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What Did You Do Today?
JW_Halverson:
When I render deer fat I use a large roaster pan in the oven set at 250F with equal volumes of ground deer fat (smaller the pieces the more efficient the rendering) and water. I just let it go for 12 hours, adding water so that it never goes dry. Strain and let it cool outside in the cold of winter to separate tallow from water. I let the dog slurp up the deer flavored water, she loves it.
The remaining water rendered fat then goes into the dry roasting pan and back in the over at 220F to draw the last tallow out.
The first run is super clean and I use that for making soap because it has virtually no odor. The second run is a little darker and stronger in odor and flavor so it goes for grease/candles/bullet lube/leather dressing/etc.
Pappy:
I usually do some every year if I get a nice doe with good fat, bucks seem to have a stronger smell so I only use doe. I just put it in a pan and bring it up to heat, the chunks turn into cracklings , very tasty. I will keep dipping off the wast off the top until the whole pot is at a low boil and kind of let it simmer that way, lifting out the cracklings as they get brown, If you let it cook to hard or long it will be darker, still good but darker. If you pour it off at the right time it is white as snow, I pour it off through a small strainer into cups, I do the same with bear fat, good stuff for all kinds of things. :)
Pappy
Eric Krewson:
My flintlock has been loaded since Dec 1, I decided to empty it out yesterday to see how fast it would go off and to compare my normal mink oil patch lube with the deer fat I rendered a while back.
My gun went of like it had just been loaded, I shot 4 shots with the patch lubed with mink oil and 4 or 5 more with the patch lubed with my rendered deer fat. Both loaded the same and grouped in the same place with no swabbing between shots required.
I guess I have a lifetime supply of patch lube now.
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