Although my family doesn’t eat a lot of pork (besides bacon, obviously ), I love to have pastured lard on hand. I give it a quick stir and replace the lid. By ladling the lard out in batches, the remaining fat will cook faster and render out even more lard. It takes longer than rendering fat on the stovetop in a cast iron skillet, but here’s why I prefer my crock pot over my skillet for lard: It’s time to bring back the age-old tradition of rendering fat in our kitchens! . Step 2: Cut the Fat Into 1/2" Cubes. Simmer the fat on low for a few hours, until the fat starts to shrivel. I choose to freeze and refrigerate mine because I have space. If you are using fat from a beef-breed animal (Angus or Hereford for example), your … The first step is to cut away all pieces of meat from the fat, because it can spoil the tallow. Where to buy beef fat to render into tallow. Tallow is just rendered beef fat. In my crockpot, I can fit a much larger amount of fat, resulting in much more lard at once. It is fat that is rendered from suet (cow fat). I usually give it a stir when I do this, but I find the smell while the fat is rendering to be unappealing when the lid is removed. Even in my largest cast iron skillet, I can fit about two pounds of pig fat — resulting in about three cups of rendered lard. To render beef tallow, you need to get your hands on some raw beef fat. I have friends who render bear fat similarly. If your house is very warm, the lard may not totally solidify. This keeps your lard pure and creamy white. This stops the fat sticking to the bottom and burning before the fat starts rendering down to liquid. But I want to say it was over 15 quarts! First, you can leave the liquid and let the chunks continue to render — though this will take longer. I have to fry them for a few minutes and get them a bit crispy to enjoy them. Check it periodically and stir. If you don’t have a food processor, simply chop the fat into smaller pieces, shredding simply makes the rendering process go much faster. It’s been a couple of years since I wrote this post, so I can’t remember exactly. You don't really have to do anything else while it is rendering. It is as simple as that. By putting in a little bit of work I saved money on the brisket, and ended up with all of the fat to render more or less for free. Rendering tallow isn’t difficult, as long as you have a few supplies on hand to expedite the process. I render tallow (beef fat) in the same way as lard. <—- This is what I do. And then after about 20 minutes, you can see the fat starting to render out and the skin gain some colour: Now after about 30 minutes of cooking, just about there: And after 40 minutes or so of cooking on medium heat, the chicken skins are golden and the fat is fully rendered. It firms them up and makes it easier to hold them down and less likely you will cut yourself. For a sense of scale: the photos included were using a 2 qt crock-pot, and the fat came from an untrimmed 12 pound brisket. […], […] tablespoons fat — I used lard, but avocado oil, coconut oil, or butter would also […], […] Healthy fats are also soothing and healing to your gut, so eat more grass-fed butter and ghee, coconut and avocado oils, tallow and lard. It can be a little tricky to find truly healthy pig fat. Place your pot over very low heat, your pan in a low oven (250 degrees or so) or turn your slow-cooker to high until it begins to melt in earnest and then turn it down to low. Carefully strain any lard you ladle out into a glass, heat-proof bowl or large measuring cup, such as a Pyrex. It’s low-maintenance. If your lard has gone “off”, you’ll know it immediately by the smell. Share it with us! That’s ok. Just make sure it’s cool before storing. Both are great for frying and sauteeing. If so, would I follow the same way you rendered pig fat? Every once in a while Gran would go to the butcher or abattoir and get some muscle fat trimmings that she'd render down in the oven and then use over the next month or two. Basically it is the cow version of lard. For stove top – Set the burner on low. butcher. […]. <—- This is what I do. I don’t know how to describe it; but trust me, you’ll know. This makes it easier to store and easier to get fairly consistent amounts to cook with (some molds are a bit more or less full, but it comes out pretty close). They do not need to be exactly 1/2" cubes, but I find that everything renders better if you have the pieces more or less uniform. I think this was too long but then the lard was still white so I don’t think I will be able to bake with it so I am going to get more pork fat so I can have it for baking too. Recently, I was given — yes GIVEN — 50 pounds of pastured pig fat. I just use a simple wire strainer (similar to this) to strain the tallow into a bowl. You can put the fat pieces in the freezer or refrigerator