Quarterly Financial Data (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 28, 2019	Sep. 28, 2019	Jun. 29, 2019	Mar. 30, 2019	Dec. 29, 2018	Sep. 29, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 28, 2019	Dec. 29, 2018	Dec. 30, 2017
Investment [Line Items]
Net sales	$ 859,428	$ 842,049	$ 827,324	$ 835,104	$ 853,130	$ 812,576	$ 846,646	$ 875,374	$ 3,363,905	$ 3,387,726	$ 3,662,251
Segment operating income/(loss)	293,287	59,859	74,124	48,551	73,738	15,556	36,754	128,953	475,821	255,001	169,445
Income from operations before income taxes	279,013	37,687	38,820	24,914	50,183	(6,540)	(27,455)	101,787	380,434	117,975	64,200
Net income	243,446	26,837	31,044	19,640	42,144	(5,137)	(29,138)	98,075	320,967	105,944	133,354
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(837)	(1,116)	(4,786)	(1,628)	(1,496)	(900)	(1,282)	(770)	(8,367)	(4,448)	(4,886)
Net income attributable to Darling	$ 242,609	$ 25,721	$ 26,258	$ 18,012	$ 40,648	$ (6,037)	$ (30,420)	$ 97,305	$ 312,600	$ 101,496	$ 128,468
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 1.48	$ 0.16	$ 0.16	$ 0.11	$ 0.25	$ (0.04)	$ (0.18)	$ 0.59	$ 1.90	$ 0.62	$ 0.78
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 1.44	$ 0.15	$ 0.16	$ 0.11	$ 0.24	$ (0.04)	$ (0.18)	$ 0.58	$ 1.86	$ 0.60	$ 0.77
Provisional income tax Benefit									$ 75,000
Cost of sales and operating expenses									2,589,085	$ 2,646,374	$ 2,875,680
Diamond Green Diesel Holdings LLC Joint Venture [Member]
Investment [Line Items]
Income Tax Credits and Adjustments	$ 234,400							$ 92,700	$ 274,700	$ 155,900	$ 160,400