Rendering
Beef Tallow

Summary: Rendering transforms beef fat & suet into something that is usable whether it is for homemade soaps, hand-crafted candles, or as is often my own case, home cooking. I most frequently use beef tallow for skillet searing, but I have had excellent success with making flaky crusts for savory pies. No matter the use, this is my method for reliably rendering topnotch tallow.

Equipment:

• Large stockpot (~3-4 gallons)

• (optional) Fryer/steamer basket that fits your stockpot

• Stainless steel mesh hand-strainer

• Small funnel

• Ladle

• Tinfoil (for lining the worksurface)

• 128 oz’s worth of Mason jars, preferably without shoulders

Ingredients:

• ~5-7 lbs beef suet

  • I do my best to choose suet over muscular fat. Suet collects in large accumulations around the organs (especially the kidneys), has greater purity, bears a more neutral taste, and is much easier and more predictable to work with.

Method:

Trim & Chop the Fat

1. Trim and remove as much of the non-fat tissue (bone, muscle, organ, and etc.) as possible.

2. Cut and/or crumble the resulting fat into chunks that are at most ½” – 1” thick. This allows rendering to occur more evenly and thoroughly. The smaller the chunks, the better.

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Render Low & Slow at 230 F

3. Place the chopped fat into the pot (or basket/pot combo).

4. Place that pot – lid off – into an oven at 230 degrees F. Though rendering at a low temperature makes the process take at least 10-12 hours, there is no risk of burning the beef fat. Note: From my experience, rendering the beef fat over an even longer period of 20-24 hours grants the tallow an ever-so-slightly nutty flavor.

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Straining & Storing

5. For storage, ensure that the jars and lids have been washed, and then place them for at least 30 minutes in the oven beside the tallow pot to ensure they are all dry and sanitized.

6. Take the tallow out, and press the beef fat against the side of the pot or basket with the back of a soup ladle to squeeze out all remaining rendered fat. Make sure there is little to no bubbling. This means that the rendering is complete. If there is bubbling, put the pot back in the oven for a few more hours.

7. Spoonful by spoonful – pour the tallow through a filter-funnel combo into the heated jars.

8. Use oven mitts to tighten on the lid while everything is still hot, then allow the tallow to cool at room temperature; it will turn from a golden yellow to a brilliant waxy white. You know you’ve done well when you hear the jar lids begin to buckle inward with a ‘clink’. This means that a vacuum has been achieved. Tallow stored in a vacuum like this can last almost indefinitely at room temperature so long as the seal remains intact and the jar is kept out of the sun. (Note: I store tallow in the fridge because I have space available, and it MIGHT help preserve the tiny bit of flavor it does have.)

Clean-up Tips

Cleanup after tallow-making can be the most trying part of the process. However, I have two primary tips to help make it less of a hassle and to keep your kitchen drain beef-fat-free.

• Line your workspace with tinfoil before you begin.

• Wipe all implements and cooking equipment with paper towels before washing.