SC - Help on rendering

[Jeff Gedney]

OK, folks, I got a request from a friend on another List. Following is his
request, my response, and his further comment. If anybody has something to
add, we'd love to hear it ;-)

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>I had a couple of messages I need to address- Roy, since I'm back on line,
>please email me with whatever your concern was.

Oh Chef Haute Cuisine of the SCA...<G>

I've got about 100lbs of various lards in the freezer from
trapping season that I want to render the oil and tallows out of.  I
know something needs to be added (vinegar?) before heating, but I'm
clueless as to the process other than heating.  Do you know anyone who
would know?

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OK, I checked with a friend who happens to be a chef in NYC. His comment was
that usually the only thing added was water, so the fat wouldn't burn at the
start- the water evaporates off once it starts to get up to temp- don't add
more, unless you want a nasty steam explosion ;-) He also said that it's
fairly uncommon in the US, but the French and other Europeans add onions and
garlic to it sometimes for more flavor- the Belgians will also add carrots
and /or celery for the same purpose, then those get strained off with the
fat solids.

I've never added anything myself, but I checked with a friend who has done
much more rendering than I have, and she agrees. She said that if you used a
big iron rendering pot, to grease it with a handful of the fat first,
leaving it in as it gets warm, then adding more fat as it gets hotter,
dipping off as much of the rendered fat as you can do safely. She uses a big
wooden paddle to stir, and keeps a water hose nearby in case of fires. In
that case, you just try to break up the fire, not extinguish it with the
water. If the whole pot goes over, just let it burn, making sure it doesn't
catch your house or barn on fire.

As for stove rendering. if you use the oven or a frying pan, the trick is to
heat things up slowly, dipping off the melted fat occasionally.

Now, the following is going to depend on what species you're getting your
fats from.

Most wild game fat is going to taste and smell nasty unless you killed the
animal suddenly, with no stress before hand.

Deer is definitely an acquired taste, although I like it.

Most of the flavor specific to an animal is in its fat- one trick I've used
for convincing people that they might like lamb, other than not over-cooking
it, is to remove most of the natural fat from the meat and replace it with
bacon- this seems to cut the strong taste of mutton that many folks find
offensive. Of course, good food, properly prepared, is also preferable to
the alternatives ;-)

I'm going to post your letter to a couple of my lists, with my response, and
see if we get some more answers.

Does this help?

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>Most wild game fat is going to taste and smell nasty unless you killed the
>animal suddenly, with no stress before hand.

Not a problem.  I want the oils out of the fat for glycerine
emulsion into a scent bait, and I'm going to rot the remaining tallow
in sunlight for the second stage oils.

Lures are ridiculously expensive, anywhere from $5 to $30 per
OUNCE.  All they are is rotted lard oil and glycerine for the most
part.  Glandular "extracts" are even more expensive, and they're made
by...  putting the glands themselves in water and sun rotting them for
the oil.

With the low price of furs the last few years, I'm salvaging
every penny out of the critters that I can.  I get more for a full set
of raccoon claws than I do for the pelt - ludicrous!


Phlip

Nolo disputare, volo somniare et contendere, et iterum somniare.

phlip at morganco.net

Philippa Farrour
Caer Frig
Southeastern Ohio

"All things are poisons.  It is simply the dose that distinguishes between a
poison and a remedy." -Paracelsus

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Scotland, the men." -- Johnson

"It was pleasant to me to find that 'oats,' the 'food of horses,' were
so much used as the food of the people in Johnson's own town." --
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