I recently experimented with rendering and purifying tallow and here's my report!
Tallow is purified animal fat. It is good for cooking, baking, skincare, making candles, conditioning leather, soap, and even bio-fuel. It has a very high smoke point which makes it ideal for high heat cooking.
Our local meat store sells big packages of suet (beef fat) so I started there.
Crock-Pot
Metal bowl (or tempered glass)
3 pounds suet
4 tablespoons salt
16 cups water
Toss the suet in a Crock-Pot on low and mix in 2 tablespoons of salt and 8 cups of water.
Let it heat for a long time, stir occasionally. You can use an emulsion mixer to chop it all up but I didn't.
Pour the contents of the Crock-Pot through a metal strainer into a metal bowl. This can be a very messy step, any splashes will solidify instantly on a room temperature surface, its similar to melted wax, and as nasty to clean, so go slowly.
Next put the metal bowl in a cool place. I waited a day for it to solidify but 4-5 hours would probably be enough time.
While the tallow is cooling, clean the Crock-Pot so it will be ready for the next step.
When the tallow has solidified take the bowl to a sink and carefully release the water that is trapped under the solid tallow slab.
Place the tallow slab on a cloth upside down. Cut any brown parts off and dispose of them.
Put the solidified tallow into the Crock-Pot with 2 tablespoons of salt and 8 cups of water.
Heat on low, stirring occasionally, for 3 hours.
Pour through cheese cloth in metal strainer into a metal bowl.
Set metal bowl in a cool place to solidify.
Release trapped water.
Cut off any brown stuff on tallow slab.
Repeat this part as many times as necessary.
The salt and water pull impurities out of the tallow so the more times you purify the cleaner and less odour the tallow will have.
When you are satisfied with the purity of the tallow store in a cool dry place or in jars.
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