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« Last post by Eric Krewson on February 14, 2026, 10:14:08 am »
I have never seen a deer as fat as the one I killed last Sunday, it had 5 or 6# of intestinal fat and about the same amount on its back, hams and ribs.
I have heard that the intestinal fat is the best to render for tallow so I collected abut 3 1/2# when I dressed the deer to give rendering a try, I had never done it before.
I don't have any particular purpose planned for what I end up with, I think concocting a good patch lube for my flintlock loading will be first. I currently use a product called "mink oil" but the only producer of the real stuff had died or quit the business. There are plenty of companies marketing what they call mink oil but a look at the ingredients shows more petroleum products in them than anything else.
I boiled the fat down, strained it several times through cheese cloth and ended out with a very clear product. I did let the oil get a little hot at the end which turned the liquid slightly brown, the tallow turned white after it cooled.