Rendering beef fat for tallow

[Wild Bill]

Never have done it. Seems easy enough. Grabbed 10 lbs beef fat for mixing into burger and have 6 lbs left over. Going to give it a try this wknd. What kinda return should I expect with 6 lbs fat? Pretty clean trim, not much meat on it.
Any other tips or tricks anyone’s got?

 

[Arcola]

My wife does it with deer tallow. The way she does it looks like a LOT of work to me, but she enjoys it. Lots of heating and cooling cycles to get it nice and clean.

 

[jimh406]

It just depends on how much meat was left on. I'd say at least 90%.

I can't believe someone is cooking with deer tallow. Most people make sure the fat is removed from their venison. Does she cook with the deer tallow or make candles etc?

 

[Potsie]

I take the beef fat I trim off a brisket, toss it in a foil roasting pan, and let it sit in the smoker while I make the brisket.

Keeps us in cooking beef tallow for a couple weeks.

 

[Wild Bill]

I take the beef fat I trim off a brisket, toss it in a foil roasting pan, and let it sit in the smoker while I make the brisket.

Keeps us in cooking beef tallow for a couple weeks.

That’s what this is. Local butcher told me it’s all his brisket trim.

 

[Washington Hunter]

It just depends on how much meat was left on. I'd say at least 90%.

I can't believe someone is cooking with deer tallow. Most people make sure the fat is removed from their venison. Does she cook with the deer tallow or make candles etc?

Deer fat actually tastes really good. I'm not sure why everyone seems to think it tastes bad.

 

[Arcola]

It just depends on how much meat was left on. I'd say at least 90%.

I can't believe someone is cooking with deer tallow. Most people make sure the fat is removed from their venison. Does she cook with the deer tallow or make candles etc?

Not cooking with it. Although, now that I think about it I’m probably going to try it out for the heck of it. Soaps and lotions.

 

[Pagosa]

I did a bunch this summer. Found it best to grind up the semi frozen beef fat through a meat grinder. Add about 1/3 water to the fat and cook in a crock pot for 10 hours at low heat. Once done strain it through a cheesecloth into a Pyrex bowl and put in the frig to color. Once all the tallow/water separates you can just peel off the pure tallow from top of the water. We then re-heat to a liquid and pour into jars. Its pretty simple but takes a couple hours total.

 

[jimh406]

Deer fat actually tastes really good. I'm not sure why everyone seems to think it tastes bad.

Maybe an acquired taste, and I have a few decades left to adjust to it.

Or maybe those of us who don't like it are doing something wrong.

 

[Wild Bill]

I did a bunch this summer. Found it best to grind up the semi frozen beef fat through a meat grinder. Add about 1/3 water to the fat and cook in a crock pot for 10 hours at low heat. Once done strain it through a cheesecloth into a Pyrex bowl and put in the frig to color. Once all the tallow/water separates you can just peel off the pure tallow from top of the water. We then re-heat to a liquid and pour into jars. Its pretty simple but takes a couple hours total.

Thanks for the input. This is exactly what I’ll do! Haven’t started yet, but that’s about what I figured. I didn’t think about adding water, but makes sense to me.

 

[LuketheDog]

Deer fat actually tastes really good. I'm not sure why everyone seems to think it tastes bad.

It tastes fine, but the waxy texture is what people don't like. Deer and elk fat also goes rancid in the freezer.