What you Will Need
- Beef Suet (Fat)
- Knife
- Food Processor (Optional)
- Big Pot
- Strainer
- Container for Tallow
Beef tallow is a stable fat that allows for high heat, healthy cooking. Tallow is a great substitute for unstable, chemically processed oils such as vegetable oils.
Rendering beef tallow is pretty simple. Go to your local butcher or supermarket that has a butcher and ask them for beef suet or beef fat. Most butchers will know what that is. It will average you around 50 cents per pound. Some butchers might actually give it to you for free because they usually just throw it away.
Cut the Beef Suet (fat)
Cut the pieces up into half inch blocks. You can use a food processor if you’d like. This is easier to do after frozen since the pieces are hard.
Put the Beef Fat Pieces in a Big Pot
Put the pieces in a big pot and let it sit on the stove for about an hour and a half to two hours. Stir occasionally on low heat.
Strain the Tallow
Once the pieces of fat become small and crispy, you can begin removing them. Strain them over the container you plan to put the tallow in. Once strained, put them aside in a bowl. These are edible. Feel free to be creative with them or just put salt & pepper on them and serve as a side.
Storing the Tallow
Let the tallow sit inside the pot to cool down for a bit. Once it cools down, strain it into your storing container. You can use coffee paper or a towel to strain the tallow even better, but it isn’t necessary.
Beef tallow is solid at room temperature, so be sure to keep that in mind when you’re ready to use it. You can keep it in the fridge or in the cabinet. Either way, your tallow is safe and a great alternative to vegetable oils in any low carb recipe!
Dudao says
So the first time I tried it, I didn’t really watch the time. I was uaphnpy with the cracklings though They weren’t really crunchy and still had a lot of fat inside.The second time, i had it on over night at Low for 4 hours then Keep Warm for the remainder. When I peered into it after waking, the solids were all congealed in the center. I turned it off and went to work. After I got back, I filtered out the rendered tallow, then put the remaining solids to the stove top. They melted down a bit more but produced a more murky tallow not sure if that’s safe to store? Anyway, the cracklings this time turned out super small =( I don’t seem to be able to get the cracklings to come out right.
The Master says
I would suggest getting the thick blocks of suet instead of the rubbery ones. That works best for the cracklings. Leave them on low heat, but if you aren’t careful, they will burn and leave a murky tallow. Don’t worry if it’s a little murky. If you use the food processor, they might come out too small. Try cutting them into 1 inch blocks with a knife.
Shivi says
I’m not sure. I think so. The low carb store here closed about 5 years ago! I think that was the pasta they had. That stuff tstead like shoe.For a while there they sold all kinds of stuff low carb and I think it was all b.s. I was eating low carb chocolate and thinking it was the greatest! It sucked, made me crave other junk food too. Not to mention the gas! TMII gave up on the shakes and bars and other low carb stuff too.
Richy says
Hey MAS What are you going to do with the tallow? I got some a few mohtns ago from an organic butcher and I’m struggling to use the stuff. I find it very waxy, even when fully melted and mixed with lemon juice. I prefer (pork) lard and duck fat.Best regards,Glenn
The Master says
I use it to fry chicken wings a lot. I love it! I eat a lot of other stuff like eggs with it too. Pretty much anything that requires oil.
Ahmad says
not that new, out for a few years. from what I saw online. And I have fololwed a SUPER clean diet for then majority of the past 15 years (vegetarian, low-fat/reduced carb; most of my calories from protein such as eggwhites, soy, etc). I am just always on the lookout for new/interesting products. i am also in target weight, just trying to reduce body fat from 22% to about 16%.
Zull says
I just eat them right out the can. Sometimes I’ll add hot sauce. Not very imaginative. Only buy the sprnig water sardines. Almost all the other options have soybean oil.
wild bird food says
I do consider all of the ideas you’ve offered to your post. They’re very convincing and can definitely work. Nonetheless, the posts are very short for beginners. May you please prolong them a bit from subsequent time? Thanks for the post.
Dea says
i picked half a cow in the fall and asked for some suet. they gave me about 10 lbs. of beef and bison suet which i also rredeend in my crock pot. that was the easy process. my first and only attempt at pemmican was a long an tedious failure. tasted terrible to me but my dog loved it. i still have a bunch of tallow though and i agree with glenn. what do you do with the stuff? clean up after cooking is a nightmare. it is liking trying to clean off candle wax. any advice would be much appreciated. for now i am sticking to butter and pork fat till i hear of a good way to deal with this stuff after done cooking.