Liquid gold for cooking

Joined
Jul 20, 2014
Location
Kirtland, NM
Here is a little bit of beef fat I rendered today. 23 cups at 16 oz each. Next batch this week will be twice this size. I have one big mason jar of pork fat left and will render some of that next.
 

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We only cook with beef tallow. Bear and raccoon fat is preferred, but we don't always have it. Will also use pork fat. And I never let that homemade bacon grease that is at the bottom of the skillet go to waste.
 
I didn’t weigh it but I think it was around 25-30 lbs. I grind it once through a 5/8” plate. Usually into a clear plastic bag inside the appropriate sized box and then into the freezer until I’m ready to render it. I’ll stack the cups in a box and then store it in the freezer. The rendered beef fat will last up to a year just sitting on the counter.

No worries about clogged arteries. This stuff is better for you than vegetable or any of the nut and corn oils. I also use olive oil but dang that stuff is expensive!
 
It doesn’t burn. Once I get a little bit of liquid started then I’ll stir it up and break the chunks up. It melts into a big ball when it’s been ground but it breaks up really easily when starts to cook down. In the last pics you can see the fat starting to melt. I’ll let it go a little more before stirring and breaking it up. The other roaster oven hadn’t started to melt yet. Once it’s done rendering then I use some old cotton ham nets stretched over a bucket and pour everything out of the oven. Pull the stocking net off and replace with cheesecloth or pantyhose. 😂 Then pour through that to strain anymore pieces out into another bucket. At home I pour into a spaghetti strainer with a big bowl underneath. Then from that bowl through a wire mesh strainer into a cup or mason jar.

Forgot to add that some of this might go to make hand cream for my wife. If I do then I’ll melt it down again but add water to it. Let it cool and scrape any impurities out and then melt again with water added. Do this 3 or 4 times till no more impurities and the beefy smell is gone and the liquid fat will be a lot clearer in color.
 
I guess I could Google it, but better to get it from the butcher himself..does beef tallow have a high smoke point, and what temperature is the solid to liquid transition?

We like cooking with grizzly lard, seems a good smoke point for searing steaks. And it changes from solid to liquid right around high room temperature.

And it goes great on toast! And might be a secret additive in our downhill ski wax 🫢
 
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