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    Home » Meat and Game

    How to Make Beef Tallow at Home in a Slow Cooker

    Published: Jan 1, 2024 Modified: Feb 12, 2024 Author: Alan Bergo

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video

    The secret to the best tasting French fries, hashbrowns, roasted potatoes, homemade soap and more. Beef fat (also known as beef suet) is an underused, healthy fat for cooking that's easy to make at home.

    I've been making homemade tallow for over 20 years. Today I'll show you how to render fat from beef at home in an oven or a slow cooker. It'll give you perfect results, every time.

    Chef's Tips

    • Beef fat is highly perishable. The best thing to do is order it from a butcher, or purchase it frozen. Keep the fat frozen until the day you'll render the tallow.
    • Smell your beef fat. It should smell clean and fresh, with a mellow beefy flavor. If you see white spots on it that is mold and the fat should be discarded as it won't taste good.
    • A slow cooker is the best way to render tallow. Alternately, bake the fat and water in an oven-safe pot. Do not render tallow on the stove as it can burn easily.
    • Store finished, rendered tallow in the freezer or fridge until you need it. Bring it to room temperature to make it easier to handle.
    • Don't overcook the tallow. There's no need to cook the fat until it turns brown. Overcooked tallow tastes burnt and isn't good for cooking.
    • Peferctly rendered tallow should be light yellow with a pleasant beefy smell. It should never orange or a darker color, which means it's burnt.
    A knife next to a bag of frozen beef suet from a butcher shop.
    Look for frozen beef fat or suet at your local butcher shop.

    Tallow vs Lard

    People often ask me what the difference is between tallow and lard. They're very similar in that they have a high smoke point comparable to vegetable oil, but there's a few important differences to understand.

    A large block of rendered goat tallow on a cutting board.
    Tallow can be made from many ruminant animals, including goat (pictured above).

    Tallow is the cooked, rendered fat of ruminants like beef, bison, goat, lamb or venison. Lard is rendered pork fat. All of the fats from ruminants have a very similar melting point and solidify quickly as the cool. Food made with tallow must be served hot to not have a sticky texture people compare to Chapstick.

    Lard is always made from pork, it has a much lower melting point that ruminant fat like beef or goat. Even when refrigerated, it's spreadable and soft like butter. It's good for all purpose cooking and won't leave a sticky feeling in your mouth if it cools down.

    How to Make Tallow from Beef Fat

    It's easy to render beef tallow at home. First, you'll need some beef fat from a butcher or a local farm. You'll want at least 4-5 lbs of fat to make a small batch. The images below describe the process.

    Cutting beef suet into large pieces for rendering beef tallow.
    Cut the beef fat into pieces.

    First the fat is cut into small pieces. The smaller the fat is cut, the faster it will render, and the better it will be.

    Cutting suet beef into small pieces for rendering tallow.
    The smaller the pieces of fat are the faster and more efficiently they'll render.

    While I do grind half-frozen beef fat when I render 100 lbs or more at a time, it's best to cut it by hand at home since using a meat grinder requires some experience.

    Also, beef fat sticks to things and is a pain to clean. A great chef tip is to use a bench scraper to clean beef fat from your cutting board.

    Cleaning beef fat from a cutting board using a bench scraper.
    Scraping beef fat from a cutting board using a bench scraper.

    Adding a cup of water to a crock pot full of chopped beef fat.
    When the fat is cut into pieces, it's put into a slow cooker with a small amount of water.
    Stirring a slow cooker filled with large pieces of beef fat rendering into tallow.
    Cook the beef fat on high heat for a few hours, stirring occasionally.

    To speed up the process, you can pulse the warm fat with an immersion blender. This speeds up the process dramatically and increases the amount of tallow you'll make.

    Pureeing warm beef fat with an immersion blender.
    When the fat is warm, puree it with an immersion blender.
    Pureeing warm cooking beef fat with a hand blender to increase the speed of rendering.
    A hand blender is easier to clean than a regular blender.

    After a few hours the liquid will become clear and you'll see small bubbles appear on the surface.

    A spatula in a pot of cooking beef tallow showing bubbles rising to the surface.
    When the fat is clear and small bubbles appear on the surface, the tallow is done.

    A spoon full of clear, yellow beef tallow.
    The fat should be pale yellow and clear.
    Beef tallow being strained through a fine mesh strainer.
    Strain the finished tallow through a fine strainer.
    Pouring hot beef tallow into a jar for storing.
    Pour the tallow into mason jars or another container and freeze or refrigerate.

    Strain the tallow in a container and portion into room temperature glass jars and freeze or refrigerate until needed. Feed the cooked pieces of beef fat to your friends chickens or discard it.

    A glass mason jar filled with warm yellow beef tallow with the lid off to allow it to cool..
    Cool with the lids off to avoid creating condensation.

