HERB - tallow making

[Gaylin Walli]

>Unfortunately, I've not seen much fat on a deer.  In fact, we
>usually have to add lard (pork fat) to the venison when we
>make sausage, etc.

We have to add fat for the sausage as well, but the deer we
got this year was a nice fatty doe that weighed a TON. My
husband is going out to the family farm for the late rifle
season to see if he can get another one and asked me if I
wanted the fat from that one too. I suppose for free tallow,
I should take advantage of it. I hate wasting parts of a good
animal. As it is, it just pains me to see the bones thrown
away, much less perfectly good fat.

>Otherwise, I would probably process it as I would beef, lamb,
>or pork.

Pork fat doesn't process the same way as beef, in my
experience.

> (I usually 'melt' the fat in a roaster in the oven at
>about 250 degrees F. and pour off the liquid as it accumulates.

Curious. That's not how I've processed beef fat for tallow
at all. Does it still harden up and solidify using your method?
I've always participated in methods that used the stovetop.

>I didn't find that vile... in fact many times my family would
>look in the oven expecting a roast or a brisket.)

Your fat must be different from mine, then. The smells that
I've smelled....woooo. Perhaps the fresher the fat the better
the smell.

>I would also bet the saponification value would be very
>similar to beef.

I'll not count on that. *grin* I've made similar assumptions
before about other fats and oils and had my soap stay in the
gook stage forever. Heaven only knows how they managed to
make halfway decent soap consistently in the Middle Ages. I'm
positive this is why we've had to wait until late this century
before people started believing that "lye" soap (which is all
soap) didn't have to sting "like the stuff grandma used to make."

>Have fun with your project.

Oh, I certainly will. Maybe I'll even take pictures of the process.
We'll see what happens...now where did I put that digital camera...

Jasmine
iasmin de cordoba, gwalli at infoengine.com

============================================================================
Go to http://lists.ansteorra.org/lists.html to perform mailing list tasks.