Tallow Soap

[DramaQueen]

Hey, I have been wanting to use tallow in my soap, and I have some in my fridge, however I rendered it myself. I cannot be sure that I kept it below the temp you are suppost to to render it. I have heard that you want to make sure that you have properly rendered tallow for use in soap. Is this just because of the smell, or something else? If I were to try and use it in a soap batch, would I only risk it smelling bad, or would I risk the soap not turning out right? Thanks!

 

[AliOop]

While I do try to render my tallow and lard at lower temps, the corners of my electric turkey roaster pan get really hot. It's never caused any problems for me. If yours doesn't smell bad, it should be fine to use.

 

[BirchandTallow]

Hey, I have been wanting to use tallow in my soap, and I have some in my fridge, however I rendered it myself. I cannot be sure that I kept it below the temp you are suppost to to render it. I have heard that you want to make sure that you have properly rendered tallow for use in soap. Is this just because of the smell, or something else? If I were to try and use it in a soap batch, would I only risk it smelling bad, or would I risk the soap not turning out right? Thanks!

I render my own tallow using the dry method in the crockpot on low stirring when I think about it. I usually do 5-6 lbs at a time and start in the afternoon, so it's still cooking when I go to bed. Before I go to bed, I drop the temp to warm and then turn it back to low in the morning. When it's ready, I strain it through a colander to get the big bits out and then again through a cheese cloth. I like this method because I don't like water touching my fats. If you use the wet method, and you don't know what you're doing, your tallow can go rancid. In either method, if you don't filter thoroughly enough the impurities can cause a reaction in your soap. You want your beef tallow to be pure white when it's cooled. I make lamb tallow as well and it has a soft yellow color to it. It's ok if it still smells a little like fat when it's done. The smell will go away during cure. I'm posting photos so you can see the color difference between beef and lamb, and have some sort of a reference for clean tallow. I just trimmed some tallow soap yesterday, so there's photos of that too. The soap smells like soap, cleans very well, and leaves my hands feeling soft. I didn't add colors or fragrance, it's just plain ol' soap.

 

[DramaQueen]

Thanks! If my tallow has little black spec in it, does that mean that I did not strain it well enough?

 

[BirchandTallow]

I would filter it again if you see anything in it. Better safe than sorry.

 

[The_Phoenix]

Where do you source your fat? I’ve considered approaching the butcher at my favorite supermarket and asking if they have beef fat they might consider passing my way.

 

[BirchandTallow]

It was hard to source at first, to be honest. The chains won't sell it. I get my beef from Homeland (which I've only seen in Oklahoma) and sometimes I get it from my local Halal Mart. I get my lamb fat from the Halal Mart exclusively and it's expensive. I'm in the process of calling local butchers to see if I can get a better deal, but to me the convenience of the local grocery store neing right down the street is kind of worth the extra cash. When I get beef fat from Homeland, I call and talk to the meat department manager and tell him how much I want. It can take a day or two, so he just calls me when it's ready.

 

[AliOop]

I used to have a great local source for pig fat, a local custom butcher who has since retired. Too bad, because his prices were amazing, especially considering that he included all the leaf fat, too!

Fortunately, for the second time in 3 years, we've split a half side of beef with friends who raise cattle for custom butchering. The butcher saves all the fat for me to render, and will give me as much as I want from other orders where they have him throw away the fat. It's so much that I have to freeze a lot of the fat, and render in batches throughout the year. So, in order to use what is available and affordable, I'm reformulating my beloved high-lard soap recipe to a high-tallow soap recipe.

Anyway, if you can find a local custom butcher, that seems to be the key to reasonably-priced fat to render. I do highly recommend an electric turkey roaster pan. They are very inexpensive, especially if you can find one at a thrift store. They hold 2x - 3x as much as the largest crockpot. The flatter surface area makes for faster rendering, too. I plug it in out on the patio so the smell doesn't permeate my entire house.

 

[BirchandTallow]

I used to have a great local source for pig fat, a local custom butcher who has since retired. Too bad, because his prices were amazing, especially considering that he included all the leaf fat, too!

Fortunately, for the second time in 3 years, we've split a half side of beef with friends who raise cattle for custom butchering. The butcher saves all the fat for me to render, and will give me as much as I want from other orders where they have him throw away the fat. It's so much that I have to freeze a lot of the fat, and render in batches throughout the year. So, in order to use what is available and affordable, I'm reformulating my beloved high-lard soap recipe to a high-tallow soap recipe.

Anyway, if you can find a local custom butcher, that seems to be the key to reasonably-priced fat to render. I do highly recommend an electric turkey roaster pan. They are very inexpensive, especially if you can find one at a thrift store. They hold 2x - 3x as much as the largest crockpot. The flatter surface area makes for faster rendering, too. I plug it in out on the patio so the smell doesn't permeate my entire house.

You mentioned the turkey roaster before, but I thought you were talking about a pan for the oven. I've never heard of an electric turkey roaster, so I looked on Amazon and saw a 22-quart one for $54! Thanks for the tip, I had no idea.

 

[AliOop]

You mentioned the turkey roaster before, but I thought you were talking about a pan for the oven. I've never heard of an electric turkey roaster, so I looked on Amazon and saw a 22-quart one for $54! Thanks for the tip, I had no idea.

You are welcome! The 22 qt. model that I linked in my post above is only $25 at Kohls. You can order online if there isn't a store near you. I often see them in thrift stores, too.