Is There A Difference Between Beef Tallow And Lard?

While many home cooks still enjoy the lightness of vegetable oils, animal fats seem to be having a bit of a comeback. Beef tallow, for one, has started reappearing on shopping lists, not just because TikTok turned it into a trending skincare routine, but for its deep flavor, especially during deep frying. Now lard is also coming back into favor, particularly as bakers recognize its strength in making flaky pies and pastries. But other than both being rendered animal fats, the two have different flavors, textures, and applications.

Beef tallow and lard are both oils that have been rendered — that is melted and clarified – from fat. Both have a creamy rather than solid or liquid appearance — which may be why people are using beef tallow as face cream. Beef tallow is made using the fat from a cow, primarily from an area near the kidneys, known as leaf fat and has a yellow cast. (The raw, hardened form is known as suet.) Lard is the rendered fat from a pig, primarily from the belly, rear, and shoulder, and is white in color.

Not surprisingly, beef tallow has a rich, beefy flavor and is ideal for any dish you want to give a meatier bent. Tallow has a relatively high smoke point — the temperature to which it can be heated before breaking down –- of 400 to 420 degrees Fahrenheit, which is why it's ideal for frying or cooking at high temperatures. Some even say it makes the perfect French fries, giving them a crispier texture, which may have spurred Steak 'n Shake's switch to beef tallow for its famous shoestring potatoes. Other simple ways to use beef tallow include searing meat, using the drippings for gravy, roasting potatoes, and giving a heartier flavor to vegetables.

Lard has a neutral, slightly sweet flavor, and a light, butter-like consistency. It is considered to be ideal for baking since it tends to produce flakier, crumblier biscuits and pie crusts. That is because it has a higher melting point than butter, releasing more air and steam during baking. It also has larger fat crystals, which create more of the layers you want when making pastry.

Beef tallow and lard can be swapped for one another in some cooking applications, like simple sautes and roasts. But tallow is not always a great choice for baking because of its stronger taste and its harder, grainy texture at room temperature. Lard, on the other hand, has a lower smoke point than that of tallow — approximately 370 degrees Fahrenheit — making it a less ideal choice for deep frying, where the latter shines.

One of the benefits of both beef tallow and lard is their long shelf life – approximately six months when stored at room temperature in an airtight container in a dark, dry, and relatively cool part of your pantry and twice as long when refrigerated — particularly when compared to vegetable oils. Because they have more monounsaturated and saturated fats, they are less susceptible to oxidation when exposed to light and air and less likely to become rancid. They can also be frozen, extending their shelf life even further (up to a year).

So, if you're deep frying or baking, you might want to consider adding beef tallow and lard to your shopping list. But, given that top dermatologists aren't buying the beef tallow skincare trend, it may be best to leave both in the kitchen.