Grandson shot a bear. My son gave me the fat. I assume cut into small chunks and slow cook in a pot to render out the oil.
Anyone done this? How long does it last in an airtight glass jar if not refrigerated?

like any other fat, can render in a pot, crockpot, oven... start small and add to the liquid fat, don't scorch it....if it's rendered completely should last awhile, can be refrigerated or frozen too, don't know how long at room temp

^^This

I've always tossed the excess in the freezer and keep one container I'm using in the fridge (just remember to take it out a while before you are going to use it, like butter it needs to be close to room temperature to scoop). It will keep months to over a year in the fridge without going rancid (I've never had it go rancid in the fridge, no matter how long it was in there). A turkey cooker works excellent to render bear grease. Like a crock pot but several times larger.

I recently heard of a method where you put the fat in a kettle of water and the boiling water renders the fat with zero chance or scorching. Gonna look into it more and probably tey on my next batch. Between the near I shot and the roadkill I got I have 8-9 gallons of quality fat left to render. Happy trapping! ScottW

I do it all the time. Crock Pot on LOW, cut into chunks, simmer for as long as it takes. Scoop off the big pieces and drain over cheese cloth into canning jars, add new lid with the year date, old screw top, tighten and set into the freezer. Will last years, depending on the temp. of your freezer. Keep the open jar in the fridge.

Example, my freezer is kept at -10 below zero. It will keep bear grease rendered this way for 5-6 years or until it's all gone. Simmering large chunks, 1/4 full crockpot takes me one day and over night. Then I jar the next day usually. Put the fat in cold, then start the crock pot, DO NOT SCORCH IT, throw it away if you do. Alternate with the lid on and off so no water build up. Pints for me and half pints for gifts.

What do you use the rendered fat for?

We use it for treating leather, hand lotion, treatment or various skin conditions, and cooking. I'm makes a fine pie crust.

So I have to have lid for the crockpot?

My wife renders around a hundred and fifty pounds of beef tallow a year. It renders much better / faster when ground. It is faster and you get a better yield. I know it is not bear fat, but I would guess it would be much the same when it comes to rendering it.

I also do the crockpot on LOW. Good clean white fat only. Don’t put meat in there. Fill in mason jars and store in the freezer. I have a variety from different bears. A 23 yr old sow gave me dark grease. Thats for everything but eating though its perfectly fine. Have some other bears and the grease is nice and white.

We lube up the cast irons every use with it. I also use it for patch lube in the smokepole. Its a good shoe leather hat grease. Rubbed it all over my wife when she sprayed herself with bear spray. That was fun!

Also, what I think is the most important part. When the fat is all liquefied, scoop out the cracklings. Then pour the liquid through multiple layers of cheese cloth into a big pour vessel filtering out the chunks. Then you can pour that into your containers. This is a bunch of gift jars I was doing to give you an idea.

This is all great info! Thanks a bunch!

One of my main reasons for wanting a bear in 2027 is to get fat for rendering. As others have said, chunk it into small pieces and cook it slowly. I've always done mine on the stove on low-heat. Put a few pieces in the bottom of the pot and let them render until the liquid covers the bottom, then add more. I put mine into pint jars and kept it at room temperature for well over a year, and it was fine.I use it for cooking oil, treating leather, heck Ive used on on gun barrels in a pinch. I also render all by beef fat for tallow the same way and jar it.

Cut up small thrown in a crockpot, or a stockpot on the woodstove with a trivet under it and a small amount of water in the pot to start. Use it for cooking, seasoning cast iron, lotions/salves, and I’d like to try making some beard oil out of the next one.