**Learn how easy it is to render tallow that is odorless & purified**

*Use it for cooking or as the base for your natural skin care products!*

Rendering Beef Tallow

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Let’s address a couple questions you may have & I will show you how easy this process is. It does take some time but all you really don’t have to do very much other than monitor it, but don’t worry I’ll explain all that shortly.

What is tallow?

Rendered suet or fat from ruminant animals such as cattle, sheep, bison & lamb. I am using suet from cattle so that will be the main focus for the information I’m sharing today

When rendering beef tallow you want to use fat from pasture raised grass fed & finished beef as it will be loaded with antioxidants, essential vitamins & minerals.

In order to do this simple process you will first need to source out our beef suet. If you aren’t familiar with the farms in your area I would suggest a simple google search to see if there are any that see directly to the consumer. The farm I order from in Southern Saskatchewan delivers my order right to my door so see what you can find on your local level.

What is the rendering method?

The rendering method we’re going to be using is called wet rendering. You can also render it dry but I like the finished product this method uses which doesn’t have any sort of beefy smell left over.

The wet rendering method has consistently provided me with a beautiful, white, odorless, purified product.

What are the benefits of tallow for health?

It is considered to be a stable fat for cooking. Meaning high heat won’t cause the chemical composition to change like vegetable oils. Tallow has a smoke point of approximately 420℉ so it won't burn when used for frying, sauteing or roasting.

What is the nutritional content of beef tallow?

Nutritional content of 100g Beef tallow

Energy 3,744 KJ (902 Kcal)

Carbohydrates 0g

Fat 100g

Saturated 42g

Monounsaturated 50g

Polyunsaturated 4g

Protein 0g

Cholesterol 109 mg

Saturated fatty acids:

Palmitic acid 26%
Stearic acid 14%
Myristic acid 3%

Monounsaturated fatty acids:

Oleic acid 47%
Palmitoleic acid 3%

Polyunsaturated fatty acids:

Linoleic acid 3%
Linolenic acid 1%

As you can see tallow does have a rather high saturated fat content it also has a healthier balance of omega 6 & omega 3 fats which can boost the activity of a specific class of enzymes called AMP-activated protein kinase or AMPK which plays a role in the process of homeostasis activating glucose & fatty acid uptake & oxidation when cellular energy is low.

In other words it helps regulate how cells use energy & reduce stress in the liver & fat tissues. While I am not going to be making any sort of claims that this is the healthiest fat you could use, it does have some key vitamins & minerals our bodies require.

Be your own judge & jury if this is something that would benefit your health as we look at the vitamins & minerals found in beef fat

Vitamins & minerals found in beef fat

Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) → necessary for healthy metabolism & supports cellular function

Vitamin B6 → important for brain development as well as supports the immune & nervous system

Vitamin B12 → supports the nervous system & aids in the formation of red blood cells

Vitamin E → fat soluble vitamin & antioxidant, enhancing immune function & is important for skin & hair health

Βeta-carotene → Vitamin A precursor. Vitamin A is fat soluble & necessary for vision, bone growth, immune function & skin integrity

Vitamin K → fat soluble vitamin that supports bone health & is necessary for the clotting process

Choline → optimized liver function & aids in fat metabolism

Phosphorus → supports cellular function, aids in children’s growth & helps maintain healthy bones

As you can see it is rich in so many of the vital minerals & nutrients our bodies require to function optimally but I can also attest that things just taste really good when they are cooked in beef tallow.

Rendering Beef Tallow

But wait…. That’s only one side of the benefits beef tallow has to offer. I did tell you that you could use it as a base for skin care products, which is another way I love to use tallow for skin.

Benefits of tallow for skin

Beef tallow is very similar to the sebum found on your skin which is one reason why skin loves tallow.

It is best used by people with normal, dry, irritated or mature skin who are not necessarily prone to breakouts. It has been shown to also be beneficial to people who have eczema or psoriasis because since it has a similar profile to our skin it can help seal in moisture & nourish the skin

On this blog I do have a recipe for Tallow Balm & Whipped Tallow Body Butter with plans of bringing you more tallow based products shortly

Beneficial vitamins & fatty acids for skin found in beef tallow

Vitamin A → helps stimulate collages to reduce fine lines & wrinkles, improves skin elasticity

Vitamin D → decreases skin inflammation

Vitamin E → antioxidant helps prevent free radical damage, promotes wound healing & improves the skin

Vitamin K → improves skin elasticity, improves stretch marks, dark spots & promotes wound healing.