    Making Beef Tallow in the Oven

    You can also make beef tallow in the oven. To do that you'll need a heavy bottomed pot or a Dutch oven. Follow the directions for cutting up the beef fat above, then bake it in a slow oven (325F) for 3-4 hours or until the fat is clear.

    A spatula with cooked pieces of beef fat with a large stainless steel pot of beef tallow rendering in the oven in the background.
    rendering beef tallow from fatty beef trim in the oven.

    How to Use Beef Tallow

    Beef tallow is a great animal fat for cooking. As long as it isn't overcooked, it has a high smoke point that's great for deep frying and sautéing meat or vegetables over high heat. Here's a few of my favorite things to make with it.

    Pan Roasted Potatoes

    The best roasted potatoes you'll ever have are made with tallow.

    A small baking dish of roasted potatoes cooked in beef fat.
    Roasted potatoes cooked in beef fat with herbs.

    Hashbrowns

    Hashbrowns are also the perfect place to use any animal fat.

    Perfectly cooked, golden brown hashbrowns cooked in beef tallow in a cast iron skillet.
    Beef fat hashbrowns were on the lunch and dinner menu at my second restaurant, Lucia's.

    French Fries

    French fries cooked in beef fat are a luxury. I used to make them every day at my first restaurant, the Salt Cellar.

    A hamburger on a pretzel bun with cheese and pickles next to a pile of French fries cooked in beef tallow.
    A nice burger with fries cooked in beef tallow.

    More Interesting Beef Posts

    • Beef Bacon
    • Teres Major Steak
    • How to Cook a Bavette Steak
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    5 from 6 votes

    How to Make Beef Tallow at Home in a Slow Cooker

    Simple instructions for rendering beef tallow at home with a slow cooker or in the oven. Makes about 8 cups of finished tallow useful for general cooking, making soaps, lotion, boot cream, etc.
    Prep Time30 minutes mins
    Cook Time5 hours hrs
    Total Time5 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
    Course: Condiment
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: how to make beef tallow recipe
    Servings: 128 tablespoon
    Calories: 160kcal
    Author: Alan Bergo
    Cost: 5

    Equipment

    • 1 immersion blender or hand blender optional but recommended
    • 1 Slow cooker

    Ingredients

    • 5 lbs beef fat (beef suet)
    • 1 cup water
    • 1 fine mesh strainer

    Instructions

    • Allow the fat to thaw for 30 minutes if it's frozen. Cut the beef fat into 1 inch pieces using a chefs knife.
    • Combine the beef fat and water in a slow cooker, put on the lid and cook on high heat.
    • After 20-30 minutes the fat should be warm enough to puree. Pulse or puree it with a handblender. This step is optional, but will increase the amount of tallow the fat makes, as well as decrease the cooking time.
    • Stir the fat while it cooks occasionally, making sure it isn't sticking in the edges of the pot.
    • Once the fat turns clear and small bubbles appear on the surface it's done. Strain the fat through a fine mesh strainer. Some people use a coffee filter but it takes forever and I don't recommend that. Cheesecloth works well in a pinch.
    • Store the fat in mason jars in the fridge or freezer. It will last months in the fridge, and years in the freezer.
    • Bring it to room temperature before cooking with it to make handling easier.

    Video

    Notes

    Rendered beef fat can be made from any fatty cut of beef or fat trimmings. Besides the suet I use here, you can also make this with fatty brisket trimmings, beef belly, etc. 
    If you want to render the tallow in the oven by baking it, follow the directions above and cook it at 325 F until the fat is clear, about 3-4 hours. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1tablespoon | Calories: 160kcal | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 0.1mg | Calcium: 0.1mg
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Hanna

      May 12, 2025 at 4:35 pm

      5 stars
      This recipe is by far the easiest to understand, and I made perfect tallow in the slow cooker with it. I had to improvise since I don't have an immersion blender, so I stuck the bigger pieces into a small Ninja smoothie blender and gave them a couple of pulses and it worked perfectly. Thank you for publishing this recipe!

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        May 12, 2025 at 4:39 pm

        Thanks Hanna.

        Reply
    2. Jeri Kastner

      February 24, 2025 at 4:46 pm

      How long is it safe to keep a jar of tallow in the refrigerator? I guess the answer will determine what size jars I will put it in 😉

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        February 24, 2025 at 4:57 pm

        I usually do pint jars or quarts. It’ll last for a few months in the fridge no prob. You can freeze it too for longer storage.

        Reply
    3. Daniel

      October 25, 2024 at 1:17 pm

      5 stars
      Great information and presentation.
      Thank you
      Daniel

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        October 25, 2024 at 2:33 pm

        Thanks Daniel.