if you don't want to render them right away. Contrast that to a mere 10-20 IU found in the CAFO-raised lard at your supermarket. You can imagine how delighted I was to take this “waste” off her hands. I just throw the cut pieces into a bowl while I work. The smaller you make the pieces, the shorter the cooking time. Tallow can be stored for periods of time without refrigeration making it a great fat to keep by your stove, ready for cooking! You can see that my fat was starting to get warm here, I should have re-refrigerated it, but hind sight is 20/20. If using a blender, I found it easier to pulverize in small 1/2 cup amounts at a time. Set your slow cooker on low for 8 hours. Do NOT use plastic — it will melt! The point is that you shouldn’t pour anything hot into a cold glass jar, or you risk shattering the jar and ruining your lard. I recently used both my slow cooker set on low and a solar oven to compare the two. Every few hours, come back and check on it. By ladling the lard out in batches, the remaining fat will cook faster and render out even more lard. If you want a saucier beef… Rendering animal fat in my crock pot is my favorite method. As the pig fat continues to render, it will turn brown and start to crisp. After a few hours, the fat chunks will be swimming in a golden pool of liquid lard! I have done both! Low being 8 to 10 hours. Step 3: Time to Render Once your slow cooker is just about full of beef fat, turn it on low. IKEA Meatballs Beef Bourguignon Style With Creamy Parmesan Mashed Potatoes, Yummy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Brownies, If you use the "high" setting it will need to render for about 20 hours, if you use the "low" setting it will need to render for about 24 hours. We must remember that our great-great-grandmothers were rendering and storing lard long before the invention of refrigeration. Throughout the rendering process gently stir the lard to prevent any browning. If you are on good terms with him/her you might even get them for free. It’s less likely to smoke. How to Render Beef Tallow. Place the roast on top of the vegetables and sprinkle it with the steak seasoning. Thank you for… Read more ». Add your pig fat to the insert pot. You can also just trim the fat that you don't intend to eat off of cuts of meat (as in this Instructable). Growing up there was always a tub of beef fat in the kitchen for cooking and frying. Once the solid pieces are getting dark the process is done. Thanks,Deb Casey (formerly from New Brighton, MN). Try to keep the sediment out of the glass jars as you pour. A minute or two is all it takes to go from perfectly rendered lard or tallow to burnt cracklins that will make your final product taste off. Pastured lard is full of bio-available Vitamin D! Thank you so much for this post! I don’t want to take a chance with this precious white fat that I’ve worked so hard to render the old-fashioned way. I like to check on it every 2 or 3 hours just to make sure everything is breaking down evenly and to see how far along it is. All of the solid pieces are cooked and safe to eat. They have different uses for me. Also, the leaf fat from around the internal organs and kidneys is the most desirable fat compared to trim fat. Question…what do you use to strain it? Subscribe to our YouTube Channel. Your knife is going to get greasy and become very slippery. You can also pressure can it with 10 pounds of pressure for 100-120 minutes. Where to look for pastured pig fat and/or meat: Storing Lard Without Canning or Refrigerating, The Top 3 Reasons You Should Be Eating Lard, This was my first time and I rendered mine in the crock pot for 20 hours on low per instructions from the farm I received it from. I don't care for them like this myself, but my wife and kids love them. If it's your first time rendering tallow, start with the slow cooker method below--it's a gauranteed no … It will slowly start to melt, don't be tempted to rush this process by turning it up. While not strictly necessary, adding a bit of water really helps to … Is the fat from a lamb good to use? We also live in Minnesota and so this good news about Vitamin D is really awesome! Take your time and pay attention to what you are doing. Allow it to harden completely. Look for a farmer who raises “pastured” pigs — not pigs that are kept in pens and eat garbage. I have also found that it is MUCH easier to cut the fat pieces if you put them in the freezer for an hour or so before you begin. Lard from the grocery store is not from healthy pigs and should not be used under any circumstance. Place cheesecloth in funnel, place that in the storage jar. Chop the fat into small chunks. Stir occasionally, every hour or so, for 3-4 hours to prevent the suet from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Let the fat cool and strain into a jar or