Beef Tallow Benefits & Uses for Health, Home & Skin

PREVIEW:  A quick guide & complete overview of one of the most pure, traditional, and healthy ingredients you can use in a handful of different ways.

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What is Beef Tallow

Tallow is just “rendered” animal fat — meaning you slowly & evenly melted it down to remove impurities & create a more purified, filtered version. Think about when you cook ground beef or steak in a pan, and all the liquid leftover that hardens as it cools (you know, the fat we’re told to never eat)? That’s tallow!

While doing anything with animal fat (besides tossing it in the trash) may be a “new” idea to some of us, historically we’ve been rendering animal fats for hundredsss of years in hair products, as a cheaper alternative to beeswax candles, to lubricate gears during the industrial revolution, or healing ointments. It wasn’t until plant-based fats (like canola oil, vegetable oil, margarine, or shortening) were marketed as “healthier” that we stopped appreciating animal fats (like tallow) as a super versatile, nutritious & shelf-stable part of every animal we put on our plate!

PS — maybe you recognize other “rendered” fats like bacon grease or lard (rendered pork fat), duck fat (used a lot in France), schmaltz (rendered chicken fat), or you can make tallow from lamb fat, too (mutton tallow)?

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Ways to Use Beef Tallow

Does beef tallow sound like something you won’t actually use, so why bother making it? Maybe you’re wrong. Tallow can be used in so many different ways: while we fell in love with tallow as a cooking fat & skincare, we’re amazed by how many other things we use it for around the house:

1. Skincare
   Absolutely full of skin-friendly nutrients that are deeply nourishing, it’s a cheap everyday moisturizer for daily hydration or deep moisturizer on eczema, psoriasis, sunburn, rashes, and so much more (more on this in a min!)

2. Cooking or baking
   With a subtle flavor, moderate smoke point around 400°, fairly solid at room temperature, a long shelf life, and stacked with nutrients — it’s a great option when searing juicy chicken thighs, steaks, or pork chops; sautéing anything in a pan like peppers and onions; frying anything like beef fat fries; and yep, you read that right, use it for baking pastries like biscuits or pie crusts and thank us for the flakey layers later.

3. Machinery
   Use on metal to lubricate or prevent rust!

4. Guns
   Use as a lubricating oil to clean guns!

5. Leather
   Use as a conditioner for boots, belts, etc

6. Wood
   Use to condition and moisturize cutting boards, utensils, tables, etc

7. Cast iron
   Use to season skillets or cookware

8. Candles
   DIY sturdy candles with a clean burn for cheaper than the cost of beeswax

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Nutrients in Beef Tallow

Sure, it’s versatile but what we cherish most about tallow is what’s inside! It’s one of the most well-rounded sources of fats we can’t afford to keep avoiding out of fear! What’s inside that makes beef tallow great:

• HEALTHY FATS:

  Because eating animal fat doesn’t make us fat! Beef tallow is 40-55% saturated fats & 60-45% monounsaturated fats — making it a damn near tasteless source of the fats we need. These fats are also able to handle the high temps of a hot pan; they don’t oxidize, breakdown, or damage our cells the way polyunsaturated fats do (like vegetable oil, canola oil, shortening, margarine) which allows these fats to help our body absorb fat-soluble vitamins.¹ ²

• VITAMINS A, D, E, K:

Crucial fat-soluble vitamins only found together like this in animal fats and involved in everything from immunity, blood clotting, regulating calcium, and protecting our cells from oxidative stress — making beef tallow a 2-in-1: you get fat-soluble vitamins & the healthy fats needed to absorb them.

• CONJUGATED LINOLEIC ACID (CLA):

2-5% of tallow is an omega 6 polyunsaturated fatty acid shown to contribute anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties as well as lower risk of heart disease.¹ ² ³ ⁴

• OLEIC ACID:

An omega 9 monounsaturated fatty acid that makes up about 47% of tallow and shown to have powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties too¹ ² ³

• STEARIC ACID:

A saturated fatty acid that has shown to actually boost our metabolism, burn more energy & let cholesterol convert into hormones.¹ ² Remember, saturated fats

• What does tallow taste like?

