I've only turned it into tallow for soap making. Did it on a hotplate outside since it had quite a strong smell while rendering. That was over 20 years ago, so I don't remember much but the leftovers from the soap was just kept in a jar next to the stove like bacon grease and me and the meat eating roommates used it like bacon grease.

No idea. Also, who complains about the house smelling like bacon?

I also have a outdoor flattop that is good for cooking in the summer. We will make eggs/bacon/etc on it so we don't heat the house up with the stove.

Long time animal fats renderer here. Yes suet, aka leaf fat, is preferable for soaps, body butters, et al. It also works perfectly for cooking. Non-leaf fat is great for cooking, but not preferable for other applications. Sounds as if you have a potentially viable local source. Awesome. Stay faaaar away from any supermarket fat sources. Also, pastured pig fat renders perfectly into lard, which, along with tallow, is a superior cooking oil. Below, I'll repost a how-to methodology for rendering any animal fat. I've honed this method over years of trial and error. I'll gladly answer any additional procedural or nutritional questions you may have. Happy rendering!

>Long time lard and tallow renderer chiming in here.... Yes, to glean the vitamin d benefits, the lard must come from pastured piggies. If possible, head to your local farmers market and cultivate a relationship with a local pig farmer. Buy or barter the fat from his freshly slaughtered pigs. Do the same with a local beef rancher if you want tallow (and you totally want tallow). Particularly the leaf fat, as it lends itself to a multitude of applications beyond consumption.

Here follows a comparatively quick and easy recipe to render animal fats into lards or tallows, respectively:

Necessary tools: -A good sharp knife or two -Cutting board -Meat Grinder -Instapot -Pyrex Measuring cup (4 cup) -Fine mesh wire strainer -Wide mouth 1/2 pint ball jars

Procedure: -Take your slightly frozen fat and cut it into meat grinder serviceable sized chunks. Trim as much of the meat away as possible. *Note: Fat will quickly dull a blade, so have a couple on hand or sharpen frequently as you go. **Note note: fat makes everything it comes in contact with slippery. Exercise an overabundance of caution while cutting.

-Feed the Fat into the meat grinder -Put the ground fat into the Instapot (no lid) and use the saute setting, stirring occasionally to keep the fat from sticking to the bottom. -In manageable batches CAREFULLY strain the liquid fat through a wire mesh strainer into a 4 Cup Pyrex Measuring cup -Pour the liquid fat into Ball Jars, cover with a cloth to cool. -Once cooled, lid them and store them. - If you so desire, you can salt and continue to fry the remaining fat in a good cast iron skillet for some legit cracklins.

Results: https://pic8.co/sh/kL70lf.jpg

I don't know anything about suet but I keyed in on your butter comment. You are right, it is easy to burn. However, if you clarify your butter you take the smoke point from about 350 to 450 degrees. Works much better for cooking and searing.

I clarify butter all the time, it is easy and it makes it delicious!

I just put it in a fry pan and melt it on a medium low heat setting and bring it to a boil. I basically slow boil it till it pretty much just stops boiling. This takes less than 10 minutes. Let it cool off for a few minutes and take a spoon and very carefully skim the hard white stuff off the top. Then filter the rest into a container with a few layers of cheese cloth. Don't get any of the little hard black things into it. When your done you will have a golden liquid butter that is great for cooking and dipping lobster and crab into. It will eventually go to a firm state but not nearly as fast as regular melted butter.

Suet is bird food.

Don't know about suet, but you can also use olive oil.

Convert your butter into ghee, it has a very high smoke point.