To Clarify Fat
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the fat into small dice and place it in an iron saucepan with plenty of cold water.
Render
Stir occasionally with an iron spoon and bring to a boil over high heat.
Boil until the liquid is transparent with only small scraps of brown floating, about 1.5 hours.
Be cautious of splattering fat as it reaches high temperatures.
Strain
Let it cool before straining into a basin through a fine strainer or wire 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
- Beef or mutton fat
- Supplies the fat that is melted and separated from water and solids to become clarified fat.
The step that matters
Boiling until the liquid turns transparent. Water must fully evaporate and the solids must brown and settle so the fat is pure. Stopping early leaves water and residue that spoil the fat, while high heat can cause dangerous splattering.
“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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