Burned Fat

[madison]

Hello everyone,I hope that you are all doing well. I am back after a long time. I decided to make soap again and I got some fat and rendered it but it burned, What should I do with it? Should I throw it away or if there is any way to save it I'll be thankful. It's a lot though. Please advise me what to do.
Thank you

 

[lsg]

You might try clarifying the grease.

"Melt the fat and strain into a large bowl. Then pour over double the quantity of boiling water. Stir well and leave till cold and set. Remove the cake of fat from the top of the water, scrape off any sediment from the bottom of the cake, then melt the fat and pour into a clean basin."

Source: https://vintagecookbooktrials.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/clarifying-and-rendering-fat/

 

[madison]

You might try clarifying the grease.

"Melt the fat and strain into a large bowl. Then pour over double the quantity of boiling water. Stir well and leave till cold and set. Remove the cake of fat from the top of the water, scrape off any sediment from the bottom of the cake, then melt the fat and pour into a clean basin."

Source: https://vintagecookbooktrials.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/clarifying-and-rendering-fat/[/

There are big pieces that didn't melt well but the bottom is burned and the color is dark. It's still very warm, should I leave it overnight then work tomorrow on it?
Also, the Smell is strong.

 

[Susie]

If it is truly burned, throw it away.

Next time, add a smaller amount that is chopped as fine as possible to at least an equal amount of water brought to a boil, then simmered slowly until it stops getting smaller. Pour through a sieve lined with cheesecloth to filter out solids, then allow the liquid to cool and harden overnight. In the morning, lift the now solid fat off, and scrape the bottom free of any impurities. Repeat this twice more with the same fat using clean water each day.

 

[madison]

If it is truly burned, throw it away.

Next time, add a smaller amount that is chopped as fine as possible to at least an equal amount of water brought to a boil, then simmered slowly until it stops getting smaller. Pour through a sieve lined with cheesecloth to filter out solids, then allow the liquid to cool and harden overnight. In the morning, lift the now solid fat off, and scrape the bottom free of any impurities. Repeat this twice more with the same fat using clean water each day.

I am afraid it's truly burned, I always rendered my own fat , I never burned anything, but this time I used a different stove top even though it was on low for short period of time it burned. I feel bad to throw it away.

 

[cherrycoke216]

I am afraid it's truly burned, I always rendered my own fat , I never burned anything, but this time I used a different stove top even though it was on low for short period of time it burned. I feel bad to throw it away.

There are two basic steps involved for a fat to go rancid. First is the fat partly or completely breaks down into fatty acids. These "free fatty acids" (FFA) are always present to some degree in any fat, rancid or sweet. Read about olive oil grading and you'll see discussion about acid levels, to learn more about this.

The closer a fat is to smelling and looking rancid, it probably has a high % of FFA, however. Sooner or later, these free fatty acids react with oxygen or water (a source of oxygen) and at that point they become rancid -- smelly, discolored, etc.

When you make soap with a fat that has a high % of FFA, it might not smell or look rancid (and it really isn't rancid!), but the soap will trace faster than usual, because the FFAs react very quickly with the lye.

If you read the shaving soap threads, you'll see folks often use stearic acid as part of the shaving soap recipe. The stearic acid is one type of free fatty acid and it instantly turns the soap batter into "mashed potato" consistency when the lye is added.

You can blend in small amounts of rancid fats with fresh fats in a soap recipe as DD suggests. Or you can wash the fat with water to remove some of the odor and discoloration. See Grayce's post #15 in this thread: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=32717&page=2 There are a few other threads in SMF on this topci, but Grayce's post is pretty much what folks usually do to clean up rancid fats.

Maybe try wash the fat with salt? I have wash a little bit burnt lard with salt and baking soda in 2 washes, it is fine to use.
Or wash it until you get clean water.

Go easy on the salt and baking soda, it'll clean aldehyde and also saponify fat. Try grayceworks and DeeAnna's suggested usage rate.

 

[madison]

Maybe try wash the fat with salt? I have wash a little bit burnt lard with salt and baking soda in 2 washes, it is fine to use.
Or wash it until you get clean water.

Go easy on the salt and baking soda, it'll clean aldehyde and also saponify fat. Try grayceworks and DeeAnna's suggested usage rate.

Thank you for pointing out this great thread, I remember a few years back I tried washing some oils that were liquids in room temperature with plain water but I didn't know if it works with solid oils. Now do I remove the big chunks of fat that didn't melt and try to melt them in another pot or should I just keep them there and strain all dark little particles then use the brine water in another pot? Does that make sense?

