Hi Folks,
I tripped across an excellent article / blog on rendering fat for use in baking and cooking. While I have never gotten around to doing any rendering directly (more about that below*) rendering fat from meat products is an old tradition and a good one in terms of making complete use of the meat you choose to eat. I particularly like the author's emphasis on humanely raised animal sources. Properly rendered fat is very stable and stores in the refrigerator for a very, very long time. Old time pie crusts were always made with lard - it was what gave them their wonderful flaky texture. Simple put you place chopped or ground up fat in water (I've also read a long time ago that some folks did it in milk to make it sweeter for use), until the fat literally releases an oil (fat) liquid. This fat is solid when chilled. I like her use of a crockpot for the process.
Clarified butter is a similar process, which separates the milk solids from the clear yellow gold of the butter. Clarified butter lasts longer in the frig.
http://www.cheeseslave.com/how-to-render-lard-tallow/
*In a sense I indirectly render fat when I make broth from left over chicken or turkey carcases. I put everything into the pot with the water, veggies, herbs etc. and simmer until it falls apart. Strain, pour into mason jars and store in the frig or freezer (I actually got around to canning some of my turkey broth this past winter). When you make broth this way you have a LOT of fat left in the liquid. Here is the point about fat - it is a seal on the top of refrigerated or frozen broth - think of it as anti-bacterial WHEN YOU pour it into the mason jar and cap while boiling hot. The fat rises to the surface when cooled often as much as a 1/2 inch or more. The fat is then easy to scrap off before using the broth and you have almost fat-free broth for soups and stews.
Aside from the anti-bacterial aspect, using the fats from the bird in making broth imparts an extra nice flavor to it.
If you began with a natural sourced chicken or turkey you could take that fat from the soup, and clarify it with water, strain and store as you would the meat fat. This is called "Schmaltz".
Schmaltz is rendered chicken or other poultry fat and the process is similar to producing lard and Jewish cooking would not be so well appreciated without it.
http://theshiksa.com/2010/06/01/schmaltz-and-gribenes/
A final note about fats - there is always going to be discussions about which fats you should and should not have and whether plant based are always better than meat based (some certainly are NOT because of the processes used). There is something to be said for simplified processes using the basic source and just making excellent use of everything you have and prepared as simple as possible. Schmaltz for example was a matter of frugality. But so also is using every bit of a food source as much as you can.
Replies
Adding a "vegetarian" alternative to this post - vegetarian (Parve) schmaltz.
Because the recipe calls for vegetable shortening or margarine (ick!) I may make this with coconut oil and see if I can get a nice option which is hopefully a little healthier overall.
MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.02
Title: Parve Schmaltz
Categories: Jewish
Yield: 6 servings
1 lb Solid Vegetable Fat (500 g)
-or Vegetable Lard
1 lb Onions (500 g); sliced
1 lb Carrots (3 cups/500 g);
-washed; coarsely-grated
1 1/2 pt Peanut or Sesame Oil (3
-cups/750 ml)
PARVE SCHMALTZ
As far as I can tell the first commercially made vegetarian
“schmaltz” was made in South Africa by Debra’s. Their advertising
claimed that “even the chicken can't tell the difference”, which to a
certain extent is true. Vegetarian SCHMALTZ is a good substitute. The
product can easily be made at home. The following recipe comes from
South Africa.
Put all the ingredients in a deep pot. Heat gently and cook on low
heat until the onion is golden. strain and keep in refrigerator.
Sometimes grated apple (about 350g/12 oz) is included.
From: In Search Of Plenty: A History Of Jewish Food (Kyle Cathie Ltd)
By: Oded Schwartz
http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/non-regional/jewish/parve-schmaltz01.html
Hi Folks,
I got an update from the local gal who cans everything you can think of - I took a class from her last year. She even cans bacon :-) Anyway, she has not personally canned lard or tallow but has done the butter canning. Her take is either of the two methods I posted (boiling bath or oven sterlized jar version) will work well. As for longevity she knows of one experimenter who wanted to see what the butter tasted like so keep one for 5 years and found the butter tasted fine at that point. The final point she made is to always rotate your stock so you are using the oldest first.
Hope that gives you more helpful info.
Hi Folks,
Okay here is some info on 'canning' your renderings. The bottom line is most authorities do not recommend trying to 'can' your fats. The premise is that it can't guarantee safety. Since I've met a gal who cans her butter, I figured canning lard etc. would be the same as canning butter. I strongly recommend you consider and do your own research.
I found two internet sources for two ways to can fats
This first one is on canning lard using a water bath canner.
http://www.howtobaker.com/techniques/insane-foodie-projects/how-to-...
The next is a youtube video on canning butter using the 'oven' technique
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmmyS7z1UNI
I actually think the oven method would be a bit faster for canning the lard, but with either of these you have to be very, very careful. While boiling water can do hurt, boiling fat will do far greater harm!
I recently picked up 3 lbs of pork fat to render (don't remember if it's leaf or not) from my favorite butcher, The Meat Shop. I'm waiting for cooler weather to actually render it but I can't wait to use it in tamales. I refuse to use commercial lard anymore.
Unless there is a lot, I rarely remove the fat from my broth. Fantastic flavor!
Hi Erin,
You might consider her crockpot rendering - set it up outside in a patio safe area and let it go :-)
Couldn't agree more on the slow cooker for rendering fat...so easy! Just cut the fat up in to very small pieces (use a meat grinder or food processor if you have one) because it will go faster that way. Last batch I did an enormous amount of tallow...next up, lard!
Do either of you know how long the rendered fat will last? I plan on storing it in pint jars and vacuum sealing the lids on. If needed it could be kept in the fridge. Maybe Cheeseslave's site tells how long.
I keep the fat frozen in freezer jars until ready to use...then I pull one out and keep it in the refrigerator.
Hi All,
I had lunch with a friend I consider the guru of canning :-) She reminded me that a local preservation expert cans butter! So if you can can butter you can, can the lard etc. My friend grew up on an Iowa farm and according to their custom they butchered in the fall and rendered, keeping the rendered fat all winter in their basement. We can't do that here of course but it does remind me that it can be kept very well in cold storage (frig or freezer) for a very long time. I'm going to find the notes I had/have on canning butter and post here - if I can find them :-)
Erin I've had my 'natural' bacon grease for well over a year in a special fat saving container and it is still good - and it is not filtered other than the sieve part of the container. Cheeseslave may have some info, but I will do a quick check on google - because it is a very good question.
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