As with pork lard, enormous amounts of beef fat that could otherwise be rendered into tallow gets dumped in the trash every year.
People do this for varying reasons. Some don’t understand how easy it is to render into tallow, and some believe that its more unhealthy than it actually is.
I won’t get into detail about whether or not it’s healthy or unhealthy and to what degree. I will say that some research into the subject may surprise you, especially with the evolving science on saturated fats.
I will say that saturated fats are, without question, better than the artificially created trans-fats that are introduced into your diet through the industrial sludge pumped out by giant mega-corporations.
Cook your suet over low/medium heat for 2-3 hours with a lid propped on top – not fully covering the pot but with enough space for steam to escape as it all cooks down. You want to “melt” it low and slow to avoid burning.
Fat is Gold, Don’t Throw it Away
Let’s talk about the waste, though, especially for Texans who love to cook brisket. Before writing this post, I found a 17.5-pound prime brisket on sale at HEB. After trimming it and leaving about a 1/4-inch fat cap, I had a 5-pound pile of fat and a 12.5 pound trimmed brisket.
I turned that 5-pound pile of fat into 3 pounds of tallow and 4 cups of beef cracklins. Considering that beef tallow can sell for anywhere between eight and twelve dollars, that’s quite a bit of savings.
Throwing all that away is wasteful.
Keep in mind that the best fat for rendering into tallow is the leaf fat that can be found near the cow’s kidneys. It has a much milder flavor than the fat trimmed off a brisket. I don’t mind that beefy flavor since I primarily use rendered lard in dishes that need a milder flavor, not beef tallow.
I generally save my beef tallow for beef-based recipes. Beef seared in beef tallow is better than beef seared in vegetable oil (do you know which vegetables are used to make vegetable oil?).
Also, keep in mind that prime brisket generally comes with a more significant amount of fat than choice or select brisket. If you don’t have enough beef fat to render, just freeze what you have and add to it as you trim beef for other meals.
It freezes well and will be ready for you when you have enough.
Rendering and Storing Beef Tallow
To prepare beef fat for rendering, all you need to do is freeze it for about an hour (frozen fat is easier to cut), then cut it into small cubes. If you have a meat grinder, even better. Just run it through the coarse plate, and it’s ready to go.
After you’ve cubed it up, take the cubes of fat and toss them into a Crockpot with 1/4 cup of water. Turn the Crockpot on low, cover it, and leave it going for about 12 hours, stirring every few hours. About two hours before it’s done, stir it and let it cook with the lid off to allow the water to evaporate.
Water introduces oxygen that can cause tallow or lard to spoil faster. It’s only added in the beginning to keep the fat from frying before it has released enough liquid to protect it from that.
Basically, you’re doing the same thing you would do to render pork lard, except for the addition of the following steps.
After you’ve finished rendering your beef fat in your Crockpot, you’ll need to strain out all of the solids. Just pour it through a fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth into a clean, heat-proof bowl.
Let it cool for about an hour once you’ve strained it.
You don’t want to let it get cold yet, though. You just want it warm. Too hot and it will melt the wax off of the wax paper in the following steps, and add a weird flavor.
The difference between rendering beef tallow and pork lard is that beef tallow becomes very firm after it cools. Pork lard is soft enough that you can pour it into jars and tuck it away in the fridge to be spooned out as needed.
Getting beef tallow out of a jar after its cold can be a bit of a challenge.
You can solve this problem by pouring it into a wax paper-lined baking pan then refrigerating it until it firms up. Once it’s cold, you can pop it out of the pan and cut it into bricks.
You can use regular plastic wrap, but I prefer to use wax paper due to it being more firm. It makes it a little easier to get it out of the pan. To use wax paper, you need to be careful to let the tallow cool enough to not melt the wax, but not so much that it becomes hard and won’t pour.
Letting the tallow cool for about an hour before pouring it into the pan solves this problem.
After you’ve cut your bricks of tallow, just wrap them in plastic and throw them in the refrigerator or freezer. They’ll hold up for as long as a year in the fridge and indefinitely in the freezer.
This is an optional step that ain’t for everybody. Some people simply don’t like cracklins. If you haven’t tried them before, though, give it a shot. If you have and don’t like them, simply toss the solids out. No biggie.
To make cracklins out of the leftover solids, toss them in a pan and fry them until they’ve released all of their fat and have become crispy.
Next, strain the liquids from the solids.
If you like, you can add this additional rendered tallow to what you’ve strained from the Crock-pot (before cooling and cutting it into bricks, of course). You should understand, though, that the pan-frying process will introduce a more prominent, beefier flavor that you might not want in your cooking tallow.
To get your cracklins extra crispy, throw them onto a heavy-duty pan, and crisp them under the broiler for about five minutes.
You can use beef cracklins the same way you would use bacon bits or as a crispy topping for tacos.
I like to make tacos out of rice, refried beans, and roasted jalapeños. Crispy beef cracklins tossed in add a satisfying beefy crunch.
Like tallow, beef cracklins will hold up indefinitely in the freezer.
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How to Render Beef Fat to Make Tallow – How to Render Suet
FAQ
How long does it take to render suet?
How do you know when beef fat is done rendering?
How long does it take to melt suet?
How do you render beef suet?
Rendering suet (also called “tallow”) which is beef fat, is the process of heating it to the melting point. Use an oven-safe pan or dish large enough to hold the amount of suet you plan to render. Use a pan that has high enough sides to hold all the suet when it becomes liquid.
How long does suet take to cook?
Allow to fully cool. This is another “low and slow” method of rendering suet. It takes longer than stove top or the instant pot, but works just fine. Dice suet into a large baking dish. Cook in a very low oven (about 200 degrees, or as low as your oven will go), until suet is fully rendered – about 4 hours.
How do you cook beef suet?
Cook suet in a heavy saucepan over moderately low heat until melted and clear and are golden, about 20 minutes. Pour through a fine sieve into a bowl, then cool. Chill until firm and white. Finely chop suet. Rendered suet keeps, covered and chilled, 1 month. How would you rate To Render Beef Suet?
How long does beef suet last?
Beef suet can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 months or in the freezer for up to 6 months. It should be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or a resealable bag to prevent any odors from affecting the flavor. Can I substitute beef suet for other fats in recipes?