Guest Author - Benito Lugo Jr.

Making Tallow for candles



Tallow as you know was one of the first mediums for making candles and soaps. Tallow is made from various animal fats that are melted down and clarified. This process is called rendering, which is a process for separating fats from other organic materials. Fat from many animals can be used to to obtain your tallow. The largest quantities can be made from bull and sheep. The fat found around a cows kidneys called, "kidney suet", is considered to make a harder and whiter tallow. Of course this may be difficult and more expensive to find. As petroleum based waxes became more available tallow lost favor due to it's poor odor when burned. Making tallow is a simple process which we will cover here.

Supplies needed:

3-5 pounds of Beef fat chopped or ground into as small pieces as possible. The smaller the chunks are the quicker it will be to render. Running the fat through a grinder will work great.
Water
Salt
Large pot
Collander or strainer
Large bowl for cooling
Well ventilated area with a range hood
Paper towels

Place your chopped or cut fat in pot

Add enough water to cover fat

Add 1 tablespoon of salt for every pound of fat

Heat this mixture until it starts to boil and reduce heat to a low simmer. This will release the liquid fat for your tallow and any meat that was left. If your fat was pre-ground this mixture should be ready in about 30 minutes otherwise it will take a little longer with larger pieces. You will be able to tell your tallow is ready if the only solids left are browned meat and gristle.

Gently pour the contents of your pot through a strainer or collander into a large bowl in the sink, straining out all the pieces of meat and gristle.

Let this settle and you'll see the fat float and rest on the top of the water.

Leave the liquid to cool at room temperature and then carefully place bowl into the refrigerator letting cool overnight. Your tallow will form a large white disc on top.

Taking a knife, cut along the inside edge of your bowl to loosen the hardened tallow.

Breaking it into pieces, place into a large separate bowl. The remaining gelatin like substance will need to be disposed of. This can be thrown into the trash or buried in the yard. Do not dispose of in the sink, since this may clog your pipes.

You'll need to clean the bottom side of the tallow since it may have picked up loose B.B. sized pieces of fat.

Simply wipe of as much as possible with a paper towel and rinse off the rest under cool tap water. Do not allow any of it to go down your sinks drain.
Cut your newly made tallow into small pieces and place into the freezer in storage bags.

When your ready to use the tallow for making candles, melt as usual in a double boiler. Tallow can be used to make dipped candles or container candles without much difference from your standard waxes.