Is There A Better Way Than Straining To Clarify Lard and Tallow?
The usual method to clarify lard or tallow is to strain out the larger particles and then boil in water.
The fat rises to the top and when cold can be removed and is fairly pure.
But sometimes the fat is contaminated by particles that do not sink to the bottom of the pan when boiled in water and the resulting 'clarified' fat is a little discoloured and contains impurities.
Is there perhaps some additive can be used to clear these way or perhaps some different method of processing in order to get pure, pristine, white fat?
I've been asked to edit the question. Describe the whole process. Sorry I'm a bit late.
Well I cook with lard and it gets contaminated with food particles. Fish. Potatoes. Could be anything. And I fry pork and collect the rendered lard from that. And roasted pork too.
I put everything together in a pan with cold water and heat it up until boiling at a simmer and then let it simmer for a little while and then switch off, let it cool.
(If there are large lumps of contamination I'll strain them off now).
The fat rises to the top, the contaminants fall down. Often the bottom of the fat has a layer of finer contaminants but I can scrape that layer off - the body of the fat is good.
What prompts this query is that I've now come across a situation where the contaminants are apparently so fine they don't separate out and fall down - the fat remains discoloured by their presence.
I am seeking a way to clear it completely.
Best Answer
When I have rendered lard, I have generally just heated the solids with just a little water at the bottom of the pan over low heat. I never let it get to a boil, and this does take a long time. When the fat is all liquid, I pour it through a strainer lined with cheesecloth into a second vessel, then pour the strained liquid into jars. I have not had issues with impurities - my rendered lard is very clear and white. I have found straining to be very effective.
You don't mention the amount of heat or exact process you are using, so I can't speculate as to what your exact situation is, but it's possible you are trying to do this over too high heat.
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How do you remove impurities from tallow?
Strain it through a colander to remove the cracklings. Then strain it again through 3 layers of cheesecloth to remove the remaining small bits and sediment. It's critical that you remove any bits of fat and gristle along with any tiny bits of sediment, otherwise your lard will get moldy.How do you clarify lard?
For the purification, you need to cut up the tallow into large chunks and place it back in a pan over medium to high heat. Add 5 cups of water and 1/4 cup of salt. The salt will pull out any additional impurities. Bring it to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes.How to Render and Purify Tallow | ODORLESS, WHITE, WET METHOD | Bumblebee Apothecary
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Answer 2
I don't think the people answering above understand the process. Maybe it's an old fashioned method because I can't seem to find anything online about it. My mum taught me how to clean existing fat (not rendering fat but cleaning fat used for deep frying) through boiling it with water, leaving it to cool, then scraping the bottom of the fat, as you mentioned. I'm actually wondering the same thing about cleaning the fat to get it back to its original purity. I don't know if it's even possible. Do we just cut our losses and start again fresh from time to time? Perhaps try boiling it for longer? Or can you strain it through a cheese cloth after the first cleaning? (this might be dangerous though as you'd have to strain the fat while hot)
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