Clarifying Fat
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the fat into pieces the size of a filbert and remove all skin.
Place the fat in an iron pot and add ½ cup of water for every pound of fat.
Clarify
Heat over a hot fire, stirring occasionally to avoid burning.
When no more froth arises and the liquid is clear, remove the pot to a cooler part of the stove.
Let it stand for a while and then drain through a sieve.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Fat
- Is the substance being rendered; melting it separates pure fat from solids and water.
The step that matters
Removing the pot when the froth stops and the liquid is clear. The froth signals that the water is boiling off. Once the water is gone, the fat keeps heating and can scorch or brown, so the pot should move to a cooler spot at that point.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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