Learn how to render fat, which can be used for cooking, making soap, lotions, candles and more! It's also shelf-stable and will keep for a long time.
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It's the season of... hunting!!
My husband and his brother did very well their first weekend of hunting and came home collectively with 2 deer and a bear. We had a grand butchering party and our freezers are now full of high quality meat!
I'm seriously glad I married into a family that hunts!
Wild meat is some of the healthiest meat around. The animal eats a totally natural diet and lives a healthy, normal life in the bush, and their meat reflects that.
And even though up front it can be costly to hunt because you need some supplies, in the end, it's so much cheaper than buying meat from the store!
In addition, you can eat the organ meats (which are super nutrient-dense), tan the hide and render the fat! You can truly use almost all of the animal with no waste.
The bear my husband shot was pretty small, so we didn't get a ton of fat from it. But still, every bit counts! The fat from wild animals is so full of nourishing nutrients, it would be a real shame to waste it.
Even if you don't hunt, often if you purchase a half or whole pig or cow, the fat comes with it, so it's very handy to know how you can render and use it, since you've paid for it anyway!
What Does It Mean to Render Fat?
Rendering is the liquifying and clarifying of raw animal fats to make them usable and shelf-stable so they can be stored for later use.
What Kinds of Fat Can You Render?
You can render any kind of animal fat! However, some are better suited for cooking and others for making soap or candles. For example, pig fat (lard), is excellent for baking and cooking, while deer fat just doesn't taste very good, so you can make some all-natural DIY soap and candles with it!
What Temperature to Render Fat?
The lower the temperature and the slower the fat renders, the less of the animal taste and smell will remain, so keep that in mind. Beef fat renders around 135°F, pig fat around 180°F and deer fat around 120°F.
Can You REnder Fat in a SLow Cooker or Instant Pot?
You can render fat in a slow cooker and Instant Pot, which is definitely more hands-off. However, you can't control the temperature as well as you can on your stove. Since I want to go for the lowest possible temperature, using the stove is my preferred method.
Tips For Rendering Fat
- It's much easier to cut or grind fat when it's cold, so make sure it's semi-frozen or at least at fridge temperature when you start
- Render fat while you are doing other things in the kitchen (making a meal, baking muffins, doing dishes, etc), to make the most of your time, since this will take 1-4 hours
- Store in glass jars instead of plastic to avoid leaching chemicals into the fat
- There are many delicious ways to eat the cracklins that are left over after rendering. We love to use them as breading on meat and mixed in with roasted veggies for a nice crunch. Check out this article for 20 ideas!
Cutting board
Sieve + cheesecloth
How to Render Fat
INGREDIENTS:
- Animal fat (semi-frozen)
INSTRUCTIONS:
Remove any visible meat, hair or dirt from the fat. You will strain it after rendering, but it's best to get out as much as you can before starting the whole process.
Cut the fat into small pieces. The smaller the pieces are, the more rendered fat you'll end up with (also, fewer cracklins). If you have a meat grinder, use that to grind the fat into very small pieces.
Heat a large pot over low heat. Add a small handful of the fat to your pot. Once there is a good layer of liquid grease at the bottom of the pot, add the rest of your fat.
Allow the fat to melt, stirring occasionally, until all the small crispy bits (cracklins) have sunk to the bottom of the pot. This can take between 1-4 hours, depending on the type of fat and how much fat you are rendering. Remove from heat and allow it to cool for about an hour.
Line your sieve with a few layers of cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl. Carefully pour the rendered fat through the sieve and allow all the grease to strain away from the cracklins into the bowl.
Pour the fat from the bowl into your desired containers (canning jars are best- if you place a canning lid on them right away, they will likely seal as they cool!).
I like to store mine in the refrigerator, as I mainly use it for cooking, but you could also store it in a cool dry place for up to 1 year in an airtight container. You can also keep it for years in the freezer!
Have you rendered animal fat before? Tell me your tips and tricks for how to make and use it in the comments below!
More Food Prep & Preservation
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📖 Recipe
How to Render Fat
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Active Time: 15 minutes
Additional Time: 2 minutes
Total Time: 32 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Learn how to render fat, which can be used for cooking, making soap, candles and more! It's also shelf-stable and will keep for a long time.
Materials
- Animal fat (semi-frozen)
Tools
- Large pot
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Sieve
- Cheesecloth
- Large bowl
- Jars (or other storage containers)
Instructions
- Remove any visible meat, hair or dirt from the fat.
- Cut the fat into small pieces. The smaller the pieces are, the more rendered fat you'll end up with (also, less cracklins). If you have a meat grinder, use that to grind the fat into very small pieces.
- Heat a large pot over low heat. Add a small handful of the fat to your pot. Once there is a good layer of liquid grease at the bottom of the pot, add the rest of your fat.
- Allow the fat to melt, stirring occasionally, until all the small crispy bits (cracklins) have sunk to the bottom of the pot. This can take between 1-4 hours, depending on the type of fat and how much fat you are rendering. Remove from heat and allow it to cool for about an hour.
- Line your sieve with a few layers of cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl. Carefully pour the rendered fat through the sieve and allow all the grease to strain away from the cracklins into the bowl.
- Pour the fat from the bowl into your desired containers (canning jars are best- if you place a canning lid on them right away, they will likely seal as they cool!).
Notes
Will keep stored in a cool, dark place for at least 1 year. Store in the fridge or freezer for longer.
