# Rendering and combining fats



## An Uncommon Man (Dec 8, 2015)

I have only ever seen rendered fat from meat as a single type, for example, it's all pork or all beef. Never mixed. I was wondering if anyone could answer why and if it's possible (or desirable) to render down and mix different fats together.

Thanks for any info!


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## Andy M. (Dec 8, 2015)

Welcome to DC, UM.

Rendered fat is usually a by-product of cooked meat.  Since you usually cook one type of meat at a time, you end up with one type of rendered fat.  

Rendered fat from different animals will readily combine.  I don't think there's much call for it though.  Most don't save rendered fat except for bacon fat which is often used for cooking eggs etc. Some use chicken fat in certain recipes.


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## puffin3 (Dec 9, 2015)

Think 'meatloaf mix': raw ground beef with beef fat added, raw ground pork with pork fat added, raw ground veal with raw veal fat added.
Very common mix.
After the meatloaf is cooked any fat drippings are a mixture of rendered beef/pork/veal fats.
Personally I don't care much for the flavor of these drippings but love the resulting meatloaf.
Welcome.


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## Bigjim68 (Dec 9, 2015)

*rendered fat*

My mother had a can of Crisco and a Crisco can with a strainer top that I think was made for the purpose sitting on her stove.  The drippings went into the strainer and the fat was reused.  I don't recall her being particular about what type of fat was recycled.  

I think that was fairly common prior to the availability of hundreds of types of fat at the local supermarket.


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## puffin3 (Dec 10, 2015)

Bigjim68 said:


> My mother had a can of Crisco and a Crisco can with a strainer top that I think was made for the purpose sitting on her stove.  The drippings went into the strainer and the fat was reused.  I don't recall her being particular about what type of fat was recycled.
> 
> I think that was fairly common prior to the availability of hundreds of types of fat at the local supermarket.


When I was a kid my mother also had a empty tin with a lid with holes in it. All the rendered fat from whatever she was cooking was strained into the tin then used then more rendered fat added. She stored it in the make-shift fridge which was a galvanised tub partly filled with cold water with chunks of ice added from the ice house with a wooden lid on top.
Pretty basic living. No running water. No electricity. Wood stove. No radio even until I was about six.
I'd go back to that way of living in a heartbeat.
All the rendered fat was from our chickens/geese and wild game. I remember she made the best fried potatoes I ever tasted using the rendered fat.


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## Addie (Dec 10, 2015)

Yup. Combined fats from different meats. Poured into a tin can. My mother also saved the fats. But then she was a child of the Depression. And she made the best biscuits with that fat. Along with home fries and fried eggs. And in spite of straining it, there would always be bits and pieces on the bottom. So when she reached that point of using the fats in the can to where you could see the bits and pieces, then she tossed that can and started a new can. I also remember her washing the fat. I wish I had paid more attention to what she was doing and how she did it. 

BTW, welcome to DC. A fun place to be with lots of laughter and information for you to digest.


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## Aunt Bea (Dec 10, 2015)

You can still buy fancy grease keepers with a strainer in the top, similar to this one.

Food Savers & Storage Containers | Amazon.com

Bacon fat makes the best molasses cookies that you can ever imagine. 

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f43/old-fashioned-molasses-cookies-78132.html


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## cinisajoy (Dec 10, 2015)

Or you can buy a stainless steel one and keep it on the stove.


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## Sir_Loin_of_Beef (Dec 10, 2015)

I have this one sitting on the counter next to my stove. 








Every once in a while you need to stick the lid and strainer in the dishwasher


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## GotGarlic (Dec 10, 2015)

I used to have one. Don't know what happened to it. I put different fats in canning jars in the fridge.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Dec 11, 2015)

Different fats have different flavors.  Chicken fat is widely used in Jewish recipes.  I believe the term used is Schmalz.  Calrified butter, known as Ghee in Middle eastern cuisine is another popular fat.  Rendered beef fat is known as tallow and is a wonderful fat for frying potatoes.  Duck fat is also a favorite for potatoes.  Pork fat is known as lard, and is used in pastries.  Of course, if it comes from bacon, it has that smokey flavor and is a favorite for frying eggs, and adding flavor to baked beans or anywhere bacon flavor is desired.

I have combined various fats, taking into account that each has its own, unique flavor.  For instance, a combination of chicken and beef fat tastes very similar to turkey fat.  Goose fat is similar in flavor to beef fat, etc.

The trick is to blend the flavors into something you desire, just like you blend the various flavors of herbs and spices.  You can't just throw a bunch of different flavors together and expect to get something great.  You can mix fats to achieve a specific flavor profile and get something great.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## Addie (Dec 11, 2015)

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Different fats have different flavors.  Chicken fat is widely used in Jewish recipes.  I believe the term used is Schmalz.  Calrified butter, known as Ghee in Middle eastern cuisine is another popular fat.  Rendered beef fat is known as tallow and is a wonderful fat for frying potatoes.  Duck fat is also a favorite for potatoes.  Pork fat is known as lard, and is used in pastries.  Of course, if it comes from bacon, it has that smokey flavor and is a favorite for frying eggs, and adding flavor to baked beans or anywhere bacon flavor is desired.
> 
> I have combined various fats, taking into account that each has its own, unique flavor.  For instance, a combination of chicken and beef fat tastes very similar to turkey fat.  Goose fat is similar in flavor to beef fat, etc.
> 
> ...



Nobody told my mother that. All fat went into that can and she used it for  biscuits and pie crusts. Light, and full of flavor. Very rarely did she ever buy a can of Crisco. Most of that fat was from pork products. When we had a smoked shoulder, she would cut some, not all the fat off and render it for the can. Then what was left was cooked down to crispy and a snack to munch on. A fresh pork shoulder gave her even more fat for the can. When she would make hamburger with gravy, she poured off most of the fat for the can. The rest was for the roux. 

Then when I got married to my first husband he was surprised that I knew about "the can of fat."


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## An Uncommon Man (Dec 15, 2015)

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Different fats have different flavors.  Chicken fat is widely used in Jewish recipes.  I believe the term used is Schmalz.  Calrified butter, known as Ghee in Middle eastern cuisine is another popular fat.  Rendered beef fat is known as tallow and is a wonderful fat for frying potatoes.  Duck fat is also a favorite for potatoes.  Pork fat is known as lard, and is used in pastries.  Of course, if it comes from bacon, it has that smokey flavor and is a favorite for frying eggs, and adding flavor to baked beans or anywhere bacon flavor is desired.
> 
> I have combined various fats, taking into account that each has its own, unique flavor.  For instance, a combination of chicken and beef fat tastes very similar to turkey fat.  Goose fat is similar in flavor to beef fat, etc.
> 
> ...



Very useful info. I'm new at cooking and trying to go "old school" regarding the use of fats in cooking. My mom also had the can of fat on the stove and I remember her saving the bacon drippings but never anything else. My first girlfriend would save the juice from the meat she cooked (usually beef) and after one or 2 steaks would make a gravy that absolutely exploded on my tongue. Still haven't found anything else that good.

Thanks to all for their contributions.


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