Here's How To Render Beef Fat In A Slow Cooker

Beef tallow, a buttery-smooth product made by rendering beef fat, has been in the news a lot lately. Back In 1990, Wendy's, McDonald's, and other restaurants moved away from frying in beef tallow in favor of plant oils. It seemed like pretty much everyone stopped cooking with beef tallow. Now it's back in a big way. Steak 'N Shake recently announced a return to beef tallow. Robert F Kennedy Jr., the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, has become a vocal proponent. Setting aside health debates, there's no denying that cooking in beef tallow adds a rich, beefy umami note to anything from veggies to pie crust, even beef dishes. Fortunately, there's a simple way to render beef fat at home if you want to try it: Drop it into a slow cooker on low. Seriously, it's not much more complicated than that.

If you remember keeping coffee cans of bacon grease in the fridge, the idea is similar. Slow simmer the beef fat, rendering pure fat. Strain off the solid bits, and let it cool. You can cook it in a pot or pan on the stove, either with a little water (wet method) so the fat doesn't accidentally fry, or on its own (dry method). The challenge is keeping the temperature low enough so the beef fat doesn't fry, yet high enough to boil off the water. A slow cooker helps simplify these issues. All it takes is the low-temperature setting, a little water, and plenty of time.

The process is simple, and it's easy to make your own. This is great news for a couple of reasons. It's challenging to find in stores, and tubs of tallow online run $20 per pound or more. Plus, we waste a lot of beef fat while trimming roasts and briskets. Essentially, it comes down to dropping a few pounds of trimmed beef fat in the slow cooker with a little water, cooking throughout the day. The big concern is preventing the fat from burning (so you'll need to stir it occasionally). It's also important to make certain the water cooks off completely during the last couple of hours. 

It's easiest to grind or dice the fat when frozen. Freezing beef fat also allows you to save up enough trimmings over time, instead of needing it all on hand at one time. The best fat for tallow is found around the kidney (suet), but fat from any steak cut works fine (it may taste even beefier).

If you don't have a Crock Pot-style slow cooker, Instant Pots also have a slow cooker setting. Filter out any solid bits (which can be further cooked into cracklins). Once cooled, divide tallow into butter stick-sized portions and freeze extras. There are several easy ways to cook with beef tallow. You can even make soap with it if you have too much.