had been directed here a while back to see the process. Anyway, I did mine in the oven. First at 250 then down to 200 then to 180. I used a cast iron pot with a lid and put a little water in the bottom. The pot has two little spouts or gaps in the side, kind of, so moisture does evaporate through that. It appeared to work. My cooled, strained and refrigerated lard looks just like yours, Granny. And no mess in the kitchen… Do you think it’s ok? I’m just planning to use it for tamales, anyway.
And there was a smell, but it wasn’t too – too bad. I had a candle burning and a pot of orange peel and cloves going on the stove. If I felt I could control the heat I would have done it outside on the barbecue. I wouldn’t hesitate to do it in the oven again but it is not something I would want to do often!
Tammy -
Congratulations!
I’m sure your lard
will be just fine
Good idea about using a double lipped cast iron pan with a lid.
Did the the cracklings stay on the bottom of the pan or rise to the top?
Well, I didn’t peek at them a lot but it seemed that once they began to take on some color they were at the bottom of the pot with oil (liquid lard) floating above them. I didn’t push them all the way to the crackling stage because I was afraid I would mess up my lard. So, I strained it and froze the fat pieces. Next time I heat up my oven I’ll throw them in and crisp them up. That way I’ll get to see how much more lard they have left in them. I stopped when they were a light golden brown and the edges on some of them were starting to crisp up. Some were about the same color as in your pic but most were lighter. My heat was lower so they weren’t sizzling so hard. Is it ok to really fry them like you would a pork chop (or in my case, bake them)? I kept it low because of the problem Anonymous had. I’m thinking I could probably have it at 275 or 300 the whole time. What do you think?
I only used fat. I cut off any little scrap of meat that was present before rendering. Would it have been ok to leave the little bits of meat on? Someone told me it should only be fat, but as I re-read your instructions it seems that cracklings are actually the meaty bits. Is that right?
Also, could I just save any pork fat from ribs, pork chops and such and use that? Or does it have to be leaf lard? The only place I found to buy it from charged me 1.99 per pound.
Thank you so much for your input. I really enjoy your blog.
Tammy -
A better quality lard is obtained if you use the whitest & purest fat.
Leaf or kidney lard is the best.
It sounds like some of your pieces could have been cooked down a little more.
It helps to squeeze or push out the water from the fat with a spoon while it is cooking down.
The cracklings aren't really meat per say.
I think they're more like bits of the fiber tissue that were attached to the fat.
Yes you can save your fat from pork chops & ribs – the lard will taste much stronger.
People use to do that all the time before Crisco.
In fact people use to save all animal fat .
I just read an old time pie crust recipe using chicken fat.
I always use melted chicken fat in my dumplings instead of the oil or shortening called for. I am usually boiling a chicken when I make the dumplings, so I just skim off the fat that rises to the top and incorporate it into the flour. Yesterday I rendered my first lard. I received a “gift” of about 10 pounds of pig fat, which was labeled “lard”. I could see through the plastic bag and it looked nothing like the lard I bought for making pie crusts. I opened it and the fat had gone through a grinder much like hamburger. It had chunks of stuff in it so I knew I needed to render it. I used the oven method and six hours later had the most beautiful clear fat. After straining throught a cloth put into a wire strainer and letting it cool, I poured it into clean cottage cheese cartons and now it’s in the freezer. It made 14 cups. I know why mine turned out softer than what I buy at the store. Look at the lard carton and it says, “HYDROGENATED”. This is the way to make liquid fat into a solid (vegetable oil into margarine or shortening). These are trans-fats.
Do you worry about botulism in canned lard? Since it is a low-acid product, I noticed you don’t pressure can it.
Lucy-
No. I suppose in theory it might be a problem.
If you are concerned it could be kept un-canned in the fridge or freezer for up to 6 months
My son is trying to make pemmican (ground beef jerky + tallow + nuts/berries) – will lard work as well?
Michael-
I don't know – sorry.
I have no direct experience with pemmican.
What I can tell you is that tallow is very hard & firm -feels like a bar of soap.
Lard is very soft and spreadable like Crisco or butter.
My concern would be that the pemmican wouldn't hold together as well with the lard.
How do you know when you’ve got all the water/moisture out of the tallow?