# Lamb Cracklin - Making Tallow



## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

If you don't know what Tallow has to do with traditional woodworking and hand tools, google search it before continuing-

Several weeks back I was talking to my friendly local butcher and asked if they butcher any lamb. He said they do on occasion! So, of course, I asked him to save the fat trimming for me and explained what I was looking to do.

Today we went over, on shift, to pick up some meat to BBQ for the fire station tonight. I made it back to the station with approx a pound of frozen lamb fat as lagniappe!

I had previously read into rendering tallow, so I decided to go at it while I had a bit of down time at the station.

I thawed the trimmings to separate the pieces, spread them on a tray and put them in the freezer to firm them up but not freeze. This made separating all pieces of muscle from the fat really easy. I cut the pieces as small as I could without loosing my vision and placed them in a sauce pan on very low heat. 

I'm the crew medic and I responded to a couple 911 calls while rendering the tallow so I had to turn the fire off each time and resume later. All in all I'd say it would have taken about 1-1/2 hrs of continuos heat to get it done. I stirred it often. 

Once it was done I realized we had no strainers here so I had to improvise by punching holes in a small container with a coffee filter.

It was really clear while hot! I let the pot cool so as not to melt the plastic containers then strained it 3 times changing the filter each time. I sealed it up and put in ice water to set up.

It turned out great! All said, with losses to filters, I ended up with approx 12-1/2 oz of tallow - I'd say that were a near life time supply were it not for the little 7 foot long pit saw I'm planning to slather with it!

I believe I'm going to end up making more and I plan to make a batch with bee's wax to see how that performs.

Give it a shot, guys! If you can't find sheep trimming it's my understanding that beef works as well.


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## mdntrdr (Dec 22, 2009)

Awesome! :thumbsup:

Were any lambs hurt in the making of this tallow? :huh:


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## Gene Howe (Feb 28, 2009)

firemedic, Great write up. Be interested in the test-tallow vs beeswax, as I use beeswax. 
Don't let Scott make ewe feel sheepish about the lambs.:laughing:


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## Billy De (Jul 19, 2009)

Used tallow a lot when I was an apprentice the only thing I can say about it is it stinks.Funny that tallow was once used to make candles,and I now use candle wax for my tools.


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

*lol*



mdntrdr said:


> Awesome! :thumbsup:
> 
> Were any lambs hurt in the making of this tallow? :huh:


Of course not! Didn't you read the part about me boiling all that wool to get the oil!? :laughing:


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Gene Howe said:


> firemedic, Great write up. Be interested in the test-tallow vs beeswax, as I use beeswax.
> Don't let Scott make ewe feel sheepish about the lambs.:laughing:


I'm more thinking along the lines of mixing the bee's wax with the tallow. 

You mentioning that though makes me think maybe I should do a side by side with: 

1) Bee's Wax
2) Tallow
3) 50/50

Good idea, now I just need to figure out some good test criteria. :thumbsup:


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Billy De said:


> Used tallow a lot when I was an apprentice the only thing I can say about it is it stinks.Funny that tallow was once used to make candles,and I now use candle wax for my tools.


I don't find it to be to terribly smelly. Making it was worse than hardened tallow. 

That is a funny observation, about the candles, isn't it.


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## Wrangler02 (Apr 15, 2011)

Billy De said:


> Used tallow a lot when I was an apprentice the only thing I can say about it is it stinks.Funny that tallow was once used to make candles,and I now use candle wax for my tools.


I agree about the smell!! We had sheep on the farm when I was growing up. I hate the smell of anything related to sheep. That being said, I really like the way Mutton Tallow works on my saws and planes. I just have to plug my nose when I use it. 

Tom, I'm surprised that your fellow Fire Fighters didn't through you out for stinkin' up the Fire Hall.


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## tc65 (Jan 9, 2012)

I'd imagine Tom's lamb tallow is a lot mellower in smell than the mutton tallow - the meat from a lamb is certainly much more palatable than mutton. 

I wonder if there is any chemical difference in the tallow based on the age of the animal? I think the lanolin content may be higher in an aged animal, but I really don't know. Maybe another variable to add to your experiment - lamb tallow vs. mutton tallow?


