Rendering Lard and Tallow

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I didn't see a soapmaking category, so don't know if anyone is even interested in this, BUT, I have discovered an easy way to render beef and pork fat. I got big chunks from the butcher. Before, I would have ground them up, then rendered the ground up bits. Grinding was a pain, and didn't seem to really do a complete job (always a possibility that I wasn't doing it right, though). So this last time, I filled my big crock pot with frozen chunks of suet, added enough water to bring the level to within an inch of the top, set it on low and went to bed. In the morning, I fished out enough of the partly cooked lumps to fill the blender, and liquefied them. Poured the liquid back into the pot and repeated until all the lumps had been liquefied. Took about five minutes. Then I went to work. When I got home, I mashed the bits on the top against the side of the pot, whereupon they sank, and I went about clarifying in the usual way. The lard and tallow were beautiful, I got a good yield, and it was way easier than grinding it all up to start with!

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2001

Answers

A soapmaking category is a great idea, Laura, so I went ahead and created one and moved this thread into it.

I've had an interest in soapmaking for quite some time but have never taken the time to try it. Maybe this coming winter will finally be the time to do it...

Thanks for the info on rendering and the category suggestion.

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2001


I love homemade soap but I don't trust myself not to burn something or some one, that hot lye is just too dangerous for some body as spacey as me! I can't find a soapmaker in my area and would like to know if anyone would like to trade soap for something that I could barter? I make tinctures from different herbs that we grow, (Purple cone flower, how do you spell it! Echinecia?. Motherwort, horehound, Astragulus, Also have many dried her teas, If anybody is interested e- mail me and I have more to trade. I would really like lye soap scented with patcholie essential oil! TRen

-- Anonymous, June 14, 2001

Tren, I'll email you this weekend. :-)

I'm getting out of the soapmaking biz to concentrate more on medicinal herbs. I have several pounds of coconut oil and palm oil, and quite a few fragrance oils available for cheap sale or trade if anyone is interested.

-- Anonymous, June 14, 2001


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