Using fat for soap?

[sydney13]

Just curious is anyone uses the fat from birds they butcher for soap?
and if so, how many birds would you need to produce a bar of soap?

 

[Denninmi]

Well, you can get about a quarter to a half a cup of rendered fat from your typical grocery store broiler/fryer or roaster, respectively, depending upon weight, of course. I'd say half a cup of fat would yield at least that much soap, since you are just adding to the volume of the fat with the lye solution and any added ingredients such as herbs, oils, etc.

I know that any fat can be saponified, but would a fat that is normally liquid at room temperature turn into a solid soap, or would it be a liquid soap similar to a liquid hand soap? Or, can you add something to it to make it solidify?

 

[SJ]

Im not sure if this is the right place for this but I am always looking for more uses for my chickens. I would love to learn how to make soap from rendered fat. My BO hens tend to be quite pudgy. Right now all I use the rendered fat for is chicken fried rice and extra fat while slow roasting pheasants.

 

[Baymule]

And here I've been tossing the fat to my dogs! (smacks forehead with palm) Who, BTW, just luuuuuuvvvve me for it.

 

[Carolyn]

"The Soapmaker's Companion" doesn't list chicken fat. ( I do not mean to imply that is a final authority).

I use fats such as olive, canola, etc that are liquid at room temp and make a nice firm soap. I do use coconut oil which is solid but it is less than 1/3 of the fat component.

I used to throw chicken fat away but now use it in cooking.

 

[Hinotori]

Chicken fat makes it to soft. You can mix it with a hard fat for soap use, though. That's how my great grandmother used to do it.

 

[Denninmi]

Quote:
I use my rendered chicken fat to feed back to the birds. I save it up until I have a decent amount, then mix with an equal amount of cracked corn or some similar feed, pop into the freezer to harden it, and then give them that. They love it. It's gone in minutes.

 

[Merryment]

Sure you can use chicken fat for soap; just make sure you render it first. My gran made soap with just about any kind of fat that was left over. She rendered it and strained it through muslin cloth first. She'd make her own lye out of wood ash, and cook huge batches of soap out in the backyard in a kettle [in the middle of town - couldn't get away with that nowdays!].

However, she didn't use the chicken fat for soap. She'd render it down & cook with it. Made the best pie crusts ever. Schmeer a bit on rye toast - yum! The Jweish delis sell it as schmalz. Heart attack on rye, but so tasty!

 

[Denninmi]

Quote:
Yeah, that's why I don't use it to cook with. Makes me wonder if that is really true, though. We keep eating "healthier" fats and foods, and our society just keeps getting sicker.

Maybe I should just chuck the canola and olive oil and use the chicken fat?

 

[jdopler]

As far as cooking, chicken fat would be much healthier than canola or olive, they both oxidize with heat creating homemade "trans fats". I only use olive or grapeseed oils raw and cook with butter, coconut oil or lard from chicken, bacon, etc. These fats are fully saturated and therefore resist rancidity and oxidation better due to their chemical structures. Most liquid oils are already on their way to spoiling before they are even purchased from the stores, contributing to our many modern health issues, despite what corporations want us to believe about cholesterol. (sorry, got on a rant there..)

Soft soap is typically dependent on the type of lye used and not the fats, as evidenced by 100% olive oil soap, a very hard bar. I just may have to try soap making with some chicken fat soon, great idea!