Rendering deer tallow

[dfishingski]

I am new to this forum. I have never made any soap just in the process of trying it now. So I rendered my deer fat once and I forgot to add any salt in. I am in the process of rendering a second time and wondering if I should put some salt in with this render? Or do I not really need it. Also lined my loaf pan with wax paper but the tallow seemed to go through the wax paper is there something better to use? Thanks

 

[natik]

I never rendered deer tallow. But here is how I render my beef tallow. I put the fat in the slow cooker, add couple cups of water, couple handful of salt and put on high. Stir it from time to time. Takes about 4-5 hours depending on how big the pieces of fat are. Once everything is rendered, I strain the mix through the cheese cloth into the bowl and put it in the fridge overnight. Make sure it is a bowl, not a pan. The side have to be slanted upwards. Beef tallow is hard, so next day I slide the tallow out of the bowl, the water with salt separates and stays on the bottom. I scrape the bottom of the tallow slab, it is going to be darker color and that is where all the impurities are, salt pulls them out. Then I put tallow in the slow cooker again, add water and salt, same as before and render it again. Second time once it is melted, you don't need to strain through the cheese cloth. Just pour the mix in the same bowl and put in the fridge. Then next day slide the tallow out, scrape the impurities and if looks clean - you are done, if not - do the same process third time.
You absolutely can render yours again with salt and water, it will be just cleaner. And don't afraid to put too much salt or water, fat doesn't mix with that, it will end up on the bottom of the hardened tallow.
Good luck.

 

[Relle]

Also lined my loaf pan with wax paper but the tallow seemed to go through the wax paper is there something better to use? Thanks

Don't use wax paper, use freezer paper to line your mould. You mentioned loaf pan, are you using a metal one ?

 

[dfishingski]

Don't use wax paper, use freezer paper to line your mould. You mentioned loaf pan, are you using a metal one ?

No it is a glass one planning on getting mold for the soap bars

 

[natik]

Why do you need to line the mold? Is deer tallow liquid in the fridge?

 

[dfishingski]

Why do you need to line the mold? Is deer tallow liquid in the fridge?

I just fig it would make it easier to remove then I would freeze until ready to make the soap

 

[AliOop]

I just fig it would make it easier to remove then I would freeze until ready to make the soap

Unless your mold is silicone, lining it was the right choice. Good job!

If I understood you correctly, you are using a glass baking dish for a mold. That’s what I used at the beginning of my soaping practice, before I learned how the caustic soap batter weakens the glass over time and makes it prone to shattering.

I didn’t line the dish completely, either - it was more like a sling in each direction. So the soap batter only touched the glass in the corners, but still… Once I learned more, I switched to inexpensive plastic storage containers before finally getting some silicone molds. The plastic containers worked well though.

 

[natik]

I don't freeze my fats. It is in the fridge in a plastic bin. Beef tallow is hard and the shelf life at the room temp is at least 1 year, in the fridge it can stay wat longer. I keep mine in the plastic box, easier to just cut a piece whenever I need it and put the rest back. If you freeze it - will be way harder to cut some for the project. But again, I am talking about beef tallow, don't know much about deer.

 

[Relle]

No it is a glass one planning on getting mold for the soap bars

Unless your mold is silicone, lining it was the right choice. Good job!

If I understood you correctly, you are using a glass baking dish for a mold. That’s what I used at the beginning of my soaping practice, before I learned how the caustic soap batter weakens the glass over time and makes it prone to shattering.

I didn’t line the dish completely, either - it was more like a sling in each direction. So the soap batter only touched the glass in the corners, but still… Once I learned more, I switched to inexpensive plastic storage containers before finally getting some silicone molds. The plastic containers worked well though.

AliOop, they are getting a mould for the soap bars, the glass one was for the rendered tallow to be put in, then when solid, removed and stored in the freezer. They're not putting soap in glass.

 

[AliOop]

Thanks, @Relle, that make sense!

 

[janesathome]

I just pulled my last precious jar of deer tallow out of the freezer - I’ll have enough for 2 smallish batches of soap.
my husband and I dry render tallow and lard; we grind the fat, heat low and slow in the oven, and filter it very well when pouring into containers. The odd time i cut off a tiny bit at the bottom of the container if I see a speck or two of impurities, but that’s easy enough.
I wet rendered once and found it to be way messier and time consuming, with no difference (to me) in results.
have fun with your soapmaking!