Now We Are Cooking With Beef Fat

The Benefits of Beef Tallow for Cooking

I know many of my readers and those who follow me on Notes are aware that I am a big supporter of beef tallow. I use it for so many things - skin care, deodorant, soap. But I also use it in my kitchen.

There are so many benefits to this byproduct of the cattle industry but with saturated fats getting a bad rap (read below), tallow, used for centuries was phased out for more ‘healthier’ options.

Have We Been Lied to All These Years?

My hope is that once you read the benefits of tallow is that you add this item to your pantry. So here are my reasons why beef tallow should be a fat/oil used in your kitchen.

What is Beef Tallow?

Beef tallow is the fat, usually the suet fat from around the kidneys, from beef that is heated and melted to separate out impurities (rendered).

How to Render Beef Fat

• Obtain beef fat from your local cattle farmer or butcher - opt for fat from grass fed/grass finished for best quality

• Cut into smaller pieces and place n a large stockpot (or crockpot) and heat until melted and tallow is separate from impurities

• Skim off foam and impurities that rise to the top

• Strain the liquid fat using a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth

• Place liquid tallow into storage containers and allow to cool to solid form

History of Beef Tallow Use

Evidence suggests tallow use as far back as 10,000 years ago. It was used as energy, provide warmth and to preserve food. Indigenous cultures rendered fat for survival and used it for pemmican (dried meat and fat). In Medieval Europe, tallow was used primarily for cooking ad valued for its long shelf life.

Tallow is shelf stable at room temperature for 12 months, refrigerated for 18 months and frozen for 2 years.

Tallow was used primarily until the early 20th century, when vegetables oils become more accessible and aggressively marketed as a healthier option.

Tallow is making a comeback in today’s health and wellness realm with the MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) movement. The conversation is starting of restaurants switching from frying in vegetable or seed oils to using tallow. There are many benefits to this, with one being the fact that tallow has a very high smoke point meaning it does not oxidize as quickly. When an oil oxidizes, our bodies can no longer metabolize it correctly and this become inflammatory to our bodies. Also because tallow does not oxidize as quickly, it allows it to be used for more than one use when frying. Many restaurants that use a seed oil, will add other chemicals to increase the life of the oil because these oils oxidize and breakdown quicker.

Other Benefits of Tallow

Tallow provides Vitamins A, D, E, K, B12, Choline and Omega 3’s.

Tallow is a good mix of polyunsaturated (omega 6’s), monosaturated (omega 3’s) and saturated fat, of which approximately 50% is monosaturated fats - the most heart healthy fat and the same fat found in olive oil. The saturated fat found in tallow is believed to have a more neutral effect in blood cholesterol levels, meaning that it does not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. The high amount of omega 3’s in tallow make it beneficial to our brain health, structure and function. These fatty acids support the myelin sheath that surround our neurons and support nerve impulses.

Tallow is high in CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), an omega 6 fatty acid) that has been shown to support fat burning metabolism and increase weight loss.

The fatty acids in tallow are essential to hormone production and are precursors to steroid hormones like cortisol and testosterone.

As mentioned above, tallow contains a high amount of vitamin D, E and A, which are immune system enhancers.

And finally tallow is great for the skin as I may have mentioned before.

Tallow: The Ancient Beauty Secret Making a Modern Comeback in Skincare

Tallow is always in my pantry and a great addition to my kitchen for cooking. It adds great flavor to foods as well.

If you use tallow, why do you use it? If you don’t use tallow, I suggest you give it a try. You will not be disappointed.

Danni

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