How to Render Beef Fat for Tallow

For today'south Happy Homesteading post nosotros are going back in history to acquire the long-lost skill of rendering beef tallow fat like many pioneers made & used. Beefiness tallow was used in cooking as it makes an amazing oil for frying or pastries. They would also employ tallow fat for candle making, soap making, moisturizing, keeping bandage fe pots from rusting and even for waterproofing leather.

What is Tallow?

"Tallow is the rendered fat of cows, sheep, and other ruminant animals such equally deer. It is very solid and waxy at room temperature and can be kept for extended periods without the need for refrigeration. Rendering is the procedure of gently heating the interior fat tissue, called "suet," causing the pure oils to cook abroad from the residuum of the tissue." (Source)

Tallow is solid at room temperature, with a texture harder and more waxy than shortening. In fact tallow and lard are rendered the same way, but lard is hog fatty slowly melted down and is softer like shortening.

Beef Tallow is a Good for you Fat

Tallow is the healthy fat that sadly got pushed off the shelves once vegetable oils came around.

Before doing this homesteading series I had honestly never heard of tallow. And when I asked my friends and family most this I only got weird looks. Isn't it amazing how something that was basically a staple in homes a hundred or two years agone has seemingly been lost or forgotten? After researching I found that beef tallow is actually a very healthy fat total of vitamins and is actually better for you than some of the hydrogenated oils nosotros buy at the stores.

"Tallow is an excellent source of niacin, vitamins B6, B12, K2, selenium, fe, phosphorus, potassium and riboflavin. Grass Fed beef tallow contains high ratio of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) which is a cancer-resistant agent. Contrary to the popular conception, tallow is good for health as tallow fat is similar to the fat/muscles in the heart. Recent studies take shown that human beings need at least 50% of saturated fats similar tallow and lard to keep the middle pumping hale and healthy. Tallow from pasture-raised cows also contains a small amount of Vitamin D, similar to lard. Information technology is also a proficient source of K2 in its suet class." (Source)

Making Tallow

Kickoff thing you need is some beef fat. I institute a nice local butcher shop, called them upwardly and asked if they had whatsoever beef fat. Lucky for me they did and information technology was merely $.67 per lb too. For the nicest and healthiest tallow endeavor to become beefiness fat from correct effectually the kidneys and preferably from a grass-fed cow.  I didn't inquire the butcher at the time I purchased information technology if this was a grass-fed cow or non, I retrieve I was in stupor that I actually found beef fatty and that it was and so inexpensive. Only next time I will ask for sure.

The beefiness fatty I purchased was frozen, so I let it thaw enough that it was still hard merely not frozen solid so I could employ my food processor to grate information technology up. If yous don't take a nutrient processor just use a knife and cut the fat into as minor of chunks as y'all tin can. If there are any pieces of meat you can cutting out do it at this phase too.

Hither is all my beefiness fatty put into my 5 qt. Dutch Oven I purchased. I recollect there is about four lbs of beefiness fat in at that place. I filled my pan to the top.

With the estrus on low I put the chapeau on the beef tallow fat and let information technology beginning slowly cooking. Hither is how it looked later on one 60 minutes. If y'all had only one lb of fat it would look a lot more melted at this stage, but since I accept 4 lbs, information technology is slowly cooking from the lesser.

Here information technology is again after 2 hours. A little more rendered. At this point I took a wooden spoon and mixed the beefiness tallow fat around a chip. Some people like to take a potato masher and squish it a chip likewise to aid the process forth. You don't want to melt this fast considering if it burns it will ruin it all.

Now its been 4 hours and my house is Really starting to smell bad like well..FAT and STINKY OIL. YUCK.

I opened up every window and turned on fans. I tin't stress to you lot enough how horrible this smelled. At this phase I was just wanting this whole process to be over. I am not kidding. I spent almost of the day upstairs just so I couldn't smell information technology every bit much. And so when I did take to go downstairs I really gagged once from the smell. I am such a baby, aren't I… 🙂

After nearly half-dozen-seven hours it was all done. You can tell by all the little browned bits cooked till crispy. The Pioneers called these the cracklin's.  They are basically fried bits of meat and grisle.  They would sprinkle a lilliputian salt on the cracklins and once cool eat them up. I shuddered at the idea subsequently smelling the fatty cooking in the air. I actually lost my ambition with the smell in the air.

Adjacent is the time to drain all the liquid oil and strain out the cracklin's. You can use a fine mesh strainer, a paper towel, cheese cloth or what I used: a flour sack towel.  I lined the towel over a strainer, which saturday over a large bowl.

Then I poured all the hot oil in and strained it. Utilise oven mitts hither, and call back to exist safe. This is Actually HOT oil and can burn you if you are not careful.

Look at all that lovely yellow liquid tallow left backside later the straining.

It should be a dainty yellow color.

I poured mine into wide mouth glass jars for storage. And so I let it cool all dark.

And it turned difficult and waxy and white. Isn't it beautiful??

It was even more beautiful afterwards I deep cleaned my whole kitchen, using vinegar to get the nasty smell out. 😉

Storing Tallow

Beef Tallow is wonderful considering as long equally you store it in an air-tight container to avoid oxidization information technology can be at room temperature for up to a yr or longer. I accept mine in my fridge as it will final even longer there. OR you can pour your tallow fat into ice cube trays and put the frozen cubes into a freezer bag to freeze.

Tallow Soap & Tallow Candles

As many of you might know I fabricated my ain homemade soap for the outset time last calendar month using a recipe of lye and a variety of shop bought oils. I honey the soap I made, simply I wanted to make soap like the Pioneers and settlers did from long ago using beefiness tallow. I have heard that bootleg tallow soap fabricated from rendering beef tallow is the very best type of soap. It's strong, its hard and information technology suds nicely. And I would similar to use my own tallow soap instead of using Fels Naptha in my Homemade Laundry Soap recipe as well. And then check back, I will exist making tallow lather from scratch very soon!  Plus  I call up information technology might be corking to try to brand Tallow candles equally well.

 And then what do y'all remember? Practice you have questions? Think this is weird? Please leave a comment with your thoughts!

• Beef Fatty preferably from a grass-fed cow and try to get the fat that is from right around the kidneys

• Use nutrient processor to grate it upwards or if you don't have a nutrient processor just use a knife and cut the fat into as modest of chunks equally yous can.

• If there are any pieces of meat you lot can cut out practice it at this stage also.

• Put beefiness fat into 5 qt. Dutch Oven, fill pan to the acme.

• With the heat on low put the hat on the beefiness tallow fatty and let it start slowly cooking.

• After ii hours accept a wooden spoon and mix the beef tallow fat around a scrap. Some utilise a potato masher and squish it a bit also to assist the process forth.

• Don't cook this fast because if it burns it will ruin it all.

• Stir over again at nigh 4 hours.

• After about vi-7 hours information technology volition be done. You tin can tell by all the piddling browned bits cooked till crispy.

• Next drain all the liquid oil and strain out the cracklin's. (Cracklins are basically fried $.25 of meat and gristle)

• Utilize a fine mesh strainer, a newspaper towel, cheese fabric or a flour sack towel and line the towel over a strainer, which should sit over a large bowl.

• Pour all the hot oil in and strain it. It should be a nice xanthous color.

• Cascade into closed containers and allow to cool overnight.

• Store information technology in an air-tight container to avoid oxidization it tin exist at room temperature for up to a year or longer. You can store it in the fridge as information technology will last even longer in that location. OR you can pour your tallow fat into ice cube trays and put the frozen cubes into a freezer bag to freeze.

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Source: https://happymoneysaver.com/how-to-render-beef-tallow/

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