Tallow

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cgawlik

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2014
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Location
Georgia
I come home from work to find my man working on my beef tallow..

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He's a keeper!

Most of the time!

He also made me 2 wooden molds that will hold shy of 5#..

I made a "dish soap" Sunday and last night he just couldn't get over how bubbly and creamy it was... I think he's actually starting to get into this soap thing with me.. and if thats the case I'm gonna need a second job,
 
That's funny! My husband is starting to get into soap with me, too! Did you make a liquid dish soap, or a bar?
 
Weird shaving dude Husband here whose wife has no interest in making soap, but who has interest in using soap I make! Gonna make her a nice tallow bath soap this weekend,;85% tallow, 5% castor, 10% coconut oil with the nice lemongrass eo from Brambleberry. Yay husband points!!
 
It appears that I am going to have to order some tallow. I just made some lard soap, and I love it. It's so creamy and moisturizing! Do you find tallow more moisturizing that lard, or does it just make a harder bar than lard?
 
It appears that I am going to have to order some tallow. I just made some lard soap, and I love it. It's so creamy and moisturizing! Do you find tallow more moisturizing that lard, or does it just make a harder bar than lard?

My base recipe is 30% tallow and 30% lard the other 40 is whatever I have at the moment. Usually a combo of coconut, casor, and olive. Ive never made a batch with only lard or tallow as my base so can't really say, but I do like the combo of both. I find all my bars to be nice, hard and creamy lathering.

Guess that wasn't much of an answer. Sorry
 
No, that's a great answer, and I appreciate it! The current recipe I am using actually recommends using tallow and lard together, I just haven't gotten my hands on any tallow yet. From my experience with the lard soap, it will be a terrific "winter" soap for my dry skin, so I will have to source some tallow. The vegans don't know what they are missing!
 
You know, I think I saw the same recipe way back when. Then I could not find tallow locally, so I stuck with lard. When I did get my hands on a small amount to do a comparison bar once, I just liked the simplicity of obtaining the lard and the wonderful soap so much that I just failed to find the interest in continuing to order tallow.

But I never say anything bad about tallow. I can't see that the soap would be all that different(the numbers are so similar), and if someone can get tallow easier, then that is what they should use.
 
I started using tallow as a way to cut some costs. As you see we render it ourselves. The meat man at a local chain grocery just gives us loads and loads of fat at no cost. He even seperates the beef from the pork for me. Usually pick it up on Sunday afternnon, spend the afternoon "cleaning" it. Last time we trimmed over 3 pounds of good meat from the beef and about a pound from the pork. Froze the beef and later used it for a stew. Ground the pork and added it in with the meat were were already having for dinner. I am fortunate that my guy is very helpful with this stuff.
It is a good long process but I believe well worth it.. and I get the bonus satisfaction that I'm helping to contribute to less waste in my neck of the woods. However dear season is coming up so I may have to fight some hunters for my fatty bounty soon.. bring it
 
lucky you can get the fat at no cost. over here, we have a local meatball delicacy that uses beef fat a lot. i checked the market and the price for beef fat is **** expensive :(
 
However dear season is coming up so I may have to fight some hunters for my fatty bounty soon.. bring it

This is the exact reason I can't get free tallow here. The local butchers that process deer meat buy beef tallow year round from every other meat department for making sausage. If not for the influx of Hispanics, I would have trouble sourcing lard also.
 
I stopped at 1 store to ask the butcher and he blatantly stated.. " yeah right deer seasons a comin I take it all"
Bet if I had went to the general manager and offered to pay for it, mr butcher guy wouldnt be taking it. But the guys at the other store are awesome. And its big enough that they trim almost daily, so maybe I won't have to fight to hard next month.

There is also an organic farm not to far from me I suppose I should talk with.. thats one of the things I love about these mountains.. I really don't have to go far to get some of the things people in big cities just can't seem to get.

Now lye, yeah thats a whole different story. Only the local ACE has it here, I usually send my bf in since he's certified in plumbing, but he still gets lied to and funny looks. Guess next time I am gonna have to send him with finished soap as a bribe or something. It's just nuts.welcome to small town USA
 
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