Acquisitions (Details) $ in Thousands		1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	May 02, 2022 USD ($) facilities	Feb. 28, 2022 USD ($)	Jul. 02, 2022 USD ($)	Jul. 03, 2021 USD ($)	Jul. 02, 2022 USD ($)	Jul. 03, 2021 USD ($)	Feb. 25, 2022 USD ($)	Jan. 01, 2022 USD ($)
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment	$ 409,405
Goodwill	349,262		$ 1,555,814		$ 1,555,814			$ 1,219,116
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Noncurrent Liabilities, Other	(19,436)
Acquisition and integration costs			5,358	$ 0	9,131	$ 0
Net sales			1,650,188	1,198,669	3,016,522	2,245,385
Net income attributable to Darling			201,996	$ 196,582	390,049	$ 348,348
Senior Secured Facilities | Term A-1 Facility
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Line of credit outstanding			400,000		400,000
Senior Secured Facilities | Term A-2 Facility
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Line of credit outstanding			500,000		500,000
Valley Proteins
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill	$ 349,300
Acquired Finite-lived Intangible Assets, Weighted Average Useful Life	15 years
Acquisition and integration costs			3,300		4,900
Payments to Acquire Businesses, Gross	$ 1,177,000
Business Combination, Number of Facilities Acquired | facilities	18
Net sales			164,300		164,300
Net income attributable to Darling			500		$ 500
Valley Proteins | Collection Routes [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Finite-Lived Intangibles	$ 292,100
Valley Proteins | Permits [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Finite-Lived Intangibles	$ 97,100
Group Op de Beeck
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business Acquisition, Price of Acquisition							$ 91,700
Business combination, consideration transferred		$ 71,300	75,500
Property, plant and equipment							28,100
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Finite-Lived Intangibles							27,200
Goodwill							29,600
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Noncurrent Liabilities, Other							$ (9,400)
Acquired Finite-lived Intangible Assets, Weighted Average Useful Life		15 years
Business Combination, Purchase Price Adjustments			$ 4,200