Ah, fat. Is there any sort of food surrounded by more controversy? Any that inspires such loyalty in its adherents, such dismal doggedness in its detractors, such cognitive dissonance in those who believe it to be unhealthy and regularly overindulge anyway? Is there any food around which so much conflicting science has arisen?
Being a Nourishing Traditions kind of gal myself, I tend to view fats with much more friendliness than the general populations might--though the kind of fat matters very much. Unsaturated fats oxidize far too easily--in fact, they often come from the store pre-oxidized for your convenience--and as such border on poison in my mind. Butter is, of course, a superfood, and delicious in all the best ways, and needs to be consumed daily for physical and mental health. I make my own from our cow's raw milk, and it is absolutely heavenly.... but also a lot of work, and while not awfully perishable it isn't shelf stable.
So what I'm getting around to here is lard. And if that weren't terrifying enough, there's also tallow. Which, as you may know, are pig fat and cow fat, respectively. They are preferably procured from the leaf fat around the kidneys, which gives the best color and mildest flavor in both cases, though I have rendered subcutaneous fat with quite serviceable results.
The basic strategy here is to heat the solid animal fat until all the oil melts out of it, leaving "cracklings." The cracklings are then strained from the fat, and the fat is stored to use for soaps, baking, or deep frying. These fats are very cheap to procure (if your butcher doesn't hate you he might give them to you for free); they are easy to use for sautéing and baking alike; and, while it takes a long time to prepare them for storage, most of that time is very hands-off. And, contrary to virtually every blog post on the topic I've ever seen, they are perfectly shelf stable when prepared properly: none of this "filling your freezer with bags of fat" is the least bit necessary.
How is this possible? I'll describe it all below in the easy recipe I've been using since 2013. I have successfully preserved gallons and gallons of lard and tallow by this means, and have never once had any spoilage in the jar, nor any oxidation.
enough water to cover the bottom of the pan of choice
Pour water into a pan large enough that the fat doesn't stick out too much. Add all your pieces of fat just the way they are. Turn on heat. Put a lid on it; if it doesn't close perfectly, it will soon as the bottom layer of fat begins to render. Once most of the fat has gone loose and the liquid reaches a good way up the sides of the pan, remove the lid--the idea is to let the moisture go.
At this point you're in a waiting game. The hunks of fat will keep shrinking and melting as the level of fat in the pan gets higher and higher. If you want to do this stage in a crock pot it's not a bad idea--just make sure it's big enough, and you'll probably have to have it on high as the lid will need to be off. Also, if you're using any subcutaneous fat, you'll need to stir more--it has a strong tendency to stick to the bottom. Leaf fat really is much better behaved.
As you approach the end of the rendering, the game is going to change on you. As the amount of water in the liquid dwindles, the temperature of the oils will increase. The pieces of fat will go from flaccid globs to crispy, brown cracklings. You'll need to watch them at this point: leaving them in the fat longer will allow them to release more oil from their crevices, but you risk burning them--which will impact the flavor and color of your final product. Once the cracklings are at a nice golden brown color I start skimming them out with a metal spoon; I'll put them in a cloth lined funnel over a mason jar. As more pieces of crackling reach this stage, I'll remove more of them, until the pan is filled with clear oil with some crumbs down at the bottom. Now the heat goes off and it's time to get it all in jars.
Since we're storing our fat at room temperature it is imperative that the jars be perfectly dry and clean, and since we're putting the oil in the jars hot, they should also be warm so as not to crack. I generally ladle the fat through a cloth lined funnel into the jars, just in case there's a stray crumb. Fill them as close to the brim of the jars as humanly possible; the fat will shrink as it cools, so overflow isn't an issue, and the less air is in the jar the better. Put lids and rings on the jars as you work. If you make sure the rims don't have any oil on them, a good number of them will seal. I use canning jar lids that were previously used; while not trustworthy for canned goods, they do a fine job of protecting my fat.
Keep ladling until you get close to the bottom of the pan. this part will be crumbier and as a result might be more strongly flavored; it might be wise to label it as such or use it up first. Since moisture is heavier than oil, this is also the part the most likely to contain water. You'll have to be sure to strain it well, and if you intend to store it, it's a good idea to put it in a small pan and heat it above 212 Fahrenheit one more time. This will drive the last bit of water out.
Now you have jars of oil. It will thicken and get lighter in color as it cools. Store it somewhere dark; it doesn't have to be particularly cool, though your oil will keep better if it doesn't turn liquid, so the cupboard above the stove or an attic in summer aren't the best bets.
I tend to feed the cracklings to chickens or hogs, but if you're feeling decadent they make a straight-up awesome casserole topper--try them on top of cassoulet, au gratin potatoes, or green bean casserole. They can be frozen for later if you've got the space.
