This is my quick and easy method for how to make beef tallow.
You can make the process of making beef tallow a long and slow process or do it the easy way using ground beef suet. You will cut hours of work by using suet and most good butchers will have it ready prepared for you.
About this beef tallow recipe.
I used to prepare beef tallow using chopped up beef fat. You can do that too but it takes a lot longer. First, you need to remove any silver skin from the fat before finely chopping it to render in a pan over a low heat.
Using beef suet, all that work is done for you. You just need to add the suet to your pan over a low heat and let it render down. As the fat render, you need to skim it before running through a cheese cloth lined strainer so that the beef tallow is free of any impurities.
You can use your homemade beef tallow to fry instead of using vegetable oils or to make the most delicious fish and chips.
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Ingredients
There's only one ingredient to make beef tallow and that is beef fat. Below you will see the beef suet I purchased to make the process a lot easier and faster.
- Beef Suet
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
As you will see from the photos below, making beef tallow this way is quick and easy.
- Step 1: Fill a pot or slow cooker with the suet. It will reduce down if you have more to add.
- Step 2: Slowly melt the suet over a low heat. As you do this, impurities will rise to the top. Skim that off and discard.
- Step 3: As the suet melts it will reduce in volume. You can add more suet to the pot when it does if you have more.
- Step 4: Skim as much of the goop that rises to the top off as you can.
- Step 5: Line a strainer with a fine cheese cloth or similar and pour the tallow through it into a bowl.
- Step 6: The remaining impurities will filter out as you pour it through the cloth and strainer.
A Brief History of Tallow
Before vegetable oils took over grocery store shelves, tallow was the go-to fat for everything from frying to candle-making. Ancient civilizations used tallow not only for food but for lubrication, soap, and skincare.
In Victorian times, it was used in lamps and soaps—and during wartime shortages, people hoarded tallow for its many uses.
It wasn’t until the mid-20th century, when hydrogenated oils and seed-based fats were marketed as “healthier,” that tallow fell out of favor. But with modern nutrition slowly reassessing the healthiness of saturated fats, tallow is enjoying a well-deserved revival.
How do you cook beef tallow?
The secret to success, whether you are using suet or chopped up beef fat is to render the fat over a low heat. Be sure to skim off any impurities and job done!
What Is Beef Tallow?
Beef tallow is rendered beef fat, usually sourced from around the kidneys and loins—called suet. When this fat is gently heated and melted down, the impurities are removed, and what’s left is a creamy, shelf-stable fat that solidifies at room temperature. Pure tallow has a clean, mild aroma and a silky texture that makes it incredibly versatile.
Unlike raw fat trimmings, tallow is purified through rendering, which gives it a longer shelf life and makes it safer and easier to use in both culinary and non-culinary ways.
Is Tallow the same as lard?
No but similar. Tallow is to beef what lard is to pork. Both are rendered fats, but they behave slightly differently:
- Tallow is harder and more stable at room temperature, making it great for high-heat cooking and long storage.
- Lard is softer, milder in flavor, and often used in baking (think flaky pie crusts).
Both beef tallow and pork lard have their own strengths, but tallow tends to win out when it comes to deep frying and traditional savory dishes.
Why should you make beef tallow?
Beef tallow is of course available prepared from many shops. The thing is, it is a lot more expensive to purchase than to simply make it yourself. We're talking extremely more expensive and who want to pay a lot for something that you can make so easily yourself?
Equipment
- A slow cooker: I find slow cookers to be the best and most fuss free way of preparing beef tallow. You can simply add the beef suet and set your slow cooker to low. Using beef suet, the job should be done in less than an hour!
- A heavy bottomed pot: You can also use a good pot to render the beef suet but you will need to watch it carefully so that the suet doesn't burn to the bottom.
- A large mixing bowl: You will need to use this to strain the melted beef fat into.
- A fine mesh strainer: This can be used to skim the impurities off the top of the beef tallow as it cooks.
- Small containers: Small plastic or glass containers are great for storing the beef tallow for an extended time.
Storage
Once you have made the tallow, you can store it in a sealed jar at room temperature for about 1 to 2 months. Place it in the fridge and you can store it for 6 months or longer.
You can also freeze the tallow for up to a year. If doing this, I recommend storing it in convenient size portions and date and label the container.
Beef tallow is clear and yellow when hot. It will turn white and solid when cold. Be sure to store in dry and very clean containers away from moisture.
Top Tip
You need to render the fat over a very low heat. This will stop it burning and produce a clearer beef tallow.
FAQ
No. All you need is beef fat. Remove any silver skin from the fat and chop it into small pieces. Then render it down. This could take a few hours and you need to watch it so that the fat doesn't burn to the bottom. Using suet is a lot faster and easier.
It is great for frying, searing, sautéing and roasting but that's not all! It is also good for making pie crusts and pastries giving them crispiness and depth. You can also use tallow to season pans. It's beyond the scope of this blog post but some people use beef tallow for skin care and making candles and soaps.
Local butchers, farmers shops, online meat suppliers and specialty shops. Many butchers will let you have the suet with no charge or at a very low price. You might have to do some searching but you will find it.
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Recipe
Beef Tallow
Beef tallow is really easy to prepare and has many uses. This recipe will help you get it just right! You can easily up or downscale the ingredients depending on how much you want to make. The cooking times will vary depending on how much you make and the heat you cook over.
Ingredients
- 12lbs (6kg) ground beef suet (You can also use beef fat cut into small pieces)
Instructions
- I recommend using a slow cooker set to low or your stovetop in a heavy bottomed pan over a low heat. half of the suet or chopped beef fat into your pan or slow cooker. Let it slowly render down.
- As it renders down, you will see that impurities rise to the top and some will form at the bottom of the pan. Using a skimmer of some sort, skim the impurities off the top and discard.
- Add the remaining suet or beef fat and continue to let it render down, skimming as it does.
- Once the fat has all rendered, pour it through a fine mesh strainer, lined with a cheese cloth into a bowl. This will catch any of the impurities you did not skim and also the impurities that are at the bottom.
- Pour into suitably containers. When the tallow is hot, it will be a deep yellow colour. As it cools, it will be come white and hard.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 30 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 15Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 1mgCarbohydrates: 0gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 1g