rendering tallow
- Ashlyn Shirk
- Nov 12, 2023
- 4 min read
"Autumn reaches past its bloom
A cold November afternoon
The trees stand bare against the sky
A solitary leaf floats by
The earth has changed, and changed again
From summer's green to autumn's red
And soon the wood will sink beneath
A swath of white, a winter sheathe
How beautifully each day is made
Each sunbeam cast and setting laid
By what great hand is such work done
My heart can think of only one."
-Laura Jaworski
Autumn is one of my favorite times of year. For my family, it's the time when the hustle of September and October is coming to an end. The air starts to chill and smell of leaves and smoke from the many wood stoves roaring in preparation for the bitter Maine winter. The darkness starts to envelope us earlier and earlier, warm candle light lines my windows, my husband's camouflage is strewn about, and the smell of a warm dutch oven dish fills my tiny home.
Autumn is the time for many warm and cozy things: apples, pumpkins, thankfulness, family time, old books with yellowed pages, and hunting. Autumn is also the season for whitetail deer here in Maine. It's almost a right of passage in Maine to see pops of orange as you pass the fields or visit the local general store. The sight of antlers in truck beds become more frequent as you drive down the road. Us Mainers take our deer meat very seriously. It's uncommon to meet a Mainer who doesn't eat deer meat. Whether it's a fall crockpot roast, steak tossed into a cast iron out on the hard water, or paired with eggs for a summer's breakfast. Hunters cut out the meat, usually the heart too, and sometimes save the head for a mount if it's a real trophy. The rest of the deer commonly gets thrown to the coyotes as it's seen as useless. But did you know there's something else on the deer that, with a little work, can be a versatile provision? The fat.
Deer fat can be rendered down into something called tallow just like pig fat can be rendered down into lard. Tallow has many uses and is seen as liquid gold in my house, and it should be in yours too.
tallow uses:
replacement for any cooking oils
season/oil your cast irons
skin and hair care
candles
soap
butcher block/cutting board conditioner
waterproofing
add to ground sausage
tallow benefits
Tallow has a ton of minerals and vitamins in it like A, D, E, K and B12. It also has something called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) which is really beneficial for inflammation and aids in fighting cancer. Tallow is also bio-identical to our skin's oil sebum production. This means it works with our skins oil production, and it's safe for babies. It can help with eczema, burns, rashes, and more.
rendering tallow
Rendering tallow is a very simple process, but it does take some time and patience. The first step is to actually harvest the fat off the deer. The best part of the deer to get the fat from is in between the skin and meat on the body cavity. You can use the fat in between the meat, but it can be tedious to harvest for a small portion. You can put the fat in a container or freezer bag to save for later rendering, just make sure you freeze it because fat will spoil very quickly.
When you're ready to render the tallow, cut it into very small pieces. If you have the opportunity to run it through a meat grinder, this is the best option. Cutting it as small as possible will cut down on time. Throw all of the tallow along with water and some salt into a large stock pot. The salt will help draw out some of the gamey smell. (I also recommend not doing this in your house as it does give off a pungent smell. If you have a lobster cooker with a propane tank, that will work perfectly). Start to heat the tallow on low heat. You don't want to boil the tallow. Heating it slowly will allow the fat to break down more.
Once the tallow is completely melted, remove from heat and pour it into a bowl with a cheesecloth for filtering. The cheesecloth will catch all of the junk and make the tallow pure. Allow to cool in the bowl (this step takes a while, but since it's done in November, you can stick the bowl outside for quicker cooling). Once the tallow is cooled, it will rise to the top into a white solid piece. Push down on the tallow to release it from the sides of the bowl. The water will be underneath. Take a look at the bottom of the tallow. If you're lucky, it will be pure after the first rendering, but you will most likely have to render it again. I had to render mine three times in total. The bottom will have all of the brown junk on it. You want to keep rendering it until the bottom is almost pure. You can scrape most of the brown stuff off before rendering again.
Repeat the rendering steps until you get pure white tallow and store in mason jars. These will be shelf stable for a year. I harvested about 3 pounds of fat from my husband's deer, and I ended up with about 2 cups of tallow.
Happy rendering!
-the olde stone farmer
Disclaimer: Olde Stone Farm content is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as professional medical advice.
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