Great recipe for tallow/lard!

Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Yooper

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2011
Messages
266
Reaction score
119
Location
Upper Michigan
This recipe was more of a way to use up some deer tallow, but it would be awesome with beef tallow or lard (just make sure to check it with a lye calculator, as the saponification amount is slightly different!)

25 ounces oil weight (2.4 pounds into the mold)
75% deer tallow- 18.75 ounces
5% castor oil 1.25 ounces
20% coconut oil 5.00 ounces
Superfat at 7%
NaOH 3.40 ounces
Use 4.75 ounces water to dissolve the the lye
At trace, add 4.75 ounces cold(slushy) coconut milk

This soap turned out extremely well, and every person who has tried it has loved it. It's got a nice creamy lather that bubbles well, and it feels great on the skin.

I added a bit of cocoa powder to a portion at trace, and did a "chocolate swirl" for some interest, as I don't use colors or fragrances in my soaps as a rule.

Even my husband LOVES this bar, and I'm making more today to have it on hand when the current supply runs out.

It's easy, and something that even a brand new beginner could do.
 
Thanks, Yooper. I have been trying (beef) tallow on and off, but am not yet enchanted w/it (as I am w/lard.) It definitely makes a great hard bar, but seems less moisturizing, although I am a freak in that respect. I am going to try this, I need to figure out if I am going to keep using it or not. Do you think that adding the CM (I assume you use liquid?) frozen/slushy would make a huge difference over adding it at RT? Or even powdered? Sorry if this is one of those "just try it yourself, dummy" questions, did not know if you *had* tried it and already decided.

ETA: just remembered I have some buffalo tallow given to me by Jo Lasko, of Fragrance Labs, I might use it in this. For those of you who are local to SoCal, she is really an amazing resource. I contacted her b/c FL is one of the few soaping suppliers who sells aroma chemicals, and really knows about the interactions w/ACs and soap. She actually invited me and a fellow SMF'er to her house( she works at home) spent tons of time soap-talking w/us, and we ended up huge amounts of information and samples of gorgeous FO's and AC's (these, you will *never* find as samples anywhere else, it really was crazily generous on her part.) If you are not familiar w/FL, please check them out.
 
Last edited:
Thanks, Yooper. I have been trying (beef) tallow on and off, but am not yet enchanted w/it (as I am w/lard.) It definitely makes a great hard bar, but seems less moisturizing, although I am a freak in that respect. I am going to try this, I need to figure out if I am going to keep using it or not. Do you think that adding the CM (I assume you use liquid?) frozen/slushy would make a huge difference over adding it at RT? Or even powdered? Sorry if this is one of those "just try it yourself, dummy" questions, did not know if you *had* tried it and already decided.

ETA: just remembered I have some buffalo tallow given to me by Jo Lasko, of Fragrance Labs, I might use it in this. For those of you who are local to SoCal, she is really an amazing resource. I contacted her b/c FL is one of the few soaping suppliers who sells aroma chemicals, and really knows about the interactions w/ACs and soap. She actually invited me and a fellow SMF'er to her house( she works at home) spent tons of time soap-talking w/us, and we ended up huge amounts of information and samples of gorgeous FO's and AC's (these, you will *never* find as samples anywhere else, it really was crazily generous on her part.) If you are not familiar w/FL, please check them out.

Yes, adding the CM when it's slushy does help although I still gel the soap!

I haven't tried this particular recipe with powdered CM, but I'm sure it would work if it was a full-fat powdered CM.

I like both beef tallow and deer tallow (and lard) soaps and I'm finding it similar to the texture/feel/moisturizing quality of lard- but you may differ of course!

thanks for sharing! i would love to see pics :)

Not very nice pictures (crappy phone photos), but I used some cocoa in some of the batter to make it interesting looking. I don't normally use any other colorants or fragrances, except for an occasional EO.

soap2.JPG
(Salt bars were made the same day, they are on the right)
 
I really like that swirl. I haven't done anything like that yet, might have to give that a try soon. Thanks for the coco powder idea.
I haven't tried any kind of tallow, but those proportions make a good soap using lard.
 
Those look cool! Thanks for sharing the picture! Did you scent them at all? I love to hear what others do when it comes to matching a scent to colors... :)
 
Those look cool! Thanks for sharing the picture! Did you scent them at all? I love to hear what others do when it comes to matching a scent to colors... :)

I did, but just with orange EO. That was mostly just to use it up. I like to use a little peppermint EO normally- it's like chocolate (which doesn't have a scent) seems to go so well with peppermint that you can almost smell "choco-mint" from it in your imagination. But it can be irritating in large amounts, so it's more of a hint of fragrance.
 
ETA: just remembered I have some buffalo tallow given to me by Jo Lasko, of Fragrance Labs, I might use it in this. For those of you who are local to SoCal, she is really an amazing resource. I contacted her b/c FL is one of the few soaping suppliers who sells aroma chemicals, and really knows about the interactions w/ACs and soap. She actually invited me and a fellow SMF'er to her house( she works at home) spent tons of time soap-talking w/us, and we ended up huge amounts of information and samples of gorgeous FO's and AC's (these, you will *never* find as samples anywhere else, it really was crazily generous on her part.) If you are not familiar w/FL, please check them out.

not_ally: I can't seem to find a site or info for a Fragrance Labs in California. Do you have a web address?
 
Thanks, not_ally. Will definitely keep FL in mind now and reach out to Jo, soon I'm sure.

And Yooper, thanks for this recipe. I think this will be my next one to give a go. The last 2 batches I made were viciously disappointing and bummed me out. I guess my beginners luck is flat out.
 
Thank you for this! I have been lurking the forums for a week or so and looking into making soap for a while before that, reading blogs, etc. I made this as my first soap a few days ago and it's curing in rough bars now. Truly easy enough for a rank beginner!
 
I have some palm free, vegan recipes, but I don't like the feel, or how long it lasts compared to my tallow bars. My family doesn't like the five gallon tub of tallow in the fridge. Too bad. I win. Love to try this recipe! Thanks for sharing.
 
Thank you for this! I have been lurking the forums for a week or so and looking into making soap for a while before that, reading blogs, etc. I made this as my first soap a few days ago and it's curing in rough bars now. Truly easy enough for a rank beginner!

Hey JentheRN, welcome to the forum! Lots of us nurses here.
 
WOW, I have some left over lard I want to use. This recipe will be perfect. Using all water as I don't have CM on hand. Thank you! Does the cocoa powder give it any scent at all? And does it "rub off" on your skin??
 
WOW, I have some left over lard I want to use. This recipe will be perfect. Using all water as I don't have CM on hand. Thank you! Does the cocoa powder give it any scent at all? And does it "rub off" on your skin??

Cocoa powder will not give any scent to your soap. I use it quite frequently for brown and nothing carries through. Also, this post is from 2015 and many of the folks that posted haven't been around much. :)
 

Latest posts

Back
Top