Deer tallow

[Ohio Rusty]

I have acquired 2 small platic containers of purified deer tallow. It's just pure white tallow which can be used for waterproofing, patch lube, etc. When storing the tallow, should I leave it in it's plastic containers (read butter tubs) or will it go bad in them? Would I be better off to wrap it in butcher paper and keep it in the fridge? I'm looking for an answer to the best long term storage of the tallow, a year or two probably. It will take a year or two to use it all up.
Ohio Rusty

 

[Mad Professor]

I'd leave it in the tubs but put it in the freezer. Otherwise the refrigerator if you might be using it and not want to wait too log to warm up.

 

[jtmattison]

The best way would be to vacuum pack it and freeze it IMO.
Probably the second best way would be to put in in jars and freeze it.
Others may have better ideas.

Huntin Dawg

 

[Black Hand]

Sir,
I have a batch of deer tallow that I rendered out 3 years ago. It has lived at room temperature all this time and has not gotten fuzzy nor does it smell "off".
Store it as you like, it doesn't seen to make much of a difference.
Black Hand

 

[Swampman]

If it's done right, it will last a long time and it doesn't smell. Most isn't done right, and is best kept frozen.

 

[boar]

Ohio Rusty I cut mine in small squares and freeze when need more get a couple squares out.I have bear,skunk,groundhog,beef in freezer.Even made up Stumptys moose milk.Use Map for cleaning(Murphy's oil soap,Alcohol,Peroxide). All works and is cheap. Dilly

 

[longfowler]

how is this suff rendered? Ive never heard of using it. but if it makes a good patch lube, it seems to be a waste to throw it out since it comes packaged free in every deer!

 

[Ohio Rusty]

I assume it is boiled to get out the fat, then several more heat renderings remove all the chunks, gel, meat and any other impurities that it might contain. It's pure white and kinda greasy to the feel. It has a slight odor of deer but no impurities I can see. I want to use it mostly for waterproofing for mocs and such. It would work as lube mixed with a little oil of some type to get it to a runny consistancy instead of the solid chunk it currently is in. I think on a hot day it would soften and get melty.
Ohio Rusty

 

[Swampman]

The best I ever rendered was in a sheet iron skillet over an open fire. Most people don't get it hot enough. Doe fat smells less than buck fat.

 

[riverrat43]

Question about rendering. I've read that the process is to melt the fat in a frying pan as Swampman alluded to, then, to true it, take the cooled, now solid, melted fat and put it in a pot of water and boil it. Let that cool and rise to the top, scrape the junk off the underside and boil once again. Why the first step with the frying pan? Couldn't you just cut up the fat, put it in a pot and boil it and get the same result?

 

[dlemaster]

riverrat
If you use a frying pan on the first rendering you can get the temperature up very high to extract more of the tallow from the chunks of fat. If you just use boiling water you can't get the temp above 212 degrees so what you extract wouldn't be as much or as clean as using the frying pan. The second and third renderings are just for cleaning up the tallow.
I hope that makes sense.

Regards, Dave

 

[riverrat43]

Thanks[url] Dave..made[/url] perfect sense.

 

[Black Hand]

I do mine in a pot. The frying pan works I'm sure, but you may have then tendency to "put the spurs to it" and may end up with burnt.... Cut the pieces on the small side and start a bit melting before you add more. The trick seems to be to get a pool of rendered fat on the bottom to help melt the rest. Once it is all rendered, I pour it into a tin-foil pan and allow to solidify. I then pull it out and scrape the crud off the botton and melt the whole thing in water and boil, cool, boil etc. If you just boil the fat, you're making soup. You need the higher heat to extract the fat efficiently.

 

[Friar_Tuck]

Never tried rendering deer tallow, yet, but i do render a lot of bear grease, and when i was a kid we rendered lard by the buckets. One thing that I have found that really helps for both bear and pig fat, is to grind it before rendering. I grind up enough to fill the deep cast iron skillet I use, then SLOWLY bring it up to temp. It is really tempting to try and speed it up, but resist. when it has cooked to the point that you have almost crispy "cracklings" in a nice pure liquid, pour it through cheesecloth, and hang the cracklings in the cheesecloth over the oil. This lets the last of the grease drip out.
Friar

 

[mudd turtle]

Just for fun and an exsperiment I saved the fat rendered from hambuger meat and mixed it with a equal amount of bee's wax . Put it in a tin and I think it will make a fairly good lube. have any of you tried this. mudd turtle