Tallow / Lard from my Air Fryer

[Squib_Load]

We use an air fryer a lot and collect all the drippings from steaks, hamburgers, pork chops, and bacon. It all goes into one soup can that we keep in the fridg. Once the can is full I empty the can into a pan and slowly simmer it (not boil). This evaporates the water and makes all the particles sink to the bottom. I pour the clear liquid through a fine filter into a mason jar.

It is firm, pale, and waxy when cool.

I end up with a beef–pork cooking fat blend, not pure tallow (beef) and not lard (pork). It is an excellent, cooking fat.

Shelf life:
Counter: weeks
Fridge: many months
Freezer: forever

And of course, it can be mixed with bees wax for bullet lube.

[Delkal]

With assorted fats from cooking you should boil it with some water with a lot of stirring to get rid of the salt. Let it sit then ladle the oil off the top.

Then if you want the fat totally dry put it in a pot and heat on low till it gets to ~300 stirring constantly. If you don't stir you will get a steam explosion and a mess.

[challenger_i]

I'd recommend running the critter grease through the hot water treatment at least a couple times to ensure all the salt was leached from the mix when used as boolit loob.
Bet your eggs are tasty when cooked in that mix!

Edit: Well, Delkal beat me to the punch!

[405grain]

Animal lard isn't such a great bullet lube for two reasons; 1st, it contains salt. salt is hydroscopic and will attract moisture from the air and will promote corrosion. Salt is the enemy of gun barrels.
2nd, because it is an organic animal product it can go rancid over time. Cartridges need a lube that won't degrade over years of storage.
Lard was a handy patch lube back in the muzzleloader days, but back then, because of the black powder you had to clean a barrel even if it was only shot once.

If it were me, I'd use that lard to fry some tasty potatoes and make bullet lube from something else.

[Castaway]

Mutton tallow is notorious for not turning rancid. Combine it with paraffin and bees wax to make a great black powder lube. Yes, paraffin is derived from petroleum, but it doesn’t cause the reported barrel concrete one reads about. By weight; mutton tallow, paraffin, and bees wax in a ratio of 2:2:1. Bullet lube for black or smokeless. Wad lube for cap and ball resolvers. Patch lube for muzzle loaders. All that and works as water-proof boot dubbin.

[Soundguy]

We use an air fryer a lot and collect all the drippings from steaks, hamburgers, pork chops, and bacon. It all goes into one soup can that we keep in the fridg. Once the can is full I empty the can into a pan and slowly simmer it (not boil). This evaporates the water and makes all the particles sink to the bottom. I pour the clear liquid through a fine filter into a mason jar.

It is firm, pale, and waxy when cool.

I end up with a beef–pork cooking fat blend, not pure tallow (beef) and not lard (pork). It is an excellent, cooking fat.

Shelf life:
Counter: weeks
Fridge: many months
Freezer: forever

And of course, it can be mixed with bees wax for bullet lube.

it also makes a superior soap when mixed with the correct ratio water and lye, plus an multi purpose essential oil or 2.

[beemer]

I have read that beef tallow has a long shelf life, a year or more if stored right. I have some beef tallow that my Dad rendered from a beef we processed in the early 70's, that's over 50 years ago. It was stored in a can with a lid, oxidized some on the top but good under that. I melted it down and put in a better container a couple years ago, still looked and smelled right after all those years. I remember helping but can't remember the complete process. One thing I do remember is that he was very careful about it being pure. He filtered it several times to remove any impurities that would make it go rancid. Pure beef tallow it almost as hard as paraffin when cold.

I used it for a patch lube in muzzle loader, it is good in warm weather but too stiff in cold weather to use straight. I think Crisco works better for patch lube. I now use Hornady Case Lube oft ML patches as it's the right consistency. Don't know what all is in it but it does smell like it has beef tallow in it. Container also says it's good for leather.

OT a little, Read a article in a magazine several years about pemmican that the Indians made, tallow was a main ingredient. Some was found in a washed out creek bank wrapped in a buffalo hide. It was estimated to be over 150 years old. The hide was mostly rotten and the outer surface of the ball of pemmican was coated with a layer of tallow that had partially oxidized but the stuff under that was good. It seems the layer of tallow has sealed off any exposure to oxygen. Still don't think I would want to eat it.

[Minerat]

I just put 3 inches of water in a pot with the grease and melt it. The grease floats to the top with the uglies between the grease and the water. I then put in the freezer and when the grease sets I unpan it and scrape the uglies off the bottom. Leaves a nice white grease cake.

It's just like cleaning bees wax only SWMBO won't beat you in your sleep for ruining her best pot.