Being a Nourishing Traditions kind of gal myself, I tend to view fats with much more friendliness than the general populations might--though the kind of fat matters very much. Unsaturated fats oxidize far too easily--in fact, they often come from the store pre-oxidized for your convenience--and as such border on poison in my mind. Butter is, of course, a superfood, and delicious in all the best ways, and needs to be consumed daily for physical and mental health. I make my own from our cow's raw milk, and it is absolutely heavenly.... but also a lot of work, and while not awfully perishable it isn't shelf stable.
So what I'm getting around to here is lard. And if that weren't terrifying enough, there's also tallow. Which, as you may know, are pig fat and cow fat, respectively. They are preferably procured from the leaf fat around the kidneys, which gives the best color and mildest flavor in both cases, though I have rendered subcutaneous fat with quite serviceable results.
The basic strategy here is to heat the solid animal fat until all the oil melts out of it, leaving "cracklings." The cracklings are then strained from the fat, and the fat is stored to use for soaps, baking, or deep frying. These fats are very cheap to procure (if your butcher doesn't hate you he might give them to you for free); they are easy to use for sautéing and baking alike; and, while it takes a long time to prepare them for storage, most of that time is very hands-off. And, contrary to virtually every blog post on the topic I've ever seen, they are perfectly shelf stable when prepared properly: none of this "filling your freezer with bags of fat" is the least bit necessary.
How is this possible? I'll describe it all below in the easy recipe I've been using since 2013. I have successfully preserved gallons and gallons of lard and tallow by this means, and have never once had any spoilage in the jar, nor any oxidation.
Recipe: Rendered Animal Fat
animal fat from butchering, leaf or subcutaneousenough water to cover the bottom of the pan of choice
Pour water into a pan large enough that the fat doesn't stick out too much. Add all your pieces of fat just the way they are. Turn on heat. Put a lid on it; if it doesn't close perfectly, it will soon as the bottom layer of fat begins to render. Once most of the fat has gone loose and the liquid reaches a good way up the sides of the pan, remove the lid--the idea is to let the moisture go.
At this point you're in a waiting game. The hunks of fat will keep shrinking and melting as the level of fat in the pan gets higher and higher. If you want to do this stage in a crock pot it's not a bad idea--just make sure it's big enough, and you'll probably have to have it on high as the lid will need to be off. Also, if you're using any subcutaneous fat, you'll need to stir more--it has a strong tendency to stick to the bottom. Leaf fat really is much better behaved.
As you approach the end of the rendering, the game is going to change on you. As the amount of water in the liquid dwindles, the temperature of the oils will increase. The pieces of fat will go from flaccid globs to crispy, brown cracklings. You'll need to watch them at this point: leaving them in the fat longer will allow them to release more oil from their crevices, but you risk burning them--which will impact the flavor and color of your final product. Once the cracklings are at a nice golden brown color I start skimming them out with a metal spoon; I'll put them in a cloth lined funnel over a mason jar. As more pieces of crackling reach this stage, I'll remove more of them, until the pan is filled with clear oil with some crumbs down at the bottom. Now the heat goes off and it's time to get it all in jars.
Since we're storing our fat at room temperature it is imperative that the jars be perfectly dry and clean, and since we're putting the oil in the jars hot, they should also be warm so as not to crack. I generally ladle the fat through a cloth lined funnel into the jars, just in case there's a stray crumb. Fill them as close to the brim of the jars as humanly possible; the fat will shrink as it cools, so overflow isn't an issue, and the less air is in the jar the better. Put lids and rings on the jars as you work. If you make sure the rims don't have any oil on them, a good number of them will seal. I use canning jar lids that were previously used; while not trustworthy for canned goods, they do a fine job of protecting my fat.
Keep ladling until you get close to the bottom of the pan. this part will be crumbier and as a result might be more strongly flavored; it might be wise to label it as such or use it up first. Since moisture is heavier than oil, this is also the part the most likely to contain water. You'll have to be sure to strain it well, and if you intend to store it, it's a good idea to put it in a small pan and heat it above 212 Fahrenheit one more time. This will drive the last bit of water out.
Now you have jars of oil. It will thicken and get lighter in color as it cools. Store it somewhere dark; it doesn't have to be particularly cool, though your oil will keep better if it doesn't turn liquid, so the cupboard above the stove or an attic in summer aren't the best bets.
I tend to feed the cracklings to chickens or hogs, but if you're feeling decadent they make a straight-up awesome casserole topper--try them on top of cassoulet, au gratin potatoes, or green bean casserole. They can be frozen for later if you've got the space.
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