# Survival > Foraging & Wild Edibles >  How to use moose fat?

## wildWoman

This fall, we got a moose with an incredible amount of fat on it. Anyone knows to what use we can put it? I think you only get lard from omnivores like bears and pigs, and what's on the moose qualifies as tallow, but am not sure ...

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## crashdive123

No moose experience here, but good to see you around young lady.

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## crashdive123

Maybe this will be helpful.  http://www.frontierfreedom.com/index...=106&Itemid=60

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## wildWoman

Hi Crash  :Smile:  Seems like the forum works again on my computer, after the problems I had with posting months ago.
Thanks for the link, that's a start!
Anyone know how rendered moose fat can be stored or what its shelf life is? We don't have artificial cooling.

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## erunkiswldrnssurvival

i would use the moose fat for my oil lamps and oil cookstoves and for heating my home or shelter.moose fat, its not just for cooking anymore......

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## randyt

I can't speak for moose tallow but I have a story about deer tallow. Forty some odd years ago my father rendered some deer tallow and stored it in a opened enameled pan. Years went by and I was going through some things in the shop.  I came across a white cake of "something" it was dirty and as I looked at it and wondered what it was it dawned on me that it was a piece of that deer tallow from forty years ago. It was like wow I couldn't believe it held up so well.

as far as uses go, soap, bullet lube, pemmican, greasing up a chunk of green wood for bow making (slows down the checking), waterproofing, quenching, pie crusts, hand cream. That's all that comes to mind off hand, I'm sure there is a plethora of uses.

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## Rick

I must confess I'm not a moose man. I'd suggest you ask these folks. I'll bet they are. 

http://www.uaf.edu/ces/info/askexpert/

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## rwc1969

Make tallow and use it for all sorts of stuff. 

http://youtu.be/mYU8uVmzX5E

I've used it to preserve wood, leather, waterproof my boots, as a rust preventive on my axe and knives. I've made lamps with it, firestarters and all sorts of stuff. I'd have to think moose is similar to deer fat.

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## erunkiswldrnssurvival

most valuable as a fuel, tallow is a very compact, long burning fire source one pint of tallow used as a lamp fuel will burn for 60 hours or more,in a winter survival shelter, that spells comfort at an economic cost.

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## wildWoman

Thanks guys! Well, that's encouraging about the deer tallow, Randy. 
I rendered about 4 litres of tallow now and will worry about what to use it for once there's time ... still a lot more meat to can!

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## your_comforting_company

Tallow stores incredibly well. I have a large bowl full I've been using here and there since last winter. Dice up the fat chunks best you can. just barely cover with water (or not) and heat till it melts and sift out the meat chunks. My bowlfull is not refrigerated and left open in the shed with no mold, etc.

Fuel for lamps, or even grease for frying. Lube for gears and chains and other things, and even could be used as lotion to help retain moisture in areas that chap. Works well for leathers too as RWC points out.

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## Cousin-IT

please explain the following for this rather uneducated cave man....
-how to render
-the difference between lard and tallow
-and anything else useful

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## your_comforting_company

I've had some deer tallow stored in an open container in the shed since last deer season. It stores incredibly well. I have a lot to say about this matter, but It's time to head to the woods. If I get home in time today (it's the first day of rifle season! woohoo!) I'll be sure to post up some info from my experiences, but Gene hit it just right.

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## matt47

> please explain the following for this rather uneducated cave man....
> -how to render
> -the difference between lard and tallow
> -and anything else useful


Rendering tallow...what I do is cut it up into small chunks , simmer on a big fry pan on a low fire and pour off the liquid through a cloth once the chunks are down to cracklins...not hard to do. I make tallow regularly and it's one of the easiest things to make...just takes a bit of time is all...I don't use water and have never seen the need to. Some say it helps clean the tallow, but I have not found it necessary in my own experience..when I pour the tallow through a simple cloth it filters out any impurities...I have heard that fat that is close against the skin of the animal makes a diff kind of tallow than that further from the skin (i.e. kidney fat, etc) but I don't render kidney fat... I call tallow my medicine cabinet in the bush because of it's myriad uses...I use it for cooking, candles, torches, sunscreen, medicinal oil for sore joints and muscles, hair rejuvenator, skin cleanser, temporary blood clotter for small cuts, fly deterrent, etc etc...

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