DIY: How To Render Beef Tallow

Have you ever wondered how to render beef tallow? Here on the farm, we process our own beef. In doing so, we have a lot of beef fat trimmings. Our goal is to reduce waste in hopes of taking steps to become a little more self-sustainable. So, we are making good use of those fat trimming for rendering.

Tallow has so many great benefits and uses; from cooking to skincare. You’ll find all you need to know about tallow; how to render beef tallow and how to use it.

What is Beef Tallow?

Tallow is just a fancy name for rendered animal fat. In this case, beef fat or suet. (Suet is the pure crumbly fat found around the kidneys.) Tallow is made by cooking down fat scraps to remove any impurities. As a result, what you’re left with is pure fat. It is liquid gold when heated and solid when cool. It’s a homemaker and homesteader’s essential fat.

Tallow Uses in the Home and On the Homestead

• Cooking – Tallow is great to cook with! It has a high smoke point (400 degrees). So, it’s perfect for frying or to sauté foods. You can also use it in piecrusts and pastries.
• Sausage – Perfect to add to your own homemade sausage!
• Conditioning wooden utensils and cutting boards – Keeps them conditioned and moisturized.
• Seasoning cast iron – Tallow is the perfect stable fat for seasoning your cast iron.
• Conditioning leather – Helps keep leather items moisturized and conditioned. It also helps waterproof your leather items!
• Skincare – Tallow is perfect for your skin! Try making my Easy Homemade Whipped Tallow Body Butter. It is rich in fat-soluble vitamins and deeply nourishes and conditions your skin. Likewise, it is great for diaper rashes, acne, eczema, sunburns, windburns, and so much more!
• Hair care – Great for conditioning and moisturizing hair.
• Soap – Tallow is great for bar soap too. It adds hardness and rich lather.
• Candles – It has been used for generations to make candles too.

Related Post: Easy Homemade Whipped Tallow Body Butter

Nutritional Value of Tallow

Health Benefits

• Rich in healthy fats – Natural/healthy unrefined saturated fats
• Rich in fat-soluble vitamins – Vitamins A, D, K, and E (Here is a great explanation of the function, and benefits of these fat-soluble vitamins)
• Nourishing to the skin!

Where To Get Beef Fat for Making Tallow

If you raise your own beef cattle or not, the best place to check is your local butcher. If you’re taking your cattle to be processed make sure to ask your butcher to keep the suet and fat trimmings. If you prefer you can also get tallow here.

Items You Will Need

• Large Stock Pot – Depending on your batch size you want to fill the pot only halfway. This helps with any grease splashing out. (This is the method I used to render ours.)
• Crock Pot – This is another great option to render tallow instead of on the stovetop.
• Fine Mesh Strainer – This is to remove coarse bits and impurities. We used one similar to this.
• 100% Cheesecloth – This is recommended. A coffee filter or paper towel will do. Honestly, when we made ours we skipped this and it turned out great!
• Wide Mouth Mason Jars or Amber Jars – Wide mouth jars for pure tallow and amber for any tallow you may want to add essential oils to.

How To Render Beef Tallow On Stovetop

1. Trim all fat off of meat. Take care in removing as much as possible. It may be impossible to remove every bit of meat. Not to worry, it will be strained out later!
2. Cut into 1-inch cubes. Cutting evenly ensures evenly rendering down.
3. Place in stock pot. Depending on how big your batch is, it’s best to only fill halfway.
4. Place on medium-low and stir every 5-10 minutes.
5. Low and Slow! Cubes should melt in approximately 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how large of a batch you are preparing. Make sure to scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon to prevent burning. Watch for any signs of boiling. We’re going for a light simmer! Reduce heat if needed.
6. When is it done? You will notice crisp, lightly browned bits remaining and all white pieces should have reduced to yellow liquid gold.
7. Allow to cool slightly. Strain rendered fat. Prepare a bowl with a course strainer on top of a fine filter such as cheesecloth, coffee filter, or paper towel. Carefully pour through the strainer into a bowl, removing any crispy bits and impurities.
8. Rendered Tallow can be used immediately for cooking or making other items, such as Whipped Body Butter. It can also be stored in a sealed glass jar for later use. Cooled tallow will solidify and become a beautiful creamy white color.
9. Storing your tallow is easy! It can be stored at room temperature, lasting over a year. You can also store in the fridge for a longer shelf life or indefinitely in the freezer.

How to Render Beef Tallow in Crock Pot

The directions are primarily the same as rendering it on the stovetop. The main difference is the length of time the process takes.

1. Trim all fat off of meat. Take care in removing as much as possible. It may be impossible to remove every bit of meat. Not to worry, it will be strained out later!
2. Cut into 1-inch cubes. Cutting evenly ensures evenly rendering down.
3. Low and Slow! Toss the cubes into your crock pot on low and let it do its thing for a few hours.
4. Check on it periodically and stir if needed.
5. When is it done? There will be a crackling noise from the fat rendering down. Allow it to continue cooking until the crackling has all but stopped. You will notice crisp, lightly browned bits remaining and all white pieces should have reduced to yellow liquid gold. (Note: Allowing it to continue cooking after completely rendering could cause the tallow to burn.)
6. Allow it to cool slightly once the crock pot is turned off. (Approximately an hour) Strain rendered fat. Prepare a bowl with a course strainer on top of a fine filter such as cheesecloth, coffee filter, or paper towel. Carefully pour through a strainer into a bowl, removing any crispy bits and impurities.
7. Rendered Tallow can be used immediately for cooking or making other items, such as Whipped Body Butter. It can also be stored in a sealed glass jar for later use. Cooled tallow will solidify and become a beautiful creamy white color.
8. Storing your tallow is easy! It can be stored at room temperature, lasting over a year. You can also store in the fridge for longer shelf life or indefinitely in the freezer.