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## Wrangler02 (Apr 15, 2011)

trc65 said:


> I'd imagine Tom's lamb tallow is a lot mellower in smell than the mutton tallow - the meat from a lamb is certainly much more palatable than mutton.
> 
> I wonder if there is any chemical difference in the tallow based on the age of the animal? I think the lanolin content may be higher in an aged animal, but I really don't know. Maybe another variable to add to your experiment - lamb tallow vs. mutton tallow?


SHEEP STINK-regardless of their age! Did I say that I hate anything to do with those stupid critters? That being said, Lamb grilled with lots of oak smoke and oregano ain't all that bad!


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## ACP (Jan 24, 2009)

Excellent write up and sourcing for lamb trimmings. My wife may kill me if I try that, but it's good info. Is it really that much slicker and longer lasting than paste wax? Just curious, I am going to order a tin from Lee Valley when I make my next order from them (hopefully sooner then later with tax returns coming).


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## Wrangler02 (Apr 15, 2011)

ACP said:


> Excellent write up and sourcing for lamb trimmings. My wife may kill me if I try that, but it's good info. Is it really that much slicker and longer lasting than paste wax? Just curious, I am going to order a tin from Lee Valley when I make my next order from them (hopefully sooner then later with tax returns coming).


The tallow definitely stays effective longer than candle wax. In my experience, about twice as long on a plane sole.


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## Gene Howe (Feb 28, 2009)

There ya go, Firemedic. Wrangler provides an easy way to test various concoctions for durability and "slickness". Although, the "slickness" might be a bit subjective. 




Wrangler said:


> The tallow definitely stays effective longer than candle wax. In my experience, about twice as long on a plane sole.


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## strippedscrew (Oct 28, 2012)

Thanks for posting this FM.
If I may ad to your thread:
for those that don't wish to go to the trouble of brewing up a batch, Lee Valley now carries Mutton Tallow,
http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/Page.aspx?p=69309&cat=1,43415,43440

Also, Pete Culler in one of his books, Skiffs & Schooners, I think, wrote up how to make beef tallow.


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Yeah, I can see how it could be considered stinky, and I agree that lamb and goats stink to high heaven but I don't find the smell of the tallow to bad. I am strongly considering adding a fragrance of some sort though :smile:




Gene Howe said:


> There ya go, Firemedic. Wrangler provides an easy way to test various concoctions for durability and "slickness". Although, the "slickness" might be a bit subjective.


Yes, the plane is certainly going to be included in the testing although I suspect rip sawing to be the most clear tell.




strippedscrew said:


> Thanks for posting this FM.
> If I may ad to your thread:
> for those that don't wish to go to the trouble of brewing up a batch, Lee Valley now carries Mutton Tallow,
> http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/Page.aspx?p=69309&cat=1,43415,43440
> ...


Yes, it's available at LV, has been for a while. It's FAR cheaper from Dixie though... FAR cheaper:
http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_info.php?products_id=3686


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

The saga continues! 1/4 mutton tallow and the rest raw beeswax from hives a couple miles from here!... These will be for student use


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Why did you particularity want lamb tallow? Do you find it better than tallow from any other animal?

George


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

GeorgeC said:


> Why did you particularity want lamb tallow? Do you find it better than tallow from any other animal?
> 
> George


I haven't tried beef tallow thought it's a definite option. Mutton tallow has a long shelf life and is traditional in use.

I am almost certain it was not used in this region though, more likely like beef / venison and or bear. I need to do some research on reptile tallows too 

The beeswax is because the tallow gets really really soft by itself in the heat down here.


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## Gene Howe (Feb 28, 2009)

Did I miss the testing? How did tallow alone, do?


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Gene Howe said:


> Did I miss the testing? How did tallow alone, do?


Tallow alone does fine - no different than commercially available tallow. My shop is so hot though that I played with a ratio with wax until it would stay firm - about like a bar of soap.

As far as performance, I prefer straight tallow but with the warm temp it doesn't last as long as wax. The mix seams to do pretty well.


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