  It’s noticeably different than nutty butter, olive oil, or tasteless avocado oil — but more similar to bacon fat: subtle, savory, and slightly beefy.

• Will eating tallow make you fat?

  While most of have been told animal fats are unhealthy, it’s a recommendation based on shitty science. There are not only zero well-done studies proving animal fats are harmful or cause weight gain — but a handful of interventional, randomized, and placebo-controlled studies proving plant oils, refined carbs, and other toxic ingredients do. A few of our favorite reads:

  • Fat & Cholesterol: Our Biggest Fear or New Best Friend

  • The Great Con-ola

  • Saturated Fat Does A Body Good

• Is tallow healthier than butter?

  Tallow has a higher smoke point than butter and can tolerate higher temps which means it doesn’t burn as easily, so tallow is a healthier option when you cook in a hot pan (to avoid ruining the fatty acids we want to benefit from). If you’re baking or using low heat, then either tallow or butter will work. But in some recipes, using butter for it’s rich, creamy flavor just makes more sense (like pancakes). Or if you don’t do well on dairy, ghee is too expensive, tallow can definitely be used interchangeably with a less buttery taste.

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Using Tallow on Skin

Okay, so tallow can be used on things around our house — and our body? We say try it the ancient wisdom for modern beauty.

People are raving about how well it’s worked on everything from their dry, aging face to their kid’s eczema, diaper rash, or sunburn.

Medicinal plants and herbs, need fatty acids as a base to help with the delivery and penetration of their lipid-soluble healing compounds into the skin

Maybe because the fats in tallow are super similar to the fats in our own skin¹ ² and can work on our skin a lot like they do in our gut. That’s why we always say: eating tallow for the nutrients can be just as great as smearing them on your skin — because real skincare starts beneath the skin: every condition of the skin is our body telling us it’s not getting what it needs and there may be something besides your moisturizer that needs to be addressed (like regulating your blood sugar, replenishing your minerals, optimizing drainage, restoring gut bacteria, and detoxing pathogens) or else you’ll never put out the fire)… we also believe the products we put on our skin can either help protect our skin or pile more on top to deal with.

With a low polyunsaturated fat content,

Here’s what we’ve learned about how the nutrients in tallow can specifically benefit the skin when applied topically:

1. Conjugated linoleic acid (~5%)
   The powerful antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acid that can help reduce inflammation, redness, and breakouts

2. Oleic acid (30-50%)
   The anti-inflammatory property that helps other nutrients penetrate more deeply

3. Alpha-linoleic acid (ALA)
   The same omega-3 fatty acids that help maintain our skin’s structure & create a barrier from toxins in our environment.

4. Stearic acid (20-30%)

   The same fatty acids found in the outer layer of our skin & natural oil that repair, rebuild, and protect our skin. If you find this listed as an ingredient in skincare products, it’s been so chemically fractionated & created other byproducts along the way that it’s the furthest thing from the “naturally-derived” ingredient they’ll claim it to be. Tallow is naturally 20-25% pure, whole form stearic acid.

5. Palmitoleic and palmitic acid (20-25%)

   Both naturally occurring parts of our skin that create a protective barrier and makes skin soft, smooth, and supple but decrease as we age.

6. Fat-soluble vitamins A, D and E

   Nature’s sunscreen, working together to protect the skin from polyunsaturated fats & convert sunlight into cholesterol instead of oxidative stress/sunburn.

7. Saturated & monounsatured fats

   The highest quality fats that DO NOT oxidize, breakdown, or damage skin cells as easily as polyunsaturated fats like almond, argan, rosehip, grapeseed, hemp seed, borage oils do. The fat is also allows the delivery & penetration of fat-soluble compounds from medicinal herbs you may choose to add.¹ ²

• Is tallow greasy?

  rich & silky with a dewy finish. If you rendered leaf fat and apply the right amount, tallow should NOT be a greasy film. When

  It can take practice to figure out the right amount for your skin. But when you use just enough, your skin will drink it right up without leaving a greasy film. If you do feel like a high quality tallow is too oily or greasy — you’re very likely using too much.

