Tallow: what is it and how to render it

What is Tallow?

Tallow is the purified, rendered fat from cows and sheep, often referred to as suet. Suet is the nutrient-rich, hard fat found around the animal’s organs and major joints. It is not the liquid fat you pour off the pan after browning your meat—that’s muscle fat, which is entirely different.

I source my suet from local, pasture-raised sheep and cows. The reason I choose pasture-raised animals is that the suet is "clean." This means it’s free from antibiotics and growth hormones, which are often found in factory-farmed or feedlot animals. The drugs administered to these animals can be stored in the fat, and that’s not something I want in my products, which I use directly on my skin. Clean suet is the way to go.

How to Render Suet to Make Tallow
Rendering suet is the process of removing impurities, connective tissues, and muscle to end up with pure, beautiful tallow. There are various methods for rendering, but I prefer using the slow cooker method. This method allows me to go about my day without having to constantly stand over the pan, stirring as the fat melts.
I usually freeze the suet until I have a sufficient amount to render, as the straining process can be a bit messy.
I use a couple of slow cookers with metal inserts (I’ve learned the hard way not to use ceramic inserts, as they’ve cracked when rendering frozen suet). Metal is the way to go for this task.
Here’s how I do it:

• Chop the Suet: I chop the frozen suet into smaller pieces and pack them into the slow cookers. I fill them to the top, as the suet will render down significantly as it melts.

• Set It and Forget It: I set the slow cookers on low for 6 hours and go about my day—gardening 🪴, reading a good book 🕮, or whatever else needs my attention. Every hour or so, I check on the progress, pressing the suet down to ensure it’s starting to melt. The goal here is to melt, not cook, so keep the heat low and slow. You don’t want to burn the fat.

• The Rendering Process: After about four to five hours, I start to see liquid fat forming at the bottom, while the remaining solid fat turns from white to a translucent, soft, gelatinous texture. At this point, I use a stick blender to break down the remaining suet into a liquid. I continue rendering for the final hour. You’ll notice the protein matter (from connective tissue and muscle) will settle to the bottom, while the liquid fat will rise to the top.
• Strain the Fat: Once the fat has fully rendered, it’s time to strain out the solids. I use a double layer of cloth in a metal sieve (not plastic—it will melt, trust me!). The result is a lovely clear liquid fat, which is your tallow.

    

• Weigh and Store: I then weigh out the liquid tallow into containers. I use 500g as my measurement, which is the amount I need for my soap-making process. After that, I allow the tallow to solidify at room temperature, and once it’s fully solid, I store it in the fridge (especially important in the hot climate here in SW QLD).

• Use the Remaining Solids: The remaining solids—made up of protein, connective tissue, and muscle—can be broken up and frozen for feeding to my chickens, especially when they’re molting. They love it!

  

I hope this post is helpful in showing you how I render tallow. I learned this method from Liz at Eight Acres Natural Living, and it has consistently given me clean, beautiful tallow, perfect for soap and other body products.

There are other methods that include adding salt and water to the rendering process. I’ve tried these, but I didn’t care for the results, so I stick with Liz’s simple yet effective approach to rendering tallow.

Ready to Try Rendering Tallow Yourself?

Now that you have all the details, why not give rendering your own tallow a try? Whether you're making soap, balms, or other natural body products, this process can help you create high-quality, sustainable ingredients. And if you want to dive deeper into creating your own skincare or soap, I’ve got plenty of helpful resources and guides for you on Grow Eat Learn.

Start today—get some clean, pasture-raised suet, and begin your journey toward making your own tallow. Feel free to share your experiences or ask questions in the comments below!