How to Make Beef Tallow from Your Trim (and 12 Ways to Use It)

If you smoke brisket or tri-tip, you throw away pounds of good beef fat on every cook. Don’t. That trim renders down into beef tallow – a clean, shelf-stable cooking fat that pitmasters, home cooks, and even skincare makers pay good money for. Here is how to turn your scraps into gold.

What is beef tallow?

Tallow is simply rendered beef fat – the hard fat cooked down low and slow until it melts, then strained clean of any meat and gristle. Cooled, it sets into a smooth, white, nearly odorless solid that keeps for months. Lamb fat renders the same way; pork fat becomes lard.

Why you should save your brisket and tri-tip trim

A packer brisket loses 10 to 20 percent of its weight in trimming, and an untrimmed tri-tip drops close to 40 percent – most of that is hard fat cap you would otherwise bin. A single brisket trim can yield a quart or more of tallow. It costs you nothing but a little time, and it is one of the most useful things you can keep in the kitchen.

How to render tallow, step by step

1. Collect and chill the fat. Save the fat cap and hard trim from your cooks. Cold fat is much easier to handle and cut.
2. Cut it small. Dice into half-inch pieces or run it through a meat grinder. More surface area renders faster and cleaner.
3. Render low and slow. Add the fat to a heavy pot, slow cooker, or an oven-safe pot with a small splash of water to keep it from scorching at the start. Hold it low, around 225 to 250 degrees F. The lowest burner on the stovetop works too.
4. Be patient. Over 3 to 6 hours the fat melts into a clear golden liquid and the solids (the cracklings) sink and brown. Stir now and then. Do not rush it with high heat, or the tallow turns dark and takes on a heavy, beefy taste.
5. Strain it. Pour through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth into clean glass jars. Salt and snack on the cracklings, or use them in cornbread.
6. Cool and store. It turns creamy white as it sets.

Storing your tallow

Strained tallow keeps for a few weeks at room temperature in a sealed jar, several months in the fridge, and a year or more in the freezer. If it ever smells sour or off, throw it out.

12 ways to use beef tallow

• High-heat cooking – searing steaks, frying eggs, sauteing vegetables. Its smoke point is around 400 degrees F.
• The best roast potatoes and fries you will ever make.
• Popcorn – real old-school, movie-theater flavor.
• Seasoning cast iron – it builds a hard, slick, non-stick patina.
• Basting on the pit – brush it over brisket, burgers, or vegetables.
• Pie crusts, biscuits, and Yorkshire puddings for a rich, savory edge.
• Tallow balm and lotion – whipped with a little olive or jojoba oil, it makes a deeply moisturizing skin balm. Tallow is remarkably close to the natural fats in our own skin.
• Soap – tallow is a classic, gentle soap-making base.
• Lip balm and healing salves.
• Candles – pour it into a jar with a wick.
• Leather conditioner for boots, gloves, and gear.
• Winter bird suet – mix with seeds and hang it out for the feeder.

Which cuts give the best fat for tallow

Any beef cut with a heavy fat cap is ideal: brisket, tri-tip, ribeye and prime rib trimmings, and chuck. Trim from well-marbled steaks works too. Keep a bag in the freezer and add to it after every cook until you have enough to render a good batch.

So the next time you trim a brisket or a tri-tip, keep the fat. Twenty minutes of prep and a lazy afternoon on low heat turns your scraps into months of premium cooking fat – with a jar of skin balm on the side.

Beef tallow FAQ

Can you make tallow from any beef fat?

Yes. The hard fat – the brisket fat cap, tri-tip fat cap, and dense trim – renders the cleanest and firmest tallow. Softer intramuscular fat works too, it just yields a little less. Avoid anything with a lot of meat or gristle attached, or trim it off first.

Is beef tallow good for cooking?

It is one of the best high-heat cooking fats you can keep. Tallow is stable, has a smoke point around 400 degrees F, and carries no additives or seed-oil processing. It has been a staple cooking fat for centuries. As with any fat, use it as part of a balanced diet.

How long does homemade tallow last?

Properly strained tallow keeps a few weeks at room temperature in a sealed jar, several months in the refrigerator, and a year or more in the freezer. If it ever smells sour or rancid, throw it out.

What is the difference between tallow and lard?

Tallow is rendered beef or lamb fat; lard is rendered pork fat. They render the same way, but tallow is firmer and more heat-stable, while lard is softer with a milder flavor.

Wet rendering or dry rendering?

Wet rendering (starting with a splash of water) is more forgiving and produces a cleaner, more neutral tallow – ideal if you want it for skincare or all-purpose cooking. Dry rendering is faster and gives a richer, more beefy flavor that is great for searing and fries.