How To Make Beef Tallow

Let’s get started!

Chop the fat as finely as you realistically can.  Tip:  It is MUCH easier to chop when it is semi-frozen.  And the finer it is, the more yield you will get.

Place the chopped fat in a slow cooker on LOW.   Leave the lid OFF to allow excess moisture to evaporate. 

Let the fat slowly simmer, never allowing it to boil, for roughly 6-8 hours, depending on how much fat you’re rendering it.

The fat will begin to turn brown and turn to liquid.  Give it an occasional stir to avoid any bits getting stuck to the sides or bottom and starting to burn.

It’s done rendering when at least half of the pieces are brown, are submerged under liquid fat, and the liquid fat is clear.  Avoid over-cooking the fat or the tallow will end up having a strong, borderline burnt flavor.

Line a fine mesh strainer with ultra fine cotton cheesecloth (essential for straining out impurities so your tallow doesn’t develop mold) and place the strainer on top of a large glass bowl.   Ladle or pour the tallow through the cheesecloth.

Let it sit until the tallow has drained through.  Once cool enough to handle, you can squeeze the cheesecloth to get any remaining tallow out.

Initially the color will be a yellow but it will lighten as it cools.  If the color is orange or darker, it means your tallow is overcooked/burnt.

Pour the liquid tallow into whatever glass jars you plan on storing the tallow in.  Wide mouth jars are easier to access.  Allow the tallow to cool completely before screwing the lids on the jars.

The color of the tallow will lighten as it cools and the color can vary from anything from yellow to almost white.  Tallow made from kidney fat is usually the lightest in color.  The breed of cow and also whether it’s a dairy or meat cow, can also impact the color.  One is not better than the other.