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Rendering and purifying your own tallow and lard is such a simple process that provides you with high-quality fats for a variety of uses; cooking, baking, skincare, shampoo and conditioner, candles, seasoning pans and the list goes on!

Fair warning … it does take some time to complete all of the steps. However, it’s super hands-off for about 90% of the process. That’s a win in my book!

Why is it Important to Use Grass-Fed Tallow and Pasture-Raised Lard?

That’s simple. They provide you with the complete benefits of using these fats. The cows and pigs can’t provide you with nutrients that were rarely or never available to them. For example, if they are raised mainly inside, with lack of sufficient sunlight exposure, the levels of vitamin D available in the tallow or lard will be lower.

We’ve all heard it said that we are what we eat. Well, there’s a lot of truth to that. When we treat the animals well and provide them with proper nutrition, we reap the benefits!

Why Should You Make and/or Use Tallow/Lard?

They are both packed full of benefits! So many have become afraid of including fat in their diet, but research has shown that healthy fats are actually not only good, but provide necessary nutrients for skin, body and mental health.

By no means am I saying that you should be eating these fats by the tubful. However, using them daily in healthy doses provides many benefits. Let’s look at a few.

1. Provides metabolic support – they contain stearic acid, which has shown to lower cholesterol, which activates the mitochondria and results in a boost in metabolism, which will aid in supporting weight-management.
2. Supports skin health – while tallow is more commonly used in skincare, they both provide very similar benefits. Full of vitamins A, D, E and K, the antioxidant levels help boost collagen production. It is also fantastic for sensitive skin because it is considered a hypoallergenic.
3. Contain essential fatty acids – a couple of these fatty acids to note are oleic and palmitic acids. Oleic acid helps lower cholesterol, reduces blood pressure, improves brain function, lowers risk of type 2 diabetes, and aids your body in burning bad fats. The main role of palmitic acid is to provide energy for basic functions such as walking.
4. Improves body’s ability to absorb vitamins – fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E & K) need fat in order to be completely absorbed. With so many other health benefits tallow and lard provide for overall health, they are perfect fats to include in your diet to allow your body to properly absorb and use those vitamins!
5. Improves brain function – healthy cholesterol and fats are essential for your brain to function properly. Both of these are found in tallow and lard.

How Do You Use Tallow and Lard?

• Cooking Since both provide so many health benefits and have a high smoke point, they are fantastic fats to cook with. They also work great for pie crusts and pastries.
• Skin and Hair Care They make excellent bases for soaps, moisturizers, shampoos and conditioners.
• Candles Make your own candles or find someone who does and enjoy a non-toxic alternative to most candles found in the store!
• Seasoning Cast Iron With their high quality and high smoke points, they are perfect for seasoning cast iron!
• Diaper Rash Cream This one might sound odd, but I swear by using tallow-based diaper rash cream. Nothing else worked for my youngest until I tried a tallow bottom balm. Absolute magic. Lard would also work!
• Conditioning and Protecting Wood and Leather A great non-toxic option!
• And So Much More! Do some research on tallow and lard and you will be amazed at all of the things you can do with them!

Step-by-Step Instructions

What You Will Need

• Beef or Pig Fat
• Water
• Salt
• Crockpot
• Fine Mesh Strainer
• Large Bowl (preferably metal or glass)
• Cheesecloth
• Mason Jars

1. Locate quality fat

Again, I’ll stress the importance of finding grass-fed cows and pasture-raised pigs for the highest benefits. These will provide you with the most nutrients and are typically happier and better treated animals. There are a few ways you can go about this.

1. Buy your beef in bulk and ask for the fat to be saved for you to use (this is what we do).
2. Talk to your local butchers.
3. Talk with farmers at the farmer’s market. They often know where to locate quality sources.
4. Search for local Facebook groups where you can find local produce and animal products.
5. Search the web. Sometimes using a search engine can point you in the right direction.

5. Remove tallow/lard from bowl and move on to the purifying process

Be very aware that there is water down below that has separated from the hardened tallow at the top. Remove the top by pushing down on a side to loosen it from the bowl. If it doesn’t pop up for you to grab it, then use a utensil to help. Discard the water below and scrape off the brown sediment on the bottom of the tallow/lard. Those are the impurities that have been pulled out by the salt.

Place the hardened cake in the crockpot along with 4-8 cups of water and 2-3 tablespoons of salt. On low heat, bring the fat to a simmer and allow it to simmer for about an hour. Wash your bowl in preparation for the next step.

9. Storing your tallow and lard

You can either store them in the chunks, or you can melt them down and pour them into airtight containers. Mason jars are an excellent option. They will keep at room temperature for a few weeks, in the refrigerator for slightly longer storage, and in the freezer indefinitely.

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Render and Purify Tallow and Lard

Yield: 3 quarts

Easy steps to rendering and purifying tallow and lard at home!

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Ingredients

• Grass-fed tallow or pasture-raised lard
• Water
• Salt

Instructions

1. Use ground fat or cut fat into smaller pieces.
2. Add fat, 4-8 cups of water and 2-3 tablespoons salt to a crockpot.
3. On low heat, render the fat a few hours until completely softened.
4. Using an immersion blender, blend the fat, water and salt until reaching a smooth consistency.
5. Strain the mixture into a bowl.
6. Set the bowl in a cool place to allow the water to separate and fat to harden.
7. Carefully remove hardened tallow/lard from bowl, discard water at the bottom and scrape impurities off of tallow/lard cake.
8. Place the hardened cake into the crockpot and add 4-8 cups of water and 2-3 tablespoons of salt.
9. Bring to a simmer on low heat and allow to simmer for about 1 hour.
10. Strain liquid through a strainer with cheesecloth laid over the top.
11. Allow to harden in a cool place.
12. Remove tallow/lard cake from bowl and discard water.
13. Scrape off the impurities.
14. Either repeat steps 8-13 or continue to step 15.
15. Allow purified tallow/lard to dry out before storing, or melt it down and allow water to separate from fat before pouring into jars, leaving the water behind.
16. Store at room temperature for a couple of months, in the fridge for an extra month or so, of in the freezer for a year+.