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Other topics for members => FOOD! FOOD! FOOD! => Topic started by: Jeff on January 03, 2025, 02:21:29 PM

Title: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: Jeff on January 03, 2025, 02:21:29 PM
Been in the freezer long enough. Time to get the slow cooker out and start rendering.

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Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: doc henderson on January 03, 2025, 04:38:16 PM
I have heard of rendering, but not sure what it means.  Is it just cooking the fat, and removing impurities?  are you making soap or just making lard to cook deep fried stuff.
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: Jeff on January 03, 2025, 04:44:00 PM
Beef suet, In the slowcooker on low. Just a little water to get started.

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Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: Jeff on January 03, 2025, 04:45:43 PM
I wont be deepfrying Doc, I'll be airfrying. The rendered tallow will be used as a flavoring and browning agent. Ill keep ya posted. ffsmiley
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: SwampDonkey on January 03, 2025, 04:51:19 PM
Yes Doc, rendering is getting the fat cooked out of the tissues.  Then straining it to remove the meat, veins, tissues, and impurities to make lard. You can do it with bear fat to or beef fat (tallow) and moose. I've seen Alaskan folk render moose fat.

Rendering moose.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I697J30ihHE
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: doc henderson on January 03, 2025, 04:53:29 PM
I remember my mom getting it from grocery store butcher to heat and add seeds to feed the birds.  like the stuff you buy for 5.99 at a farm or Walmart store now for bird feeders.  I think they just gave it away.  was probably about 1964.
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: SwampDonkey on January 03, 2025, 04:55:15 PM
You can still buy it here at some groceries or butcher shops. We always just got some for the birds here, we never tendered any. Pretty sure my grandparents rendered it though, was no such thing as a grocery store.  ffcheesy
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: doc henderson on January 03, 2025, 07:00:56 PM
My grandfather was the foreman of the Boogaart's truck line with over 50 trucks and more drivers.  That may have had something to do with it.  Looking back, it was prob. a "Sesame Street" like project my mom did to do something fun and educational with her sons.  I can't ask her now.  gone 17 years.
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: Jeff on January 03, 2025, 11:01:44 PM
We bought a quarter beef 2 years ago. I fed a bunch to the birds last winter, but decided to try slowcooker rendering. Gotta go stir again...
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: Jeff on January 04, 2025, 09:57:55 AM
I had to put a pause on the rendering last night. 1:30 I was too tired to keep at it.  Turned it back on about 7am.  It had settled out and looked really clear but not quite there.
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: doc henderson on January 04, 2025, 11:41:42 AM
got the turkey done in the oven from the smoker.  the spatchcock really saves time.  boiled a broth and will make construction stew for tomorrow night.  making ham and beans today.  already Icy here.  soaked the beans overnight.

How to Spatchcock a Turkey for Thanksgiving (https://www.marthastewart.com/275445/how-to-spatchcock-a-turkey)
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: SwampDonkey on January 04, 2025, 11:49:30 AM
Had soldier beans with bacon from the crock pot and coleslaw and a piece of bread for dinner here. The beans was soaked over night.
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: Raider Bill on January 04, 2025, 01:32:49 PM
Quote from: doc henderson on January 04, 2025, 11:41:42 AMgot the turkey done in the oven from the smoker.  the spatchcock really saves time.  boiled a broth and will make construction stew for tomorrow night.  making ham and beans today.  already Icy here.  soaked the beans overnight.

How to Spatchcock a Turkey for Thanksgiving (https://www.marthastewart.com/275445/how-to-spatchcock-a-turkey)
I spatchcock chicken on the weber a couple times a month. Turkey twice a year.
Our favorite way. Like you say, quicker, I think better smoke absorption too.
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: Rhodemont on January 04, 2025, 02:18:50 PM
Yep Raider spatchcock turkeys to smoke on the Weber is the way to go.  I have a flock of Narragansett turkeys so smoke about 6 per year. 
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: moosehunter on January 04, 2025, 05:11:36 PM
I've read through this thread twice and I caint figure how it got from rendering beef fat to spatchcocking a turkey. Did I miss something? Do I have some wires crossed in my 62 year young brain? Now I am well aware that ANY thread is liable to turn to food at any given moment, but this was already a food topic!!
mh
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: Raider Bill on January 04, 2025, 05:34:55 PM
Doc did it.
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: doc henderson on January 04, 2025, 06:49:54 PM
Made ham and beans for lunch today!  Wanna hear about it? ffcheesy ffcheesy ffcheesy
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: Jeff on January 04, 2025, 07:25:11 PM
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: Jeff on January 06, 2025, 10:01:40 PM
 Thanks to a hunk o lard.


Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: Brad_bb on January 19, 2025, 12:33:02 AM
I've started moving away from seed oils 6 or 8 months ago.  Back to what humans were historically ate- animal fat.  From what I understand, lard is from pork, tallow is from beef.  Correct me if I'm wrong about lard.  I usually fry eggs for my breakfast and either bacon or sausages.  8 months ago I switched from Pam, to Lard (cause I couldn't find beef tallow).  Now I have Tallow that I got from a local meat producer.