        Reply
    4. Doreen Nacht

      October 25, 2024 at 2:00 am

      5 stars
      I'm really enjoying every article and thank you for your time! They are incredibly informative and easy to follow and give me great insights to many different techniques and cuts, etc. that I didn't know about before. The instructions are very clear. It's a pleasure when someone so gifted is willing to share their knowledge with those seeking to understand. So, thank you very much! I know you said the fat goes bad very quickly. After it is rendered, is that no longer the case? Also, does this substitute for anything (such as an ingredient to replace another, etc.) other than frying foods or is that it's sole purpose. Thanks very much!

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        October 25, 2024 at 2:37 pm

        Thanks Doreen.

        So, with the shelf life, after the fat is rendered it will last a very long time in the fridge or it can be frozen. For general cooking I keep a jar at room temperature as it’s easier to portion. The reason fresh fat goes bad is because it contains water, just like meat.

        As far as general cooking, beef tallow has a very high melting point, which means it’s rock hard when cold, meaning you want to eat it hot. This is why it’s used for fried foods. Pan roasted potatoes and searing steaks are great ways to use it. You just don’t want it to be cook when you eat it or it will be tacky.

        Reply
    5. Stacia

      October 20, 2024 at 5:23 pm

      I'm planning on making tallow this week or next using the crockpot option. Does the water evaporate in the crockpot? Or do I need to do something prior to straining it? Thanks for the easy instructions. My grandmother had a "grease" jar in her kitchen which I'm convinced was her secret ingredient to her amazing cooking. Appreciate your help.

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        October 21, 2024 at 11:14 am

        Hello Stacia. The water will evaporate. As I describe in this post once the fat becomes crystal clear you'll know the moisture is gone.

        Reply
    6. Glendoria

      October 03, 2024 at 11:47 pm

      5 stars
      hi Allen, I was cooking beef tallow, but it had some lean meat on it. The tallow came out OK but I think with me having the lean beef on it it made like a jell at the bottomafter I refrigerated it, do I need to take all the lean beef off?

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        October 03, 2024 at 11:58 pm

        Hello. It’s fine to use meaty bone scraps to make tallow, and what you’re seeing is gel from the meats natural liquid which is high in collagen.

        It is exactly the same process as when homemade chicken stock can (and should) gel in the fridge. What the is means for your rendered tallow is, most importantly, The tallow don’t burn-great! But, you do need to remove all of the gel, you can scrape it off with a spoon and discard it or add to a beef stew.

        It’s important no liquid is in your tallow when you cook with it as it will splatter, so take a little extra fat off to be sure. After the gel is removed I melt the fat and put it into a fresh jar or other container.

        Thanks so much for commenting-I’m going to make a batch of tallow to get some images of what you’re seeing.

        Reply
    7. Ivan

      September 08, 2024 at 9:11 pm

      Hi Alan:

      I read this article about a week ago, so I was well prepared when we butchered two fat steers this morning. I salvaged all the caul fat and kidney suet, packed it into plastic bags, and froze it immediately. In the past, when I rendered lard from my hogs, I pressure canned it in quart jars at 10 lbs. pressure for 90 minutes, and it was good for years without any refrigeration, except, of course, after I had opened each jar. My question to you is, does that apply to beef tallow also? Thanks for this article, and for your informative website.

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        September 08, 2024 at 9:38 pm

        Hey Ivan. I haven’t pressure canned tallow personally as I don’t pressure can. I have lot of friends who pressure can meat though, and that’s very similar here. The type of animal and differences in the melting points of their respective fats would not affect the shelf life after processing like that. Great way to save space.

        Reply
    8. Dan

      July 17, 2024 at 10:11 pm

      My beef fat has been cooking for 1.5 hours and is bubbling already. Should I put my slow cooker on low?

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        July 18, 2024 at 8:55 am

        Yes, when in doubt, turn the heat down.

        Reply
    9. Hannah

      May 11, 2024 at 9:40 am

      5 stars
      I wish I had found this article before I made tallow using another one! I really appreciate the tips and detailed directions. The recipe I used didn’t mention anything about overcooking the fat. I think I burned it and it’s affected the flavor. Is there any way to salvage that, or certain things to cook it in? Or should I just try to make candles or something with it?

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        May 11, 2024 at 9:53 am

        Hi Hannah, I'm so glad it was helpful. Those kinds of things are exactly why I took the time to write this! As far as the fat, it depends on just how high the temperature got. I don't make candles or use fat for anything other than cooking, but I think that might work. There's one example I know of where fat is used after it's reached a higher temperature. In Mexican cuisine, it's actually traditional for the fat to reach 350 F while they're rendering it. This is pork fat, so slightly different from beef fat. The higher temp means a stronger flavor, so that type of rendered fat can only be used for savory dishes-never sweet ones. As far as telling if the fat is burned or not, try sauteing a cut up baked potato in the fat. If you like the flavor it could be salvageable, if you don't, chalk it up to a learning experience. One time I accidentally left the heat too high on a 100 lbs of fat in a pot. The pot was so charred and awful my dishwasher refused to clean it. 🙂

        Reply
    5 from 6 votes (1 rating without comment)

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