• Will tallow clog pores?

  Tallow will hydrate, repair, and soothe WITHOUT clogging pores. It’s rated a 2 on the comedogenic scale. If you think tallow is clogging pores, you’re very likely using too much! And while tallow is a great skincare option, it’s not the only option with argan, hemp seed, pomegrante seed, watermelon seed, olive, rosehip, squalane, and tamanu oil as other non-comedogenic favorites too.

• Can you use tallow on acne?

  We think oily skin loves tallow because it hydrates and keeps hydration in.

  When skin is dehydrated OR stripped of its natural oils from over cleansing with soaps that strip the oils completely off, the skin will overcompensate by producing too much oil! We think oily skin loves tallow to keep hydration in especially if you use tallow to clean your face the oil-cleansing method

• Can you use tallow on oily skin?

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• Does tallow replace a moisturizer?

  We think tallow is a semi-occlusive moisturizing cream (it’s deeply hydrating, but also acts like an emollient). For that reason, some skin types or certain seasons may benefit from adding extra moisture beneath tallow (we’ve found applying tallow onto damp skin helps with this and gives an incredible glow). But we always recommend applying tallow as the last step to keep hydration in and protect moisture from getting out. Learn the difference between moisturizers and barrier creams in this post.

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Sourcing Fat for Tallow

Honestly, the type of fat you choose to make tallow with can be any kind — it’s going to fat to make your own tallow can make a big difference in the nutrients you’re getting from it

1. The best area of fat surrounding internal organs like the heart & kidneys because it has more beneficial nutrients than “trim fat” from other areas around the body. We personally think it makes the final product less greasy, too.

2. Also, the way the cows are raised does impact the type of fatty acids & amount of nutrients¹ ² ³ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20463040/ (countries that have grass fed cows had higher CLA and lower heart disehttps://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/know-your-fats/fatty-acid-analysis-of-grass-fed-and-grain-fed-beef-tallow/#gsc.tab=0 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10531600/ ) that we’re trying to benefit from. However, grass-fed and finished beef products are more expensive than conventionally grain fed beef products. IF/WHEN you can make it happen, make it happen! Opting for leaf fat is going would be the ing to be the bare minimum. you can always request leaf fat 100% grass-fed and finished soy-free, chemical-free, humanely raised, and free to graze on hundreds of acres of beautiful pasture. Sourcing the right beef fat impacts how much CLA is in the final product (more on that in a min!).

Ask your butcher if they will grind the leaf fat/suet for you. Most have an industrial grinder & love to make their customers happy! Otherwise, you can cut the fat into small chunks.

Find a local, high-quality source of leaf fat:

• eatwild.com

• localharvest.org

• rawmilk.com

How to Purify Tallow

We have Depending on what you’re using the tallow for, purifying it as much as possible may or may not be important to you (machinery, etc). The extra rendering isn’t “necessary” but if you have another hour or so, rendering the fat twice using the Wet Method to (a) remove any missed pieces of meat or debris that could possible make the tallow go rancid faster, and (b) eliminate the earthy smell from skincare products.

Tools (staples) you’ll need (likely already have) to render suet:

• Crockpot (an instapot is cool too, or just a big ol’ pot)

• Fine mesh strainer (or cheesecloth if you’re into it)

• Mason jars (wide mouth jars always take the cake)

• Wide mouth funnel (optional, but versatile and useful)

We hope this makes tallow an affordable no-brainer to try on yourself & your family!

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Questions? Don’t hesitate to ask in the comments below or contact us here! Thank you for being here!

TO YOUR HEALTH,

By the way, I’m Danika!

Just a laidback, middle-class woman from the outskirts of town who healed most when I stopped trusting a broken, ass-backwards system to tell me and my family how to be healthy. The internet can be so bittersweet sometimes, but I hope this space becomes a resource that inspires you to prioritize the most important foods, stress less about living perfectly & know your body best! Craving a realistic, root-cause approach to real food? Maybe we’re your cup of tea.

Are you a fan of tallow? Share your favorite uses in the comments for others to see how great it’s been for you!