How to Render Your Own Tallow and Lard

Rendering tallow and lard for soap is a cheap and satisfying process. It takes time, but if you make a lot of soap, it can be very cost effective to render your own tallow and lard. Tallow is rendered from beef fat, and lard is rendered from pig fat. If you decide to render your own tallow, try to get suet. This is choice beef fat from around the kidneys and makes a much better quality tallow which will yield a harder soap bar. Rendering tallow or lard is simply melting down the fats in some salt and water until they are liquid. The liquid is then strained to remove all solids, and the remaining liquid is poured into a mold and refrigerated until you have your solid tallow or lard.

For those that do not mind animal fats in their soaps, using soaps made with tallow and lard is a real treat. Animal fats make excellent soap with great lathering qualities and a hard bar. To purchase your fat, you can go to your local butcher or grocery store and pick it up in packs for as low as $1.00 per pound. And if you make friends with the butcher, or maybe slip them a few of your handmade soaps, you may get choice cuts of fat for free!

What You Will Need:

• 5 pounds of pork or beef fat (preferably suet)
• Salt
• Water
• A large cooking pot that will hold all 5 pounds of fat with room for expansion during cooking
• Mold to hold rendered tallow or lard (I use a large, heat resistant plastic bowl)
• A large sieve or a similar strainer, such as loosely woven cloth
• Long handled and heat resistant mixing spoon
• Sharp knife, grinder, or food processor to cut fat into small pieces
  

Cooking the Fats:

Remove your fats from their packaging, and cut into as small pieces as possible. The smaller the pieces of fat, the quicker it will be to render your tallow. A grinder is superb to use, and a food processor is second best. If you do not have either, a knife works well; just make sure to cut the fat into very small pieces. Once your fat is cut or ground, put it into your pot on the stove, and start heating it on a low heat setting.

Once your fats have just started to heat, pour enough water in your pot to fill it approximately 3-4 inches deep around the fat and stir gently until it is mixed in. Next, mix 2 tablespoons of salt with a small amount of warm water until the salt is dissolved, and stir this in with your fats. Adding salt while rendering tallow is a good habit. Salt naturally removes impurities from the fat so that they will not be in your finished tallow.

By this point, your fats should be getting somewhat warm. Turn up the heat to medium, while gently stirring your fats constantly. Do not allow your stove heat to exceed the medium setting, however. You do not want to risk your fats being burned or cooking too fast. Slow is best when rendering tallow and lard. Allow your fats to come to a SLOW boil, and keep an eye on it. Always stir your fats while they melt to prevent them sticking or burning on the bottom of the pot.

After a while of heating on the stove, you will notice the fats melting faster to form liquid tallow or lard. Keep stirring constantly while this happens. Depending on how small the pieces of fat are, rendering tallow and lard can take anywhere from 1/2 hour to 2 hours or more. Just be patient, the results are worth it!

Straining and Finishing Up:

When your fats are completely melted, you will have some solids left over inside the pot. This is where straining comes in. Remove your pot from the heat, and allow to cool for a while until it is no longer close to boiling. Fifteen minutes usually does the trick. Once your tallow or lard has cooled a few degrees, it is time to strain it into your mold. Grab your sieve or other strainer, and pour your tallow or lard mix SLOWLY to avoid grease splashes through the sieve and into your mold.

After your fats have been strained into your mold, cover it up and put into the refrigerator overnight to cool and harden. The leftover solids in your sieve can either be thrown away or fed to the birds (what a treat for them!)

Once your tallow or lard is completely cooled and solid, remove it from the fridge. Turn your mold upside down onto a platter or plate. This is a messy part, so always empty your mold in the sink, as you will have a layer of liquid in your bowl. After emptying your mold, you will notice three layers. The bottom layer will be water, the middle layer will be a jelly like substance from the fats, and the top layer will be your tallow or lard. Let the water drain away in the sink, and then scrape off the layer of gelatin and throw it away. Store your tallow or lard in the freezer until you are ready to use in soap.

If you wish to render your tallow or lard again, simply repeat the instructions, and make sure to add salt again as well. It is not necessary to render the same fats more than once, but some prefer to do it. It is totally up to you. Enjoy your soaping!