Rendering Deer Fat to make Tallow for Soap

So now that I've got the art of soapmaking down pat I wanted to see if I could take it the most logical next homesteading step...generating the fats needed to make the soap on the farm. My husband is a deer hunter and every year we have been lucky enough to have several deer to harvest. This year I asked him to save all the fat so I could render it. He got 4 deer this year which yielded enough fat to make 3 batches so far and enough left in the freezer to make 2 more. Deer tallow combined with olive oil makes the most moisturizing bar.

 Step 1. Trim any large chunks of meat from the fat. Don't worry about little bits. I run the fat through the meat grinder. It doesn't require a meat grinder, but the smaller the pieces the quicker the fat melts.

 Step 2. Add several inches of water to a large pot. I used my water bath canner on a turkey fryer outside in the summer kitchen because it has an unpleasant order as it cooks.
 Add the ground fat to the pot.

Step 3. Bring the pot to a boil and then turn down to a low boil.

Step 4. Once the meat is brown and the fat all melted, strain the hot liquid into a large mixing bowl. Repeat this step until all but the tiniest pieces of meat and gristle are removed.

 Step 5. Set the bowl aside to cool and once room temperature you can refrigerate at it over night.

Step 6. The next day the fat will have risen to the top to create a fat block. I dump it all out into the sink or outside in the grass away from the house. The underside of the fat that was contacting the water usually is a bit dirty with leftover meat bits, so take a large knife and scrape down to clean, white fat.

Step 7.  I store the rendered fat in the freezer until needed.

Finished Deer Soap!!