 

[DeeAnna]

You have to heat up the solid oils with water until the fats are fully melted. You can't wash fats properly any other way.

 

[madison]

You have to heat up the solid oils with water until the fats are fully melted. You can't wash fats properly any other way.

Thank you DeeAnna, I have divided the fat into smaller portions and I followed the recommended steps in this thread but I still have the color dark, the smell is better even though I washed the portion three times. Do I need to wash them more than three times? I have a very powerful stove top even if I use the lowest setting, I am afraid that what causes the dark color. Any thoughts, and suggestions will be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[lsg]

I use an old Crockpot to render my tallow and lard.

 

[madison]

I use an old Crockpot to render my tallow and lard.

I have one, I think from now on I will use it for rendering my fat. Thank you for paying my attention to this point. Do you add some water to the fat when you use it? I used to do that when I had my other stove top.

 

[DeeAnna]

I think I'd stop at three washings. If the color isn't better by now, it probably will not improve.

If your stove burners cannot be turned down low enough to prevent burning, you could use a hot water bath to better control the heat when rendering on the stove. Or use a heat diffuser (below). Or the crockpot works well too.

 

[lsg]

I have one, I think from now on I will use it for rendering my fat. Thank you for paying my attention to this point. Do you add some water to the fat when you use it? I used to do that when I had my other stove top.

I do not add water when I render in the Crockpot. I just it keep the temp. on low, removing the fat as it melts.

 

[madison]

I do not add water when I render in the Crockpot. I just it keep the temp. on low, removing the fat as it melts.

I think all your fat is clean, I have some of my fat not clean I save it every time we process the meat and I add some water and a pinch of salt to get rid of the dirt, I wonder how long it will take me when I use the crockpot.

 

[DeeAnna]

I render fat like lsg does. Unless there's a specific reason to wash the fat, as with your burned fat, I don't use water either. I also try to leave the lid ajar on the crock pot so water from the fat can also evaporate. The less water and the lower the heat during rendering, the better IMO.

I have to ask -- where is the dirt coming from? Is this fat from butchering the animal or are you rendering used cooking fat? If it's from butchering, try to work cleaner, if for no other reason than food safety. Fat from butchering will have some bits of meat or blood here and there -- that's unavoidable -- but it should be otherwise clean and sweet smelling. Store it in the freezer until you have enough to make it worthwhile to render.

 

[dixiedragon]

Here's the rendering method that works for me:
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showpost.php?p=487085&postcount=36
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=53096

 

[madison]

I render fat like lsg does. Unless there's a specific reason to wash the fat, as with your burned fat, I don't use water either. I also try to leave the lid ajar on the crock pot so water from the fat can also evaporate. The less water and the lower the heat during rendering, the better IMO.

I have to ask -- where is the dirt coming from? Is this fat from butchering the animal or are you rendering used cooking fat? If it's from butchering, try to work cleaner, if for no other reason than food safety. Fat from butchering will have some bits of meat or blood here and there -- that's unavoidable -- but it should be otherwise clean and sweet smelling. Store it in the freezer until you have enough to make it worthwhile to render.

The dirt comes from butchering, there is some meat, blood and hair, the smell is sweet. I am usually very clean when butchering but it's unavoidable as you said. I store it in my freezer but I don't know how to determine the right amount of fat for the size of the pot, its maybe a stupid question but I am not sure how to do that. I read about rendering used cooking fat but I never tried it, I am not sure if it's a good thing to do.

 

[madison]

I think I'd stop at three washings. If the color isn't better by now, it probably will not improve.

If your stove burners cannot be turned down low enough to prevent burning, you could use a hot water bath to better control the heat when rendering on the stove. Or use a heat diffuser (below). Or the crockpot works well too.

I checked today on the fat, the color is dark beige. I will use the heat diffuser to control the heat. I like the hot water bath idea for rendering I just didn't try before, is it just having the boiling water at the bottom and the fat at the top in a different container with no water? does it work for cleaning the fat?

 

[DeeAnna]

A hot water bath (bain marie) is one way to prevent burning or overcooking, because the hot water bath can only get to 212 F (100 C) and no more. That's all it does. What you might choose to do to clean the fat -- add water, salt, whatever -- is totally separate from how you melt the fat.

 

[madison]

A hot water bath (bain marie) is one way to prevent burning or overcooking, because the hot water bath can only get to 212 F (100 C) and no more. That's all it does. What you might choose to do to clean the fat -- add water, salt, whatever -- is totally separate from how you melt the fat.

I have been calling everything rendering, thank you for making it clear. Is melting the fat using a hot water bath or the crockpot enough to get rid of the unavoidable dirt in the fat?