Deer fat?

[osage outlaw]

Is deer fat good for anything?  I butchered a deer today that was covered in that hard crumbly fat.  I saved a bunch of it.  Can it be rendered down into anything useful?  How would I render fat?  I've never tried it before.

[burchett.donald]

  Clint,
          You can melt it in a slow cooker and then strain...
                                                                                    Don

[Mesophilic]

When I don't have bacon grease on hand I like to use the fat from the animal I'm cooking in the cooking process.  So if I were making a venison roast or stew I would make a brown roux using the deer fat, and use that to thicken the drippings into a gravy or to thicken the broth in the stew.  Will also use the deer fat to sear the meat before stewing or roasting, as well as the vegetables, before it all goes in the crockpot.  Don't forget to deglaze.  Makes the final dish taste better than using a vegetable oil. 

If you want to do something different you can get a soap recipe calculated at soapcalc dot net.  I could explain my process for soap making if you want,  but otherwise won't go in to further detail.

[Pat B]

I have some deer tallow soap that JW sent me. You can also make a leather dressing with deer fat, bees wax and pine pitch. You can also use it in pitch glue.

[JEB]

We have used it when heating bows up to take bends out of them.  NO way would I used it for cooking.

[sleek]

I use it to waterpriof my bows. Love the stuff. Mix with 25% bees wax to make ut a better harder consistency.

[BowEd]

Mixing with bees wax I've made many hand dipped candles from it.They burn very very long.Otherwise I let the local birds here in the winter eat it.

[Hawkdancer]

Ed,
What ratio do you use for candles?  Right now, I just use straight beeswax.
Hawkdancer

[BowEd]

Yes Hawk I've made them straight beeswax also.Good long burning candles for sure.I don't measure much but I'd say 1/4 tallow to 3/4 bees wax.You don't want then too soft to burn too fast.

[Pat B]

I like the idea of giving some to the birds. That fat can be a life saver in the lean winter months.   

[JW_Halverson]

Ha!  I just started an article on making deer fat lye soap.  I need to make a batch now and get the photos of the various steps along the way.

Lye soap ain't nothing like the urban legends want us to believe. Properly made it is mild and effective. It does smell a little like animal fat, but you can always use any number of essential oils and fragrances to "pretty" it up. 

As far as rendering, for soap I always recommend you put it in a roaster in the oven and cover it with water. Go low and slow, 250 degrees and overnight with the lid on tight. Strain, cool it, and let the fat separate and harden.  For lubricant or waterproofing purposes, you can skip the water part and just roast it low and slow. It will be a little smellier, if you don't mind. Once you have the fat drained off the cracklings, boil it in water to clean it up if you have bits of floaties in it
.

[Mesophilic]

I just went ahead and did a write up on how I make soap.  It's in the How To section

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php?topic=64468.msg906156#msg906156

We haven't bought commercial soap for many years.  Homemade lye soap also works wonders on clothing stains.  I had one new mother, after using a bar as a stain treatment, tell me she wanted to know where I get my pixie dust to make such a magical product. 

And don't let anyone fool you, big industry is using lye and animal fats to make soap anyway, they just use big words.  From a major manufacturer

sodium tallowate, sodium cocoate or sodium palm kernelate, water, sodium chloride, sodium silicate, magnesium sulfate, and fragrance. The soap bar had a determined pH value: 9.5.

Sodium Tallowate is just a fancy word for soap made from lye and animal fat.

[BowEd]

Some time ago I got some home made soap from JW in a trade.Worked out very well.

[Pappy]

I use it for lub to rub down Broad heads and knives and sometimes as a rub in finish, never found it very tasty for eating. 
 Pappy