I have bear fat!!!

[Soaplady22]

A friend of my husband's got a bear this season and gave us the fat to render. DH did this on the side burner of our outdoor grill - took hours. When done and strained it was totally clear - slight amber maybe. I canned it (it was at 255 degrees) and now have 1 pint less than 2 gallons of bear tallow. That's what it looks like they call it on the lye calcs!! So ....

Going to make my lard recipe only use the bear fat. The sap number is only 1 number off from lard.
Using a balsam fragrance. What other fragrances would work??
Wish me luck!!

I understand, but am going to call the DNR to be sure, that I can't sell anything made with an animal taken with a permit. So I can only give this away or use it for family. Does anyone know how this works?? I know some on here have used it, or deer tallow, and was wondering what you did with yours.

 

[Padamae]

That is good to know. So what if it is a sheep breeder and they render the fat and give to you. Is that something you have to label differently

 

[Soaplady22]

At the moment I have just "bear fat" on the label.
I'm using them for gifts at this point. I was hoping somebody could tell me what the rules are on selling meat products.

My husband says sheep are domestic animals and so you can sell your wares from them. But bear are wild, as are deer, so there are different rules.

We'll be right by the DNR tomorrow so we'll stop in and ask them. I'll report back then.

 

[Lindy]

Following this post with interest. I don't know what the rules are here in Canada on this issue either.....

 

[judymoody]

As I understand the law in the US, if you get a hunting tag on public land, the game meat you acquire is supposed to be for your own private use and you cannot profit commercially from it. This principle also would apply to the fat or products made from the fat, in this case, soap.

However, I'm not a lawyer, nor am I affiliated with any wildlife management offices. So call to verify.

I made elk tallow soap last season and rendered the tallow with rosemary and mint from the garden to hide the gamey smell. It made a beautiful hard shiny white fat. For scent, I used an EO blend of cedar, eucalyptus, and mint - it was fresh and woodsy.

 

[Soaplady22]

Okay -
The DNR just called me back (they were all out of the office when we stopped in there today) and here is the official word:

Mark cannot sell us the fat, but he can give it to us to render. And it's okay for me to sell the soap on a limited basis, ie: local craft fairs. He says that if I were to do it commercially it would be a different matter. But locally, here, it's okay.

YIPPEE!!!
Now to get to work - going to use my lard recipe like I said. Should be an even exchange (sap values). Can not wait to see how the soap feels when done. I will report back after it gets made and also how it is after a short cure. I don't have the patience for a long one!!!

Seriously though, I'll let you all know how it turns out.
Cedar, eucalyptus, and mint, eh? I have those!! Ahhh the wheels are turning ......... !

 

[Soaplady22]

Well ...... my first observation is that it is not nearly as heavy as I thought it was. Took almost a complete quart to get 18 oz. Wasn't expecting that.

Beautiful amber/golden color. I soaped it with a green mica swirl but I poured at thinish trace and think that my swirl has gotten lost in there. But if it doesn't show up it's still a nice green!! I used green mica with a tesch of black oxide to get a dark forest green.

I used .8 oz Lumberjack FO PPO. Seems to be about right, as the fat did have an earthy smell to it. Like used hamburger grease.

More later ~

 

[simplymcghie]

I've had soap made with bear fat and it was some amazing stuff. Lucky you

 

[Soaplady22]

I thought for sure that I had lost my swirl by pouring at light trace (it's a little dark over at my soap table) but I was pleasantly surprised this morning to find that I had wonderful swirls!! And the base soap is white instead of the creamy amber it was at pour. Who knew?!!

And I could have used less FO - there is no "bear grease" smell at all. I used FO at .8 PPO but .7 or even .6 would have probably worked. There was definitely a smell before I put in the FO, but not nearly as much then as when it was boiling down. Whew ~

So - so far, so good!

Stay tuned for part three - After The Cure ...

 

[Lindy]

 

[Soaplady22]

Oh gesh ........ I am SOOOoooo sorry. *hangs head in humiliation*

I will right this terrible wrong in a jiffy ~

Again, I am so sorry for this grivious oversight.
Please accept my most humble appologies.




oh how could I have overlooked somthing so obvious .....

............. goes off to find camera

 

[Soaplady22]

Uploaded with ImageShack.us


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

and this one ~



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Well ..... was it worth the wait?

 

[ToniD]

Pretty swirls.

 

[judymoody]

Looks great! Nice swirls.

 

[MeadowHillFarmCT]

I am really loving the color and swirls. Also the round soap. Mine have always been square but I may do a batch of round soap tomorrow.

 

[khermsen]

Impressive, I am a believer!

 

[Soaplady22]

Thank you for the nice comments on the swirls. And to think that I thought this batch was going to be a bust as far as swirly coloring went!!!

I just today tried an end slice and it's SUPER creamy - more so than my regular lard recipe. I'm pleased. So this is going in my "line" of country soaps!!! (like I have a line) :laugh:

But around here we trade on 'homemade' so this fits right in. Just wish I could get two batches out of a quart of tallow. Maybe I can cut it down in my recipe and still have the super creaminess??? That's what I'll work on next.

Oh - and no game smell whatsoever. Success!!

 

[roweamysonya]

Bear Tallow

I recommend if you're using bear tallow for the first time to start with a very small batch. A friend of mine got a bear and gave me all the fat so I rendered it. It was easy to render - very fast. It smelled worse than anything I've ever smelled though. I rendered it outside and the smell seeped in and my husband said it was making him sick, so you can imagine how bad it smelled.

I decided to go ahead and make the soap with it at 50% anyway. I also decided to use a fragrance oil for the first time and choose honeysuckle (actually I didn't realize I was buying fragrance oil, I thought I was getting essential oil, but that's for another post). I added the standard amount of FO to the batch and the soap still smelled terrible, but I decided not to add any more scent. Then I left it thinking it might get better once it cured a bit. It didn't. It was horrible smelling even after weeks. It's in part because the honeysuckle didn't blend with the natural bear tallow scent, but even without it, it just smelled terrible. I'm not sure any scent would help, so for anyone trying it for the first time, start with a VERY small batch, and if you get something to work, let me know. I still have about ten pounds of the tallow left!

 

[shunt2011]

I recommend if you're using bear tallow for the first time to start with a very small batch. A friend of mine got a bear and gave me all the fat so I rendered it. It was easy to render - very fast. It smelled worse than anything I've ever smelled though. I rendered it outside and the smell seeped in and my husband said it was making him sick, so you can imagine how bad it smelled.

I decided to go ahead and make the soap with it at 50% anyway. I also decided to use a fragrance oil for the first time and choose honeysuckle (actually I didn't realize I was buying fragrance oil, I thought I was getting essential oil, but that's for another post). I added the standard amount of FO to the batch and the soap still smelled terrible, but I decided not to add any more scent. Then I left it thinking it might get better once it cured a bit. It didn't. It was horrible smelling even after weeks. It's in part because the honeysuckle didn't blend with the natural bear tallow scent, but even without it, it just smelled terrible. I'm not sure any scent would help, so for anyone trying it for the first time, start with a VERY small batch, and if you get something to work, let me know. I still have about ten pounds of the tallow left!

You may want to start a new thread as this is from 2011.

 

[kimnkell]

I have bear tallow too

I am rendering down some bear fat.. I started it yesterday .. it's a bunch.. and let it simmer all night on the stove.. it still isn't finished but it doesn't have a bad smell at all like someone mentions that theirs did.. it smells good..makes me hungry every time I go out on my sun porch..lol.. anyway.. I can't wait to make some soap using this.. I'm so excited!