Made some beef tallow

Thatgrimguy

Everytime I trim a brisket I tell myself I’m going to try and render the huge pile of fat into tallow but had never actually done it. I end up freezing and then months later I’ll need freezer space and end up throwing it out.

This time I finally did it and was amazed how easy it was and how much tallow I got. One 18lb brisket led to 3+ cups of tallow!!





I put about a third of a cup of cold water in the pot then just dropped the pile of fat into the pot and put it on my burner on low with the lid on it.

I let it roll for about an hour then flipped the fat over and let it run just a little while longer. I didn't want the end product to get dark so I probably could have rendered more fat out but I wasn't wanting to risk it. 

The resulting tallow is perfect white. I'll get a pic when I get home tonight. I thought I took one of the end product after it solidified but I guess not.


ANYHOW.... Quit throwing your brisket fat away. This was easy and useful!  (I actually heated up a small tupperware full of it and poured it back over the finished brisket and that was a hit too!!

Carolina Q

I only did this once, making lard, not tallow. I don't know if it'll darken or not, but you can pour off the rendered fat as you go. Careful, it's hot! Whatever fat is left will continue to render until it's done. Also, cutting it into small cubes supposedly makes the job go faster.

Not trying to imply that I actually know what I'm talking about, but it worked for me.

Photo Egg

Very COOL!

shtgunal3

I like to make lard with Boston butt trimmings. I’ve always used the crockpot. And I find it better to dice up or grind the fat. And like you I always add a little h2o.

Anyway good job.

bgebrent

Nice work Scott.

mEGG_My_Day

Thanks for the post - It got me googling tallow (because I’ve never used it at home). I found this article which concludes tallow is a great cooking fat and not as unhealthy as we have been programmed to believe.  McDonald’s used it to cook their fry's way back when, which is one reason they tasted so good for those of us old enough to remember.  

https://www.nutritionadvance.com/what-is-beef-tallow/

Botch

Never tried it with beef fat.
Every morning while making bacon n eggs I pour the bacon fat into a 28-oz tomato can I keep in the cupboard.  Seems to keep forever and makes the most delicious (if nontraditional) enchiladas; I've also fried other things (potatoes!) in it, always tasty.  

Thatgrimguy

Carolina Q said:

I only did this once, making lard, not tallow. I don't know if it'll darken or not, but you can pour off the rendered fat as you go. Careful, it's hot! Whatever fat is left will continue to render until it's done. Also, cutting it into small cubes supposedly makes the job go faster.

Not trying to imply that I actually know what I'm talking about, but it worked for me.

I guess I don’t know the difference between lard and tallow. Maybe I just made lard. 

mEGG_My_Day

Thatgrimguy said:

Carolina Q said:

I only did this once, making lard, not tallow. I don't know if it'll darken or not, but you can pour off the rendered fat as you go. Careful, it's hot! Whatever fat is left will continue to render until it's done. Also, cutting it into small cubes supposedly makes the job go faster.

Not trying to imply that I actually know what I'm talking about, but it worked for me.

I guess I don’t know the difference between lard and tallow. Maybe I just made lard. 

Pork fat vs beef fat is my understanding 

blasting

Good stuff - I always have some on hand, and some from the piggies too.

Botch

mEGG_My_Day said:
Pork fat vs beef fat is my understanding 

And chicken fat is "schmutz".  Oy!  

Carolina Q

Thatgrimguy said:

Carolina Q said:

I only did this once, making lard, not tallow. I don't know if it'll darken or not, but you can pour off the rendered fat as you go. Careful, it's hot! Whatever fat is left will continue to render until it's done. Also, cutting it into small cubes supposedly makes the job go faster.

Not trying to imply that I actually know what I'm talking about, but it worked for me.

I guess I don’t know the difference between lard and tallow. Maybe I just made lard. 

Tallow is rendered beef fat. I don't know if there are different "grades" of it. Lard is rendered pork fat and there are two grades (as far as I know). Plain lard comes from the majority of the fat on the hog. Leaf lard has a more pure, refined quality and comes only from the fat around the kidneys. Prized for baking... pie crusts and such. Less porky taste.

Bacon of course, has been cured and then smoked so, the rendered fat has a different flavor and color. I often use it for cooking beans, kale and collards. I don't think I'd want a cherry pie that tasted like bacon though.

Thatgrimguy

Ok, so I was right about it being tallow. Thanks for the education guys! Learn something everytime I come to this forum!

marysvilleksegghead

Beef Tallow, totally new concept
Thanks for posting

caliking

Botch said:

mEGG_My_Day said:
Pork fat vs beef fat is my understanding 

And chicken fat is "schmutz".  Oy!  

rendered chicken fat= schmaltz

Botch

caliking said:

Botch said:

mEGG_My_Day said:
Pork fat vs beef fat is my understanding 

And chicken fat is "schmutz".  Oy!  

rendered chicken fat= schmaltz

d'Oh, you may be right!
But, the fine ladies on Cook's Illustrated's PBS show (and GODDAMMIT!!! after slowly thumbing thru Dish's menu to tomorrow afternoon at 1400, I see they've replaced the show whose name I can't remember, GAHHHH!!!) 
Schmaltz.  Not Schmutz.  WTH is "schmutz"?  
 

Thatgrimguy

I filled a baby food thing and 3 of these.

bgebrent

Bring to B.B.!

lkapigian

Thatgrimguy said:

I filled a baby food thing and 3 of these.

Looks like.....nevermind ....going to have to give that a try 

FarmingPhD

Used brisket trimmings to make mine probably 9 months ago. Use it for breakfast potatoes and hash browns most often.

Yno

Schmutz is any dirt, soil, or other disagreeable substance. I can't see when I get schmutz on my glasses. 

vb4677

First time attempting this, but will become standard practice going forward!! 

Did a 19# brisket this past weekend for the extended family. Trimmed about 4# off.  Diced it up some, then put it in the DO w/ 2 cups of water.

Once the brisket was in the LBGE, I set up the outdoor propane cooker. 

Let it go on simmer for about 3 hours or so.  Filtered through a mesh strainer and then through a paper towel.  Once in the fridge it turned snowy white. 

Looking forward to roasting some potatoes soon!  (And the brisket was fantastic, btw...)

Thatgrimguy

Another thing I've been doing more recently is throwing all my brisket trimmings that don't have meat (I use the trimmed meat for hamburgers) and smoking it in a pan next to the brisket. Then I use as much as I want when wrapping the brisket and keep the rest as smoked tallow.

vb4677

Yeah, @Thatgrimguy - this is the first time I've ever held onto the fat... so I'm still learning!  The local BBQ comp store clued me in to use it on the brisket during the FTC rest.  #nextime

Skims_Smokehouse

I’ve done this a couple times now.  Tallow fried eggs and grits makes an interesting beefy flavored BFX.  Tallow tortillas come out great as well.

RyanStl

My dogs would cry if I did this.