:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Health-GettyImages-BeefTallow-7cb87152c5e84363b1db59799f923a0e.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,0&ssl=1 "Is Beef Tallow Actually Healthy?")
Tallow is animal fat that has been rendered. Rendering is a cooking process that involves melting and straining fat, resulting in a pure, shelf-stable product.
Tallow can be derived from several animals, including sheep and cows. Beef tallow can be used for cooking and has applications in skincare, too.
Beef tallow is made from the fat, or suet, that surrounds cows’ organs. It is made by slowly simmering beef fat, spinning it to separate it from liquid and connective tissue, and collecting the solidified fat.
Beef tallow is a cooking fat with a high smoke point of 480 degrees Fahrenheit (249 degrees Celsius). The smoke point is the temperature at which a fat begins to degrade. For this reason, beef tallow is a good choice for high-heat cooking methods such as deep-frying. It has a mild, somewhat beef-like flavor and a texture similar to shortening.
Beef tallow was once commonly used in the food industry. McDonald’s used beef tallow to fry their french fries from 1940-1990, when they switched to vegetable oil. Beef tallow and other high-fat animal products, like butter and lard, became less popular in the 1990s due to concerns over saturated fat increasing heart disease risk.
Today, beef tallow is recommended by those following certain fat-heavy diets, such as the paleo and keto diets.
Little research exists on the health effects of beef tallow, and there is no evidence that it offers any specific benefits. Beef tallow isn’t as widely used as other fats, like butter and vegetable oils.
Beef tallow is high in fatty acids, which have been linked to positive health benefits.
Supporting a Healthy Body Weight
Beef tallow has a lot of oleic acid, a fatty acid that may support a healthy body weight by regulating appetite, how you spend energy, and reducing abdominal fat.
It also contains conjugated linoleic fatty acid (CAL), which has been shown to promote heart health, such as protecting against plaque buildup in the arteries. However, there is no evidence that beef tallow is more effective at this than other types of fat.
Like other animal fats, tallow contains vitamins and minerals, such as vitamins A, D, K, E, and B12. However, tallow is normally consumed in small amounts, so it isn’t a good source of these nutrients.
Skincare
Though research is limited, some studies suggest that tallow could be good for the skin. A small study found that a skincare treatment containing mutton tallow, which is similar to beef tallow, effectively moisturized the skin.
While these results are promising, more research is needed before recommending beef tallow for skincare use. If you’re interested in using beef tallow or skincare, it’s important to note that it makes the skin very oily, which may aggravate acne-prone or naturally oily skin.
Tallow is a popular ingredient in soap-making due to its moisturizing properties. It has been used to make soap since ancient times, and you can purchase tallow-based soaps in stores and online.
Beef tallow is entirely made up of fat and contains zero carbohydrates or protein. Here is the nutrition breakdown for one tablespoon of beef tallow:
| Calories | 115 |
| Fat | 12.8 grams (g) |
| Saturated fat | 6.37 g |
| Monounsaturated fat | 5.35 g |
| Carbohydrates | 0 g |
| Protein | 0 g |
Beef tallow is composed of 49% saturated fat and 42% monounsaturated fat. For comparison, butter is composed of 51% saturated fat and 21% monounsaturated fat.
Saturated fat is considered “unhealthy” because it may increase heart disease risk factors, such as low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. Monounsaturated fats are considered “heart-healthy” because they generally decrease cholesterol.
Tallow contains several vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A and choline. Vitamin A is needed for vision, immune function, and reproductive health, while choline is necessary for fetal growth and development, metabolism, cellular function, and neurotransmitter synthesis.
However, a standard tablespoon-sized serving of tallow does not provide a good source of these or any other nutrients besides fat.
Beef tallow is high in saturated fat, which may increase cholesterol and the development of atherosclerosis (plaque buildup in the arteries).
While some research suggests that reducing saturated fat and replacing it with unsaturated fats may lower the risk of heart disease, others have failed to find a significant link between saturated fat intake and increased heart disease risk. For example:
- One research review found no association between total or saturated fat intake and heart disease risk. A different review found that saturated fat intake was not significantly associated with heart disease risk, cardiovascular events (e.g., heart attacks), or mortality.
- Another review found that heart disease risk decreased when saturated fats were replaced with plant-based protein, unsaturated fats, or complex carbohydrates. Heart disease risk increased when saturated fats were replaced with refined carbohydrates and protein from meat.
While avoiding overconsuming foods high in saturated fat is wise, most people can enjoy beef tallow in small amounts as part of a healthy diet. Studies show that when saturated fat is consumed as part of an overall healthy dietary pattern, potential adverse cardiovascular effects can be reduced.
Beef tallow may not be the best choice for people with certain health conditions, like familial hypercholesterolemia, a genetic condition that causes high levels of LDL cholesterol.
People with very high cholesterol levels and who are more sensitive to dietary fats should generally reduce their intake of foods high in saturated fat and cholesterol (like tallow) and replace them with fats known to reduce cholesterol, like olive oil.
Beef tallow has a number of uses in the kitchen. Here are a few ways to cook with beef tallow:
- Use beef tallow to make homemade french fries
- Spread tallow on the bottom of baking dishes to prevent cakes and breads from sticking
- Use tallow instead of butter to cook eggs and vegetables
- Brush beef tallow onto the top of pie crusts for a golden brown finish
- Use it to make hash browns and pan-fried potatoes
- Try it in place of butter or shortening when making pie crusts
Beef tallow can be purchased premade in stores or made at home.
Here’s how to make beef tallow:
- Source beef trimmings from a butcher, cut the fat off of the beef, and remove any meat that’s stuck to the fat
- Cut the fat into small chunks
- Place the fat chunks into a pot, like a Dutch oven
- Simmer the fat on low heat for 3-4, stirring every hour or so
- When all of the fat has been liquified and separated from the other components of the beef trimmings, remove the mixture from the heat
- Let the tallow cool for a few minutes, then strain it into a container or bowl using a mesh strainer
- Store your tallow in an airtight glass container
Tallow is shelf-stable and can keep for up to a year when stored in a cool, dark place, like a pantry.
Beef tallow is beef fat that has been rendered, which results in a neutral-tasting, shelf-stable product. It has many culinary applications and can also be incorporated into skincare.
There’s little research on the health effects of tallow, but, like any animal fat, it’s best to consume beef tallow in small amounts as it is high in calories and saturated fat.