container. It should turn snowy white once cooled. Instructions In order to have it melt more easily, cut your fat into chunks no larger than 1.5 inches. Using a sharp knife, trim any meat off of the fat. Healthy pigs = healthy lard. You want to try and cut only sections of fat from the meat. Sometimes it takes a bit more, sometimes a bit less. How much lard did you render from the 50 pounds of pork fat? Step 2: Render the fat. Slowly and carefully pour the liquid lard into sterilized, warm glass jars. Second, you can ladle out the liquid so it can begin cooling, while you leave the pig fat in the crock pot to continue rendering. Step 3: As the pig fat continues to render, it will turn brown and start to crisp. If the fat isn't already ground, cut it into smaller pieces with sharp scissors or a knife. Using thin cookware makes it easier to scorch the suet, or end up with hard bits stuck firmly on the bottom of the pan. I think my chunks might have been too big. If using a slow cooker, turn the temperature on to “low”. Add 1/4 cup of water to the slow cooker to prevent the fat from burning - it … Lard is awesome for baking! If you have smaller pieces of meat you can trim the fat from them and store it in freezer until you have a large enough quantity to render. Stir the diced fat and let render over the lowest setting for about 2-3 hours. pork fat vs. beef fat…..can you render both? That will give you the highest nutrient content in the finished tallow. Place chopped suet into your instant pot or slow cooker and turn on low. Copyright © 2020 AllTheNourishingThings.com, What To Eat And When Based On Baby's Development, Homemade Sourdough Croutons In The Dehydrator, Instant Pot Mexican Beef Stew | All The Nourishing Things, 82 Ways To Heal Your Gut — Traditional Cooking School by GNOWFGLINS. Here in northern Minnesota, we are currently experiencing short, cloudy days. I can do larger batches. It is inevitable that some fat sections will be marbled with meat and that is OK. Any meat that goes with the fat to render will turn into "cracklins" (similar to pork rinds/chicharron). When rendering in a cast iron skillet, the fat pieces should be cut up into smaller bits. We couldn’t believe it. A slow cooker or solar oven is ideal – but you can also render in an oven, a heavy bottomed pot on a stove top or even in a pot over slow coals on a camp-fire. Lard, which has been well-strained so that no bits of perishable fat remain in it, is shelf-stable. Cut the suet into very small pieces or use your food processer to chop it into pieces. This Instructable will show how easy it is to render fat in a slow cooker. Participated in the Slow Cooker Challenge. It is estimated that there are between 500 and 1,000 IU of Vitamin D per tablespoon of pastured lard! You want to try and cut only sections of fat from the meat. It’s called suet, and the best stuff for rendering is going to be solid and firm. Clear fat will start to render out of the fatty tissues. There are two ways to render tallow: Use a stainless steel stock pot on a stovetop; Make tallow in a crockpot or slow cooker; I use the same stock pot for tallow that I use for homemade bone broth but you can also use a crock pot or slow cooker … Throw all of your cubes into the slow cooker and turn it on. It was still just as good as the day I rendered it, no funny flavors or anything! Its high smoke point makes it an excellent choice for frying. You can heat them in a warm oven or by running hot water over them for a few seconds. Pour into your jars OR line baking pans with parchment paper or waxed paper and pour the liquid fat into the pans. You can also season them if you decide to cook them a bit more. If you ask your butcher you can frequently get waste cuts of fat for dirt cheap. Let sit for an hour or two. Fresh lard has just a slight smell of fatty goodness. The drippings left over in the slow cooker are very flavorful and contain rendered fat from the beef. {Seriously, my jaw fell open when she told me that.} Lard will last ages in the freezer. Add 1/2 cup of water. Cook down until a clear liquid fat has been rendered from the small pieces of fat. When you look for beef fat to render, you’ll want to look for fat from 100% grass fed, grass finished cattle. I once had a jar disappear to the bottom of the deep freeze, and it was over a year before I found it. With simple, beautiful recipes and practical tips for incorporating nutrient-dense foods and natural remedies into our busy lives, Lindsey has been helping families eat their veggies and bone broth for almost 10 years! I think the time to render for a larger slow cooker would be similar, but I have only used my small crock-pot for this. (This is easier to do … Rancid lard smells, well, rancid. How to Render Tallow in a Slow Cooker. 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