Bear Fat - Rendering ?

[tpr-tru]

I am requesting a method to render bear fat to make patch lube and oil.  I reviewed the past posts on this forum and it appears some people boil with water and others just slowly render over low heat.  Is it really an all day affair?
What is your method?  Thanks.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

If you use the boiling water method, you are more likely going to get oil, as opposed to a solidish grease.  Over a low fire in a fry pan for a long long time, will also give you oil, but if you're like me, you'll hurry the process a little, and get grease instead of clear oil.

The grease works just fine for patch lube, but Neatsfoot oil can be purchased by the gallon and it's perfect already.

[billd]

I did mine in a crock pot.  Set it to the lowest setting, "warm" on mine.  Let it heat, it took at least 24 hours but I did mine in an unheated garage.  After it turned to liquid I strained it into mason jars thru a paint filter like body shops use.  If you heat it to fast or to hot it turns back into grease.  Mine stayed a liquid at room temps.  

And I knew better than to use the wife's crock pot.  Stopped at the local thrift store and bought my own for $7.00.  

I have some that's been sitting on a shelf for three years and it's not rancid.  I don't know how long it keeps.  

Bill

[tpr-tru]

Taylor and Bill, thanks for the replies.   Taylor, can you be more descriptive of your two methods (fry pan method and hurry method) ?    Thanks

[elk killer]

i just cut mine into strips like bacon,
cook in a frying pan, just keep a eye on it so it doesnt burn,
strain it through a old tee shirt, into a jar with a tight lid,  its grease when in the refigerator,
oil when its warm, have a jar sitting of the shelf in my shop,
never gets rancid, i just pour some in my patch container when i add new patches to it..

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

There ya go.

[tpr-tru]

Bill D.    Curious,  when you used the crock pot, was the lid on?.   If so, did that give you a lot of condensation? Thanks.

[billd]

I don't think i used the lid.  I should have mentioned earlier the fat from inside the body cavity is better than the fat from under the skin but both will work

[duca]

Hi all, I would love to get my hands on some bear Fat. Anyone know were I could get some? I want to try some for Patch lube. Thanks.

[TMerkley]

Just wondering, Is there a high salt content in the grease, like bacon?  Also, would the salt affect the bore with rusting?

[ottawa]

the high salt in bacon is from the curing proses to make it (salt pork) the bear fat is real low to practically non I would Guss. if it was high in salt and bad for the bores guys here would have ruled it out as no good no matter how PC it is

[TMerkley]

ok, thanks!

[Long John]

It depends some on what kind of set-up you have and how much fat you have.  The reason for adding water is to prevent scorching when you have a large kettle and a wood fire.  My brother and I usually do about 50 pounds of fat at a time in a kettle that is about 2.5 feet in diameter and equally deep over a wood fire.  For that type of a deal you want to make sure there is some water in the bottom of the kettle before starting.  Never add water once your fat is melting as a steam explosion is possible.

The whole idea is to slowly cook all the water out of the fat and allow the connective tissue to float to the top to be skimmed off.  If the connective tissue, called cracklings, is allowed to brown the color will start getting picked-up by the grease and your result will not be white-as-snow grease but more of a cream or light beige.  This is generally undesirable so skim off the crackings before they turn real brown.

As soom as the bubbles coming up from the bottom get small, like beer, you are vaporizing oil and the water is all gone - the grease is done!

I have found that reheating grease and holding it at about 300F for a few hours will convert grease that becomes solid at room temperature to oil that stays clear and liquid at room temperature.

Best Regards,

John Cholin

[Hungry Horse]

 If you want real good patch lube, once you get your bear grease rendered, parboil some venison ribs, and skim the white grease off the top, into a bowl, and put it into the refrigerator, until the grease solidifies. Experiment with proportions of bear, to venison grease, until you get the consistency that works best for your part of the country. I like mine stiff enough to stay in the grease hole of a Southern Mountain rifle, unless it is left in the direct sunlight. Work great.

                 Hungry Horse


                               

[FlyingZebra]

I've done this over low heat in the oven in a roasting pan.
Excellent patch lube and metal treatment.
Good on leather too, but evidently irresistible for the mice.
I lost a very nice ball pouch a few years agoto mice, which I'd oiled with bear oil.
Little suckers didn't touch anything in the house.




Cheers
Tinker