Beef tallow is rendered beef fat: suet from around the kidneys and loins, cooked slowly until the pure fat separates from the connective tissue and moisture, then strained. In the kitchen it is used much like butter or oil for searing steaks, frying, roasting vegetables, and baking, and it stays solid at room temperature. It was the dominant cooking fat in America until the mid-20th century, when industrially produced vegetable oils became cheap and widespread, and it is now making a comeback among home cooks who prioritize flavor, stability, and traditional methods.
What Is Beef Tallow, and How Is It Different from Suet, Drippings, and Lard?
Tallow is rendered beef fat, specifically from kidney and loin fat deposits (leaf fat or suet). Suet is the raw fat before rendering; tallow is what you get after it is melted down and strained. Tallow is also not drippings from cooking beef - that is a separate product with water and protein mixed in. True tallow is a stable, shelf-stable fat with a high smoke point that stays solid at room temperature.
Lard is the equivalent from pork - rendered pork fat, also excellent for cooking. Tallow is the beef version.
What Is Beef Tallow Used For in Cooking?
- Searing steaks: Tallow's high smoke point makes it excellent for screaming-hot cast iron sears. Better than butter for this application.
- French fries: The original, pre-1990 method. Tallow-fried fries have a flavor and texture that vegetable oil cannot replicate.
- Roasting vegetables: Toss vegetables in tallow before roasting - it coats evenly and tolerates oven temperatures well.
- Pie crust and baked goods: Rendered tallow can replace shortening in pie crusts for a savory application (or even sweet - the flavor is mild).
- Seasoning cast iron: Tallow is one of the best substances for seasoning cast iron pans - it bonds to the iron and creates a durable non-stick layer.
Why Did Beef Tallow Disappear, and Why Is It Back?
Tallow fell out of mainstream use in the mid-20th century partly due to concerns about saturated fat (since revised in many respects) and largely because industrially produced soybean and corn oil became extremely cheap. McDonald's famously fried their french fries in beef tallow until 1990.
The comeback is driven by several factors: home cooks seeking traditional methods, people on carnivore and ancestral diet protocols, and a broader reassessment of saturated fat's role in diet. Functionally, it is also just an excellent cooking fat - high smoke point, stable at high heat, shelf-stable without refrigeration.
How Do You Make Beef Tallow at Home?
Rendering your own tallow takes a few hours of low heat and very little work. Ask your butcher for beef suet, chop it into small pieces, and melt it slowly in a heavy pot, slow cooker, or low oven until the fat runs clear and the solid bits (cracklings) brown. Strain the liquid fat through cheesecloth into a clean glass jar. The full method, with temperatures and times, is in the FAQ below.
Where Can You Buy Beef Tallow?
Your local butcher shop is the best source. Ask for beef suet (the raw kidney fat) and render it yourself, or ask if they carry pre-rendered tallow. Many butcher shops now stock tallow explicitly because demand has grown significantly. Some beef share farms also offer rendered tallow as an add-on when ordering a beef share.
Find a butcher shop near you on Butcher Bud and ask about tallow availability.