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) → has anti inflammatory properties & can help support the immune system

Oleic acid → helps skin stay soft & flexible by creating a layer of fatty acids on the skin. Helps regenerate skin cells.

Stearic acid → protects the skin barrier. Sebum which are the oily secretions of the sebaceous glands is approx. 11% stearic acid. It can soften the skin, reduces flaking & itching

Alpha linoleic & linoleic acid → omega 3 & 6 fatty acids maintain the structure & barrier function of the skin.

Palmitoleic acid → one of the basic building blocks of our skin

Palmitic acid → helps with the skin’s barrier function but it does decrease as we age

As you can see beef tallow has an abundant amount of essential nutrients like Vitamin A, D & E tallow can help provide UV protection by supporting cell regeneration. This is why I’ve included it in next week's blog recipe where I’ll show you how to make an herbal sunscreen with a few infusion suggestions.

Tallow also has anti inflammatory properties & boosts collagen

One thing to mention is comedogenic rating which is a 0-5 rating we use to determine if an ingredient has the potential to clog pores. 0 is it will not clog pores, 5 it will clog pores. During my research I couldn’t find an actual answer as sources seem to be conflicting. Some sources say it's 0, others say it’s 2-3.

I can only speak from experience & I’ve found it hasn’t clogged my pores yet & in fact I am experiencing less breakouts during certain hormonal shifts that just to gift me with a pimple or two.

See how simple the rendering process truly is.

Recipe

Beef fat/suet from grain fed pastured cattle

2-3 tbsp Table salt

6 cups of water

Equipment

Crock pot
Immersion blender, optional but it makes the job easier
Soup ladle or spoon
Stainless steel bowl that is slightly flexible
Strainer
Cheesecloth

Instructions:

If you have an immersion blender, go directly to step 2. You will need to cut your suet into small manageable pieces. A food processor, sharp knife or meat grinder will work wonderfully. I find it does work better if you do this while the suet is frozen.
Place your beef suet, it can be from frozen, into your crock pot
Add the salt & water
Turn the crockpot on low
If using an immersion blender, after a few hours blend up the fat so it's a smooth, soupy consistency
Make sure to monitor the crockpot & stir it occasionally to make sure that there is still plenty of water & nothing is burning. If you need to add more water do so, you don’t need to add any more salt
After 10-12 hours it's time to strain the fat. Using a strainer lined with cheesecloth, ladle the hot fat into a stainless steel bowl & place in the refrigerator overnight
The next day take your bowl of now hardened fat & carefully take the puck of fat out leaving the water in the bottom of the bowl. The water should be a dirty brownish color & maybe even slightly gelatinous. That brown sediment is what the salt pulled out of the fat.
Take a sharp knife & scrape any brown sediment/residue off of the puck
If you are only using this for cooking you could stop here (skip to step 12). If you are wanting to use this for skincare products you would do a second rendering process repeating step 2-6 as many times as you want but I find 2 is enough
Allow the fat to render a second time for about 4 hours & repeat step 7-9
Allow the purified puck of tallow cure for a day or so on the counter to get the rest of the water out of it. I like to put my puck of tallow on a cooling rack with another rack stacked on top with a towel over it to keep any dust or dirt off of it. Or if you want to store the finished product in glass jars you would melt it down again, this time with no added salt or water & carefully pour the melted fat into jars

Notes on storage:

You can store your finished product in the cupboard or in the refrigerator. I typically will take a puck, cut it into 4 pieces & just one piece at a time in a glass container for cooking.
If storing in glass jars be very careful not to get any water in the jar. There will still be a bit of water that comes out when you melt it. If you get even a drop of water in the bottom of the jar it might start to mold, ask me how I know this….
You could put the pucks into the freezer to help lock in that freshness. If you do this be sure to put some parchment or wax paper between the pucks so they don’t end up in one frozen lump.

Comment down below & let me know how your planning on using your rendered beef tallow

Be sure to come back next week where I’ll be sharing an herbal sunscreen formulation.

Until next time, may you find Peace wherever you are!