We tested the best method for making Wagyu Beef Tallow which we simply refer to as meat nectar. It is so good! We tested both the wet and dry methods for rendering Wagyu beef tallow to find out which method produces the BEST beef tallow!
What is Beef Tallow?
Simply put, it’s rendered beef. Tallow has a lot of different uses – everything from making candles to soap, hair conditioner and even machining lubricant. But we rendered our own beef tallow to turn up the tasty on a number of different items that we cook. We have some really neat experiments planned with this stuff over the next couple of videos. Also, I recently learned that tallow was really the original secret ingredient in McDonald’s fries.
For this experiment, we aren’t just using any beef fat. We are using WAGYU beef fat! We recently did a video explaining the difference between traditional beef and wagyu beef. Our Wagyu Beef fat from our friends at Wien’s Wagyu. You can find more information about their family farm in Meade, Kansas on their website here.
How to Make Beef Tallow
We started with 10 pounds of wagyu beef fat and cut it up into cubes. This fat has very low melting point, so once it is cut into cubes, we threw it in the freezer to firm up. Once frozen solid, we ran the fat through the meat grinder to turn the fat into really tiny pieces. This will help it render more evenly while being cooked.
When it comes to tallow, it turns out there’s two methods – the wet and the dry method. Let’s explore those methods!
The Dry Method
The dry method is really quite simple. All you need if your Wagyu beef fat and a crockpot. Obviously, the crockpot is not the most manly kitchen appliance there is. If you find a way to butch it up a bit, please let us know! We are seriously concerned about our man cards being revoked. Anywho, the wagyu beef fat goes in the crockpot and it cooked on low for a very, very long time. We are talking overnight. If you are impatient, this process isn’t for you.
The Wet Method
For the wet method, you could use a crockpot or a large pot on the stove. You’re going to add
about a cup of water, a couple of pounds of beef fat and render it down. Again, you’re going to cook it on a low temperature for a long period of time.
The Finished Product – Meat Nectar!
Both methods took about 6 total hours to render completely. Although it is a longer process, you want to make sure you set your crockpot or the stove on the lowest setting possible. If you cook the fat at too high of a heat, it could become rancid. And that would be no bueno.
How do you know if your tallow is ready? It should be a nice yellow color and there could be little brown pieces floating the the top-those are called cracklings.
The next step is to strain the tallow. You want to use a fine mesh strainer that is lined with cheese cloth. That is to ensure that the tallow is pure and there are no extra beef pieces in it that will cause it to go bad. Lastly, you will want to store the tallow in some sort of air tight glass container. For example, we separated ours into individual mason jars.
Both methods seemed to take the same amount of time and yielded the same quality of beef tallow. It is just personal preference as to which method you prefer! We’re going to use this Wagyu beef tallow for our next recipe-bacon wrapped brussel sprouts (not to be confused with our bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers)! This is the first time a veggie is going to make its appearance on this channel.
Have you made tallow at home? If so, we’d love to hear from you guys in the comments below and learn more about how you’re using this in your kitchen to turn up the tasty! We have some great recipes and great experiments planned for our YouTube channel, so don’t forget to follow along!
