Tallow Rendering 101

There are 2 ways to render tallow:

1. Dry Rendering - rendering down tallow by itself (no water or salt)

• More intense beef flavor 

• Longer shelf life 

• Higher possibility of burning during first rendering 

2. Wet Rendering - rendering tallow with some water (and sometimes salt)

• Milder beef smell 

• Fewer impurities

• May result in shorter shelf life than dry rendering 

   

  At Campbell’s Creekside Farms we wet render our beef tallow in a slow cooker (Crock-Pot) because we like the low risk of burning during rendering and a finished product that doesn't have a beefy smell. If you would prefer to dry render, just do not add water in step one. All other rendering steps are the same. 

   

   

   

   

  Rendering Step-By-Step 

1. Remove suet from the freezer and place into a slow cooker on low. Add about roughly 1-4 cups of water to your cooker and put on the lid.

• We HIGHLY recommend you perform this first render outside! There can be a strong smell associated with this first render and it is not what you want your house to smell like for the next week. 

• The amount of water doesn’t have to be exact. If you are using a bigger slow and filling it with more suet, use more water. 

• You may need to cut up the suet a bit to fit it into the cooker and have the lid lay flat. 

• Some directions say you need to shred your tallow. We have tried this step and did not see any difference in the end product so we now skip it.

• Adding water in this first step helps to prevent burning, especially while your suet is just starting to melt.

2. Cook suet on low for a minimum of 6 hours.

• We have let our suet cook on low for as much as 24 hours before and have not seen any difference in the end product.

3. Once your set is finished cooking on low, turn off your crock port and pick out any large solids.

• Make sure to only use metal utensils, bowls and tools! The liquid fat is very hot and will melt plastic.
• Some of these large solids may have cooked to the side of your slow cooker during the rending process. That is okay, just use tongs to get out what you can. The rest will be cleaned up in the next step.

4. After you have picked out all the large solids, cover a metal mesh strainer with cheese cloth and place this stainer over a clean bowl. Use a metal or glass measuring cup to pour the liquid fat from the slow cooker through the strainer into the bowl. 

• This straining process should remove the rest of the large pieces of meat and tissue from the fat. You may still see some small impurities floating around, but that is okay, they will come out in the next step. 

5. Once all of the liquid fat has been strained into clean bowls, let the fat come back to room temperature until it is solid.

• This step is going to take a while. If your fat is still somewhat translucent or really soft to the touch, give it some more time to harden. 

6. Once the fat is completely solid, flip it out of the bowl and look at the bottom. There will be some brown and block flecks on the bottom that you will want to scrape off with a sharp knife. Discard all that you scrape off until you are left with a perfectly white brick.

• If you added extra water back in step one, there will be some water sitting at the bottom of your bowl once your fat is hardened. This is completely normal. Just discard the water and dry off your tallow before scraping off the impurities. 

7. Congratulations - you now have ready to use tallow! If you still see some impurities you want to remove, or if the tallow is smelling a little beefy for your liking, you can go through this whole process again and again until you get a final product you are happy with. You will not have to strain our tallow with cheese cloth again.

• We normally render our tallow 3-4 times to get a pure white tallow with little to no beef smell. If we are just using it to cook the smell is no problem, but we want as little smell as possible to make soap and lotion.
• If you go through the rendering process 2 or 3 times and are still unhappy with the product, you can add a tablespoon of non-iodized salt with your water in step one. Salt will help pull out more smell and impurities, but can leave a bit of a salty taste. You will want to go through the wet rendering process one last time without salt once you are happy with your tallow. 

8. To store tallow you can just cut it into chucks and put it into jars, or you can melt it back down and pour it into jars.

• Your jars of tallow can be stored at room temperature on your counter for many months. If you are at all worried about the shelf life or don’t plan to use your tallow for a long time you can also store the jars in the refrigerator or freezer. 

• If storing at room temperature, try to store in a cool, dark place. High heat and sunshine will cause your tallow to melt and then re-harden. Going through this process many times isn’t good for the shelf life of your tallow. 

• You will know your tallow has gone bad by astrong, sour odor or yellow/brown discoloration. Just be on the look out for any major color, texture, taste or smell changes in the tallow as this can be a sign of spoilage. 

  Ways to use and enjoy your beef tallow:  

• Cooking 

  • Tallow has a high smoke/burning point of 400-420 degrees fahrenheit (extra virgin olive oils smoke point is 325 degrees fahrenheit)

  • Tallow contain conjugates linoleic acid (CLA) which has been linked to reduced inflammation by some scientists (and even weight management in some studies) 

  • High in healthy fats that help you stay feeling full for longer 

  • Adds tons of flavor to your meal 

  • Great for seasoning cast iron pans! 

• Soaps & Lotions 

  • Highly moisturizing & can be great for people with eczema or 

    extremely dry skin 

  • Be careful if you have a history of acne and extensive use of tallow can 

    cause trapping of oils

• Conditioning wood & leather

  • Wooden cutting boards & kitchen utensils 

• Candle making 
  • Slow and clean burn
• Tallow (and other animal fats) is also used to make biofuels like biodiesel and renewable diesel.