dave said:
I love to connect closely to the food I prepare and I take great pride in good results, especially when it comes from things I have grown myself, and rendering fat into tallow (or lard) is a special event for me that I relish. I'm looking forward to trying this other method next slaughter.
I hear that! The problem we have, though, is when we have to buy an ingredient from the grocery store - it is never as good. We failed to put up tomatoes this year and, earlier this week, one of my sons discovered what store-bought tomato paste was all about for the first time in 24 years. It is definitely not the slow roasted paste that he is used to grabbing from the freezer when he visits. He was really put off by the "stuff" in the can. Up to then, I did not realize how accustomed we have become to quality, home processed food - and what a vast difference it makes.
Could you please post your results when you wet-render? I believe that my attempt at lard failed miserably in part due to the pig's diet (too many scraps and not finished off properly??) as the odor was certainly not pleasant - and the couple slabs of meat from this animal had the same "trashy" smell as well as soft, almost greasy fat. It was a great lesson for me as I will be sure to finish off my own pigs correctly after the big move.
Asa side note, I have read several articles this week pertaining to the health benefits of using lard and tallow as part of one's diet as opposed to the "good" oils - canola and olive. I was quite surprised to learn that the thinking has gone 180 degrees in this department and that tallow and lard are now considered the healthy alternatives to the vege/grain based oils by many. I want to do more research in this area but, for now, I am enjoying having tallow to use although it is not nearly as nice as yours. Where yours appears perfectly clear, the clarity of mine is a tad hazy but it smells wonderful nonetheless.
Have you rendered down anyone else? We will be butchering a lamb in the next month or so and I am wondering if anyone has experience with sheep tallow....
