Bear Lard

I am gonna render some bear fat for lard. It's my first time rendering fat other than from hogs. Any tips? Planning on heating it in a Nesco. Will a crock pot work as well?

Had a friend of the family when i was a kid that rendered bear fat, he used it for cooking & like butter. not sure of his method tho. he felt like he owed it to the animal to use everything possible. sound philosophy.

I made a batch this year in the crockpot. Cut it up into chunks and render it on low all day. Worked great. I strained it through cheese cloth and fed the cracklings to the chickens once they cooled. We use it on boots and leather items, mostly up at camp where we can set things in front of the fireplace. Haven't tried cooking with it yet but I'm sure it'd work well. Very mild.

I have only made it for shop use in some formulas, boot/leather treatments, patch lube etc. Not sure what the taste is like. It smells good both when heating it and after it cools.

iv done it in a crock pot with some water. I took mine from frozen and tan it through a meat grinder first so it would render down quicker. the put it in a crock pot with a good amount of water then left it on high untill all the fat was renderd. then skimmed it off the top of the water and poured it through a filter into mason jars. I keep it in the fridge and it lasts a long time. I use it for baking biscuits and for frying home fries.

It actually does well on certain skin diseases. The lady who used it up here for pastries made better delights than I’ve ever had.

Osky

Wondering if others have experienced this, rendered fat from spring bear turns to thick oil, from fall bears sets up like lard.

I use a turkey fryer and a large skillet and very low heat, it's the best lard I've ever had I use it for cooking, leather softening hand lotion I dress a few of my knife handles w/ it.it truely is amazing stuff.

How do the bear cracklins taste?

Keith

I'd like a pint jar of it... Supposed to be great for patch lube and oiling the bore of your muzzleloader.

Mike

Pie crusts and other pastries

We use a crock pot with a liner. Be careful not to burn it. Takes some time and does smell a bit so we do out of the house. Cracklings are good but awful rich.

I never let bear fat go to waste. Rendered in crockpot like other. Most of mine is for consumption (cast irons get it almost daily). Make sure you are putting clean clear fat in the pot, you don't want any meat or dirty stuff. Render till liquid. Skim floating stuff off in the process. Pour through cheese cloth into mason jars. We store ours in the freezer after this. I only go after fall bear. Love everything about them. meat fat and hide.

The bear lard is pretty. Does it set up white like pork lard? We cook with pork lard frequently and use it for pies and cookies. Is bear lard pretty similar?

Keith

It does set up like pork lard, though i havent used much of that. This was the first go filling small “gift” jars. I like to spread the wealth and other than eating it, I use it to season my filson hat (which you cant do with those silly kromer hats, lol), bowstrings, and my wife even found it soothing when she sprayed herself with bear spray. Always have bear fat in the wall tent. Normally ill fill a 16oz jar and keep it in the fridge for the daily use.

Chill the fat, grind it in a grinder, and then render it. Goes quicker, with a better yield, and is all done at the same time.

I have never done the crock pot, but a few friend have and really liked doing it that way, no chance to get it too hot and burn it.

best fried potatoes you could ever have come fried in bear lard

More valuable as a medicinal than cooking.

Excellent........they smelled like bacon.

I've only done it twice, but both times used the crockpot.
Both were fall bears, and like others suggested make sure it is completely clean fat. No meat, dirt, hair or grissel.
Cooked on low in the crockpot for about 24 hours and then strained and jarred. Froze most of what I didn't share.
I enjoy the lard as much as the meat and hide, which says a lot because I'd reach over deer in the freezer to grab bear meat.
I fried eggs in bear lard yesterday, deer loin earlier in the week and wife made pancakes with bear lard instead of oil and they're the best yet. Great for french fries or fried potatoes too.

Fall Black Bear lard makes great pie crust! The best.

Thanks guys! Always amazed at the info received from a simple question on this site. Might get this done tomorrow

I rendered oil from my bear last fall. I ground the pure fat in my meat grinder, and cooked it in a big pot on the turkey fryer. If grinding it helps to freeze it. When cooking it you dont want the flame too hot, but just continue to cook it and render it down then filter it through a strainer. Turned out awesome. I have used it for many things, cooking its very mild nearly tasteless and a great alternative to other lards. I added a very small amount to the dogs food, he loves it. I have used it on my boots. Worked fine but it felt it was a little wasteful on the boots. I would not hesitate to use in on a firearm as protectant either. You really can use it for so many things.

Can you expand on this?

We use it for pain relief-arthritis,joint pain or sore stiff muscles.
Works better than anything else.

It is also used for skin issues.-rashes,itch rough skin frostbite etc.

You use the bear lard topically for all of these ailments Boco?
What do you think is present that helps the joint pain, arthritis, etc?
I can see it being helpful on dry skin, but curious what would help the joint or muscle aches.
I'm not doubting you one bit, just general curiosity because I feel better when we eat a diet rich in bear.

I mixed it 50/50 with black salve. Excellent ointment. Also used it straight as a hand conditioner when I worked with concrete everyday. Citiots I worked with thought I was nuts, come to think of it they were partly right but it kept my hands from getting big dry cracks in them

There are amazing amounts of active compounds in bear grease,Some penetrate very deep after a couple applications.Really great for arthritis pain.
Dont have to use it all the time.After a couple days treatment the pain goes away for a long time.Just use again if it flares up.Arthritis is related to psoriasis(a skin issue to begin with).