What is Tallow?

Welcome to the first of four posts in a series about tallow.

Tallow is basically rendered animal fat, either from cattle or sheep. For beef tallow, the primary sources of fat include the suet, which is the dense fat located around the kidneys and loins of the animal. In the case of lamb tallow, the term is broader and can mean the fat is from a few different locations, including the internal organs and areas where fat accumulates under the skin. Tallow has been used for various purposes throughout history, including cooking, soap making, candle making, and skincare, with a recent resurgence in tallow balms and facial creams filling many people’s social media feeds.  

The process of rendering involves melting and purifying the fat through heating, separating the solid components from the liquid, and straining out any impurities, which is not challenging but it is time-consuming. The resulting tallow is a semi-solid substance that is typically ivory or pale yellow in color. Some people extend this purification process through the use of salts and water (wet rendering). The goal at this point is usually to make the tallow white and to reduce odor. There is debate about whether this further rendering negatively impacts the beneficial qualities of the fat.

I have asked for our fat back from the abattoir when our lambs are processed in order to make soap to start but considering that was a surprise to me, I’m sure there are other products on the horizon that we haven’t thought of yet. At a minimum, I will try rendering more of the other fats to make standard cooking tallow for Brody to try. At the end of the day, I’m open to many ways to utilize the fat as long as it is used. Our goal is to show respect for the animal by utilizing as much of it as possible while reducing waste so it is really exciting for us to be exploring how we will use the fat.

Image: Frozen caul fat (Tallow) from our lambs back from the abattoir. We ask for it to be vacuum sealed.