This is a super simple process to create a beautiful tallow! Tallow can be used in cooking or in body products. It’s super nourishing and moisturizing to the skin!
What is tallow?
Tallow is simply rendered fat (usually beef). It’s created simply by melting the fat, straining it and using a purifying process to create the pure finished product.
What are the benefits of tallow?
- Nutrient Rich (high in Vitamin A, B12, D, K, E
- Good Source of omega 3 & omega 6 healthy fats
- Super nourishing to the skin and the body
How to make Tallow
Obtain some grassfed beef suet from your local butcher. The suet is the fat that surrounds the organ meat of the beef. As always, the healthier the cow, the healthier the product. Our family typically orders a 1/2 a beef cow from a local farmer we love and trust. When the cow goes to the butcher, we are able to request the bones for broth as well as the suet be kept aside for us as well.
You are going to take that suet and place it in a crockpot or large soup pot on the stove. I typically will place the crockpot on high and just let it slowly melt everything in the pot. If there are pieces of meat left within the suet it will essentially fry. Some people enjoy eating this or will feed it to their chickens.
Add 4 cups of water as well as 1 1/2 Tablespoons of real salt. This helps the filtration process but it doesn’t leave your tallow salty because it will be flushed out.
Once everything is melted, you can strain it through some cheesecloth and into a large bowl. Place that bowl into the refrigerator to harden overnight. Once hardened, you can separate the tallow from the salt water that will settle at the bottom. Scrap any excess impurities off of the underside of your tallow block.
Repeat the steps of melting this fat with water and salt until the water appears to be clear or your tallow appears to be clean. *This filtration process is only needed if you desire to use the tallow for more than just cooking. It takes out any impurities and deodorizes the tallow from smelling ‘meaty.’
Once the filtration is complete, you can melt it again to be able to pour it into desired storage containers or you can store it in blocks to use later.
Rendering Suet to Tallow
Beef Tallow
Ingredients
- Grassfed Beef Suet
- 4 cups Filtered Water
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Salt
Instructions
- Place all ingredients into an appropriate sized crockpot or stew pot on the stovetop.
- Melt over medium heat until completely melted.
- Strain through cheesecloth and into a large bowl.
- Place into the refrigerator overnight to harden.
- Once hardened, remove the fat. *Salt water will have settled to the bottom of the bowl
- Scrap off any impurities from the bottom surface of the fat and discard.
- Repeat by melting again with the same amount of water and salt.
- Continue through steps 2-7 until the water is clean and impurities have been removed.
- You can melt finished product and pour into desired containers or break your tallow into chunks and store hard.
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