Wagyu Beef Tallow

In my last post I shared my smokerless brisket recipe which has a significant by product - beef fat trimmings. One small step away from being Beef Tallow, the ultimate substitute for cooking oil. Now you don't have to just use fat trimmings from brisket you can throw all your beef fat together in the freezer and render all at once.

The last Wagyu brisket i cooked.

Using Beef Tallow or fat instead of oil has a few benefits, first it is full of flavour and will add additional depth to any dish you cook with it. I love to use Beef Tallow instead of oil for fried rice, Yorkshire Puddings and pan searing steaks.

What I use

Dutch Oven

Le Cresuset Signature Casserole

You can use any pot to render Tallow but i like to use a dutch oven, low slow and even heat. I like the big one for long Ragu cooks. Mines in satin black which is lovely.

Meat grinder attachment

KitchenAid Metal Meat Grinder attachment

Not essential but definitely speeds up the process of rendering fat. Alternatively you can cut all of the fat up as finely as possible..

Worth investing in the KitchenAid meetal version, it;s more expensive but i’ve had a generic one just fall to pieces. You also want this attachment to be metal so you can freeze it pre-grind.

Fine mesh strainer

Strainer set

Once rendered you'll need to strain the crispy chunks out with a fine mesh strainer twice. The big one in this set is perfect and cheap.

Muslin Cloth

Muslin Cheesecloth

For your second strain you'll also need muslin or cheese cloth to line your fine mesh strainer. This ensures all the impurities are pulled out of the tallow before storage. If you don’t do this those impurities can rot and destroy your Tallow you worked so hard to get.

Jars for storage

Kilner Wide mouth jar

Store it in anything that can seal, these jars pull double duty for tallow and pickled onion in my kitchen. These are the same as Ball jars but in AU they’re way cheaper.

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Wagyu Beef Tallow

Ingredients

• Beef fat trimings (2kg+)

Instructions

1. Freeze your meat grinder attachment overnight in the freezer (if grinding your fat trimmings). This stops the grinder cooking the fat and meat as it grinds.
2. Cut up your beef trimmings into cubes that can fit in your meat grinder and then grind into a mince. Alternatively you can simply cut the beef trimmings up into small chunks.
3. Place your fat trimmings in a dutch oven over a low to medium heat.
4. Simmer over about 4 hours stirring regularly to ensure it doesn't burn. Depending on how much fat you're rendering will dictate the time but for large batches usually you need a few hours.
5. You'll know the fat is rendered completely once all the chunks have disolved and you are left with only a few crispy bits sitting in the liquid gold.
6. Pour fat through a fine mesh strainer into another container to separate the crusty bits.
7. Now double strain the tallow by pouring through a fine mesh strainer lined with muslin cloth to remove any remaining impurities.
8. Store tallow in jars in the fridge up to 3 months or indefinitely in the freezer.
9. Use instead of oil!

Notes

• It's not essential to run the trimmings through a meat grinder, if you don't have one you can simply slices up into small cubes. 

• Do not let this boil, low and slow is the key otherwise you will end up with a darker Tallow with some funky flavours.

• Word of warning, rendering beef fat has an interesting odour. It's not that it is disgusting but it is slightly unpleasant. My significant other is not a fan and will make sure she's out while I'm making this. However she is a big fan of the final product particularly when used in Fried Rice.