I assume the Turkey is fried in oil, which I think might be how it relates to this dicussion?
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: doc henderson on January 19, 2025, 05:50:44 AM
we use peanut oil to fry turkeys but usually smoke them and maybe finish in the oven.
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: NewYankeeSawmill on January 19, 2025, 06:58:32 AM
I got the leaf-fat from my half-steer this year, rendered it in a crockpot (water and salt helps draw out the impurities), got some lye and fragrances and made soap! It's pretty good stuff, not hard at all to make. Had to purify the tallow several times to get rid of the smell, touch of baking soda worked wonders.
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: Jeff on January 19, 2025, 07:59:16 AM
We cook our turkey in a roaster oven from frozen, then debone and vacuum pack packages and thaw as needed. We use tallow in the pie crust to make turkey pot pies, which extends the bird even farther.  

We made one Friday. 
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Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: Magicman on January 19, 2025, 08:02:01 AM
I would eat that, but I would need gravy which I know you had. 
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: Jeff on January 19, 2025, 08:05:33 AM
I did. There is a little bit of gravy baked into the pie, 
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: SwampDonkey on January 19, 2025, 09:05:55 AM
Chop suey today, but there is one of them chicken pies in waiting for this week. We didn't make it but it's hard to beat the brand we buy, no unwanted additives in it at all. Lard crust to.  Not a great big deep one like yours, but enough for a meal with no evidence left behind. We get their beef ones to. ffsmiley
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: doc henderson on January 19, 2025, 10:17:07 AM
I made broth and stew from my turkey just like Jeff made a pot pie from his turkey.

c-mon raider and moose!!! keep up.  lol   ffcheesy ffcheesy ffcheesy
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: WV Sawmiller on January 19, 2025, 10:25:34 AM
Quote from: moosehunter on January 04, 2025, 05:11:36 PMI've read through this thread twice and I caint figure how it got from rendering beef fat to spatchcocking a turkey. Did I miss something? Do I have some wires crossed in my 62 year young brain? Now I am well aware that ANY thread is liable to turn to food at any given moment, but this was already a food topic!!
mh
Heck, I'm just now reading this and was looking for fried taters. Silly me. ffcheesy
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: SwampDonkey on January 19, 2025, 10:28:14 AM
We don't buy big whole turkeys anymore. We buy breasts of turkey by the same people that make the good pies and often save left overs for a pot of soup. I don't want to eat turkey for 2 weeks.  ffcheesy ffcheesy ffcheesy A big 20 lb turkey up here will cost you $80 and you can't eat a lot of it because it is carcass. 
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: Jeff on January 19, 2025, 09:58:11 PM
Here are some Howard. Fresh outta the airfryer taters shook in a bag of melted tallow and salt.

Tonights 15 below supper.

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Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: Paul_H on February 02, 2025, 10:44:00 AM
The first time we got pigs I was 10 and when they were butchered I helped my Mum render the fat into lard by cutting the fat of from the rind and chopping it into cubes while she cooked it down. It was a golden colour in the pot and turned the pure white when cooled. She laughed when I told her it looked just like the store bought lard we had in the fridge.

We still render lard and beef tallow and save and use chicken fat in the fridge. A couple months ago I cleaned the canola oil out of out deep fryer and for the first time poured in beef tallow and have been happy with the results.
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: SwampDonkey on February 02, 2025, 11:18:46 AM
Fries and fish 50 years ago where cooked in animal fat, we've came full circle. Actually, we've always cooked fish in butter around here. I make bread with butter and lard these days. ffcheesy  The key to good bread is the needing part.  ffsmiley
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: aigheadish on February 06, 2025, 10:18:06 AM
I made pulled pork this past Sunday out of a piece of the pig I bought about 2 years ago. The cut was not typical for pulled pork but I'm not sure what cut it was, I'm just trying to get through this pig. Anyway it had an inch thick slab of fat on one side that I sliced off and tossed in a pan to render. I didn't know what I was doing until it was too late to see that I should have chopped the fat up a bit, but I ran it on the stove as low as I could go, for quite a while, then filtered it through a paper towel into an old olive jar. I haven't used any yet but it looks nice. I really like idea of shaking some fries or whatever in a bit of it! I may try letting some tater tots soak in it for a bit. 

My daughter makes some really tasty cookies, I wonder if the lard would be good in them, though she will not eat pig... 
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: SwampDonkey on February 06, 2025, 12:39:33 PM
Quote from: aigheadish on February 06, 2025, 10:18:06 AMMy daughter makes some really tasty cookies, I wonder if the lard would be good in them, though she will not eat pig...
Better than Crisco, you can count on that.  :thumbsup:
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: aigheadish on February 07, 2025, 07:04:44 AM
That's what I'm thinking too, currently she browns butter and uses that. I'll have to ask her if she'll try it. She's had an affinity for pigs since she was little so she doesn't like to eat them. She did just try a piece of bacon a while back, but didn't eat the whole piece. 
Title: Re: French Fry Starter Kit
Post by: SwampDonkey on February 07, 2025, 09:44:23 AM
If that fails, butter will work just as well.