RECIPE: Rendered Fat

For those of you in Southern California, you may have heard Steven Fineberg representing Local Forage on KCRW radio's Good Food program with Evan Kleiman this morning. If not, take a look at the next post and give a listen. Steven talks with Evan in a 5-minute segment on rendered fats. The post below provides rendering instructions. ~Carla

by Steven Fineberg

The topic of dietary fat has stirred more debate than probably any other topic in nutrition. Those of you that read Local Forage on a regular basis are probably supporters of a diet rich in saturated fat and cholesterol. Yet, many of us have friends and relatives that would sooner consume a drop of arsenic than a meal containing lard, beef tallow and butter as the cooking fats.

Fortunately, today there is a growing body of scientists and medical doctors that challenge the conventional mainstream view that animal fat is a primary contributor to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity. A couple of interesting reads to pass on to friends or relatives that are fearful of digesting fat are: Real Food by Nina Planck and Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes. They take complicated scientific information and explain the concepts to the lay man.

My interest in fat stems from my reading about the diets of healthy, traditional cultures. Indigenous people from every continent made use of the fat they hunted or gathered -- as a component to a meal, rendered into soap and candles, and to create an internal body warmth as protection against the elements. Even those cultures that did not have access to muscle and organ cuts of meat, utilized the fat and bones of animals, as could be obtained. Prior to the twentieth century, most cultures valued fat.

At the turn of the century, most of the fats in the diet were either saturated or mono-unsaturated, primarily from butter, lard, tallow, coconut oil and olive oil. Today, the majority of fats used are highly processed polyunsaturates.

Rendering fat is simple. I have rendered chicken, duck, bison tallow and lard. Below are simple steps for rendering tallow from bison kidney and schmaltz (eastern european Jewish lard). I use all these fats for cooking as I would use butter. Chicken fat added to chopped liver is classic. Veggies baked in duck fat are amazing, especially potatoes. Bison tallow is great for browning meat and used as a component when mixing a batter for biscuits. Lard, of course makes a tender pie crust. Fry your eggs in lard and you will never use butter again!

Tallow
Tallow is the name for the rendered fat from a ruminant (cow, bison, lamb). I have been using Bison kidney fat from Lindner Bison. Lindner is one of the few local sources we have in Southern California to obtain pasture-based protein. According to Kathy Lindner, the kidney fat is the prized fat amongst chefs.
Here is how I render the fat:
Take 2 pounds of kidney fat cut into small pieces. Place in a oven-proof dish and put into a 250 degree oven for 40 minutes or until the fat has melted. The yellow fat will separate from the pieces of meat. Remove from oven and strain through a strainer. I pour my fat into a pint size mason jar and store in the fridge.

Chicken fat (Schmaltz)
When I buy a whole chicken I cut off the fat glands and fatty skin and reserve in the freezer. When I have a substantial amount I add to a pan on the stove. Pour water over the fat to barely cover. Cook over medium heat until the water has almost evaporated. Turn to low and cook until the fat pieces are dry, crisp and floating in the golden fat. Strain, use fairly quickly. The cracklings called grebenes are deelish!

The Composition of Animal fats
All the fats we eat are a blend of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Fats are identified by the predominant fatty acid.

Chicken, duck, goose fat and lard are ½ monounsaturated, 30-40% saturated and 12-20% polyunsaturated. The composition of bison fat is similar to beef -- 55% saturated, 40% monounsaturated. A third of the saturated fat is Stearic acid, which will increase HDL cholesterol, while having no effect on LDL. All poultry fats contain palmitoleic acid, a monounsaturated anti-microbial immune booster. The polyunsaturated content lowers LDL. So, not only do these animal fats add unsurpassed flavor and richness to a dish, they improve your HDL and LDL cholesterol ratio, boost our immune systems, and supply integrity to our cell membranes. They help keep us full for a longer period, since fat keeps the food we eat in our digestive tract longer, we assimilate the nutrients better.

(Photo courtesy of tellumo)

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how can i buy some bison greasse?

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