How to Render Deer Tallow for Cooking, Soap and More

Deer tallow has gained a bad reputation among many hunters, but we're here to set the record straight. Learn how to render deer fat to make beautiful, odorless, shelf-stable tallow for use in cooking, skincare, and more.

[srlsolutionsself-reliancet]

first time ive ever seen this. great video. bummed because i usually get 4 deer a year. lot of wasted tallow ive always been told was useless. ugh

[michaelchaoticreason]

I got 3 does between Christmas and New Years that had the largest fat caps I’ve ever seen on a deer. We were going to use it to make suet blocks, but after watching you, soap it is! Thank you for walking us through the process.

[TheTeeDay]

I grew up in a Mennonite community. When I was young we would have 20-30 people all going out for opening day. I remember in deer season our garage was turned into a processing station. We had a guy that would take and tan the hides (back when you could get paid for them) we lived off the meat. At that time Walmart wasn’t even a thing. My grandmother used to take the entire fat pile and her and all the other wives and kids would make candles and play bridge for weeks. We still used candles even when most of our community had electricity. Something about reading a book by candlelight before bed I’ve never been able to give up. We just made thousands of candlesticks. Deer tallow is perfect for candles as she used lard from the hogs to cook with. Remembering these things from when I was 5-8yo it’s like a completely different world now.

[jakipullman]

I can’t believe I just found your channel ! Where have you been all this time? 😂 I’m so glad I did as you are by far the best. So grateful with The knowledge you have and the way you pass this on to your followers ❤

[kyleparr]

I did this last year and made lotion. I added a ton of essential oils because I didn’t care for the smell. My wife and her friends on the other hand have loved it and claimed it is the best lotion they’ve used. Came back to your video today because now she is making more. The more I use natural items and things God has gifted us with, the more I desire to try more and more.

[tonytiger]

Thanks for sharing! Started deer hunting this past fall and also getting into soaping. Wish I’d known the tallow could be used! It looks amazing.

[AdondisArt]

Thank you so much for these videos!
In Tennessee we have an amazing amount of foraging, hunting, and soil environments. It makes me inspired to do something similar.

The way you two support eachother through these challenges really show me what I might want for my future spouse

[AllThingsConsidered]

Hi thanks for this video! I went hunting with a friend and he got me a doe & showed me how to butcher it. I saved as much fat as I could (she had a lot!). Unfortunately I didn’t save any of the visceral fat this time but for sure next time I will. It was cold!

It’s been in a cooler out on my porch in single digit temps. My friend recommended using a crock pot so I’ve watched a few videos.

I chopped the fat and it’s in the 8-quart crock pot now. Wasn’t sure about the water- some folks say absolutely no water and others recommend water.

So I will try your method and add water and salt and see how it goes!

[eastcoastyankee]

You recently had a short on making pie crust with deer tallow. In it you said how your pies had a "rustic" look to them. Pie baking secret: you can get molds for the edge of the pie crust. You press the mold into the pie and it will leave a pretty design.

[rodneystone]

Great video, really glad I found your YouTube videos. I have been saving my deer tallow for about four years now and it really makes a great soap. I also save chunks of it in the freezer and use it on my cast iron after cooking and cleaning before putting away. I use the same method to render. I’ve always just kept the rendered tallow in the freezer. Now I know that I can keep it on the shelf in mason jars. Good to know thank you

[denislosieroutdoors]

This is an awesome idea there eh! Never heard of this for deer deer fat have used bear fat before... thanks for sharing

[completedharma]

This is a wonderful and precise method to produce deer tallow. Thank you.

[russellmckay]

Starting watching your full length videos. Awsome content on your short videos.

[Zahara]

So excited to find your channel! I live up in Canada and I am trying to live a similar lifestyle.

[alisabundrick]

Thank you so much.... we got a fat healthy deer this year that had so much tallow.... I wish I had known this then....next year is looking good!

[truter]

I've never used tallow for soap. Always just for cooking. This is very interesting

[TheWoodlandEscape]

Just found your channel and truly like your content.

[geoffrayment]

Thank you for this. I’ve just rendered down some deer tallow and apart from using a blender, I did the same as you. I was curious to see how you did it. I use it for soap.

[polhokustaa]

Great video! I just collected a big bag of tallow from a deer and I'm planning on making shoe/leather conditioner out of it. Was thinking of mixing perhaps some bees wax and tar in it.

[rigoniironworks]

Great video, I will try it out this fall. Thanks!