Using Beef Fat for Cooking Chicken

We've established that french chips fried in beef tallow are more delicious than those fried in, say, peanut oil. Only how does 1 come by beefiness tallow? It'south not readily available in stores like information technology was in our grandparents' twenty-four hours. Yes, you can buy it online, and if you're fortunate, you can buy some from a local producer at a farmers' market. Only if you don't have admission to those resources, what are you to practice? Well, brand your own.

What is tallow?

To begin with, tallow is the rendered fat of mutton or beef, though in American parlance, it well-nigh exclusively refers to beef. It is a high smoke-point oil that is highly saturated, with a rich flavour. It was used for generations in deep-fry applications until the cholesterol scare of the 1980's put an finish to its widespread use.

Why utilise beef tallow for frying?

As nosotros've already said, beef tallow makes delicious foods when used for deep frying. But information technology also has temperature advantages. We take found that beefiness tallow has a higher heat chapters than peanut oil, meaning information technology can do more heat-work per degree than peanut oil. Plus, beef tallow is high in niacin, which is ane ot those "recommended vitamins and minerals" you're already not getting plenty of, and then that'due south nice.

Another reward that beefiness tallow has over vegetable oils is its longevity. Beef fatty is a highly-saturated fat, which is why it solidifies at room temperature. But saturation provides a longer life for the oil. Co-ordinate to Dr. Oscar Pike, a food scientist at Brigham Immature Academy who specializes in oils, it is theunsaturated fats in oils that break down later repeated heating and cooling. A highly saturated fat similar beefiness tallow isn't equally susceptible to useage-disuse as, say, soybean oil.

As long as it'southward stored properly in an airtight container—preventing oxidation—beef tallow will be adept for many uses before y'all accept to replace it.

What fatty to use to render beefiness tallow

To commencement with, you will need some beef fatty. Most grocery shop meat departments (if they accept in-house meat cutters) will salvage beef fat for you if you permit them know in accelerate that you'll be wanting some. What they give you will exist fat from prime number rib roasts, T-bone steaks, and other diverse cuts. Enquire them to run it through the grinder for you, and information technology will do okay. But, according to traditional recipes and some first-hand experience, the best tallow comes from beefiness suet.

Beef suet for rendering tallow — This is a partially-frozen clump of beefiness suet that we will render into tallow. Expect at its crumbly texture…

Suet is the clumpy, virtually cake-y fatty that surrounds the kidneys. It hides beneath the loins of the moo-cow. If you lot tin can get suet from a grocery store meat department, bully for you. I had to get to a local slaughterhouse/abattoir to get mine. It actually is worth getting the suet for a purer, meliorate tallow. I still advise asking the butcher to run it through the grinder, though.

Rendering beef tallow

If the butcher has non ground your tallow, you will need to. Working in small-scale batches, pulse the tallow in a food processor until finely minced. I recommend belongings the pulse push while dropping a few pieces of tallow through the feeder chute at a time.

NOTE: exist sure your suet iscold—as in partially frozen. It is soft and volition gum up in the auto when warm.

Suet grinding set up and finished product. — I didn't accept the butcher grind my suet, so I had to grind it myself.

Once all your tallow is ground, put information technology in a large pot and add enough hot water to peek through the tallow's surface. Put the pot on a stove and turn the heat to high. The goal is to cook the proteins in the beef suet so that they don't stick to the pan or each other while simultaneously starting to render the fat from the cells.

Suet ready to be rendered in to tallow — Hot water from the tap is added until information technology shows through the surface of the ground suet. Utilize a TimeStick to keep track of your process

Bring the water in the pot to a heavy simmer and start scooping the scum off that forms on the surface. Stir the suet so that it is all swimming freely and tin can cook.

Skimming scum from rendering tallow — Skim the scum from the surface every bit it is produced. Y'all will go a cleaner tallow if yous practice.

One time the pot stops producing copious scum, let it go at a high simmer.You lot'll want to keep an eye on information technology, but it doesn't need to be tended to constantly. Bank check on it from time to fourth dimension to make sure information technology isn't boiling over, clumping too much, or sticking to the bottom—get a TimeStick^{^®} and fix it for x minutes, check on it, reset for 10 minutes, etc. You're going to cook all the water out of the pot and out of the fat tissues. This volition take some time!

A hard simmer will render the tallow as quickly as is safe — A long, hard simmer is needed to get the job done right. Look at the deviation in water levels betwixt the ii images.

Over fourth dimension, you will find a moving picture of fat floating on the h2o which volition get thicker and thicker. Don't worry, this looks goose egg like the cream layer. It volition look like you poured, well, oil in the pot. The simmering will be just what yous expect. Adjust the flame to avoid boiling it too quickly, which can lead to boil-overs.
After an hr or so, depending on how much fat you started with, you lot will notice a modify in the sound of the boil—which volition take a deeper, more gurgle-y bubble to it—and you lot will run across fifty-fifty more than fat on the surface of the h2o. This volition mean that you lot are starting to run low on water. Turn the estrus down a little fleck and gear up the timer for x more than minutes.

Nearly-rendered beef tallow — The spoon tin can get a whole scoop of fat with no water in information technology, and the bubblers are deeper and audio more aggressive.

Give the tallow a stir, scraping the bottom. If any bits are sticking to the bottom, scrape them upwards to foreclose burning. This is when paying attending becomes more important. Every bit the water dries out and the pot is filled more and more with rendered fat, those bits are going to get-go cooking to the bottom of the pot. A flat-nosed wooden spatula is a great way to go on that from happening.
The bubbles in the pot volition showtime to get smaller and more oily looking as the water cooks out. Now you lot'll want to take hold of a Thermapen^{^®} and beginning spot checking the temperature. As the water cooks out, the temp in the fat will start to rise. As information technology passes 212°F (100°C), the water in the piddling $.25 will outset to sizzle out, creating very modest bubbles all over in the pot. We desire to cook the fat to 230°F (110°C). This temperature ensures that we've cooked a adept bargain of the h2o out of the fatty $.25, but isn't so loftier that nosotros've started to crisp and brown them, thus tainting the oil with denatured proteins. Proceed scraping the lesser of the pan with your wooden spoon throughout this process!

Rendering beef fat, final stages — The bubbles get tiny equally the water in the fatty bits starts to cook out. Scrape the bottom and cook until 230°F (110°C).

Once you lot reach230°F (110°C) kill the rut on the oil and let it cool for a half hour or more than. The meaty bits will settle to the bottom and you can strain the oil through a fine-mesh sieve or some cheesecloth. Press out the bits to extract as much oil equally possible.

Rendered beef suet: tallow — Terminal product, prepare for storage or cooking!

Let the oil to cool on the countertop. It will solidify and turn a cute buttery golden colour. If you want to relieve it for later, yous tin freeze information technology; merely fifty-fifty nether regular refrigeration, it volition already last for months if non longer. If it ever smells like rancid beef, information technology's non good anymore.

Then there you accept it, a method for rendering your ain golden, delicious beef tallow for deep frying, sauteeing, and any other loftier-temp cooking needs you may have. Apply your TimeStick to keep an centre on things and a Thermapen^® to make sure you cook it to the right temp, and enjoy!

If y'all'd like a great idea for what to exercise with your tallow, use it for frying french fries!