Let’s talk about tallow! Today we’re going to take a look at tallow vs butter, but since you know me, I’m The Allergy Chef, we’ll also talk about dairy free butter and other cooking and baking alternatives. I’m so excited for you to learn more today because I’ve also made a very special Bison Tallow Cookie Recipe (and episode of Dang! That’s Delicious) and you can watch it here.
What is Tallow
Tallow is a hard fatty substance and it’s made from rendered animal fats (traditionally from ruminant animals). In addition to being an awesome cooking fat that has a rich flavor, tallow is also used in making candles and soap. And in case you don’t know, the reason tallow is also called rendered fat is because it’s been cooked for an extended amount of time to melt it down (render) and remove impurities.
Tallow is also fantastic for high-heat cooking, as beef tallow has a smoke point of about 480f/250c. In fact, it has a higher smoke point than most other cooking oils and cooking fats. If you’re not a fan of seed oils, I can’t stress how awesome tallow is. Tallow’s high smoke point allows you to get a great sear on meats and vegetables which can also help create a savory flavor from the Maillard reaction.
In terms of the fatty acid profile, tallow, lard, and other rendered animal fats are a combination of monounsaturated fat, saturated fat, and polyunsaturated fats.
How is Tallow Made
Tallow is made from rendered (cooked) animal fats. That fat is a thick white substance that’s attached to the muscles of the animal. The chunks of fat are removed, cooked (rendered) and melted into a liquid state. The impurities are removed, and as the fat cools to be packaged it returns to a solid state. The final product, unless otherwise noted on the label, can be stored at room temperature.
What’s really great about tallow (and other rendered animal fats) is that if you have the patience, you can make it at home. For those who are following a keto, Paleo, or carnivore type diet, this may be a great way to save money since high quality tallow is pretty pricey. I know I pay quite a bit for my bison tallow, and if you’re using tallow regularly, the price can soar.
Other Types of Animal Fats
The term tallow is usually in reference to beef tallow (rendered beef fat) specifically. However, there are other types of animal fats you can make or purchase for high heat cooking and even creative baking. Commercially, here are the names of other animal fats:
- Animal Oil (usually in reference to tallow, but this can reference all rendered animal fats)
- Duck Fat (this doesn’t have a special name, but sometimes you’ll see it called Rendered Duck Fat)
- Hump Fat (Camel Fat)
- Lard (Pork Fat)
- Schmaltz (Rendered Chicken Fat, a few brands like to say chicken tallow as well)
Lard (pork fat) is also sometimes called cured pork fat, or bacon grease. Bacon grease is usually different however since it comes from a seasoned pork product rather than plain/straight fat.
Related Article: Is ButterDairy Free?
Quality Matters
I normally try to keep my food quality opinions to myself in these articles, but today I think it’s relevant to speak up. The quality of the animal your tallow comes from will affect the quality of the tallow itself. I want you think about 100% pure dark chocolate that’s been minimally processed vs the cheap chocolate that has loads of filler, sugar, and additives. It’s kind of like that.
When choosing your tallow, the best choice is going to be organic and grass-fed (and grass-finished). The good choice after that will be tallow from grass-fed animals. Where possible, avoid tallow from animals that have been factory farmed. Meat and other animal by-products that come from grass-fed sources have been shown to have more robust and beneficial nutritional content (vitamins, minerals, etc.).
Alternative Cooking Oils to Tallow and Butter
If you’re out of tallow and butter, here are some cooking fats to choose from. Whilst there are more fruit oil and vegetable oils you could choose from, these will be the healthy fats to choose from based on nutrition profile and how they’re processed.
- Avocado Oil
- Coconut Oil
- Olive Oil
- Palm Oil
- Tiger Nut Oil (tuber, not a tree nut)
My personal fave to work with on this list is avocado oil, followed by extra virgin olive oil. However, I have to use avocado oil in moderation because one of my kids can really taste it, and says it clashes with some foods for them.
Related Article: Is Ghee Dairy Free?
Health Benefits to Cooking with Tallow
Tallow (not just from beef) comes with a wide range of health benefits. These are just some of the noted benefits of cooking with different types of tallow:
- High Vitamin B12 Content (camel fat has 40% your daily value)
- Tallow Contains Healthy Fatty Acids and Essential Vitamins
- Rendered Animal Fats are a Good Source of Fat-Soluble Vitamins
- The Vitamins in Tallow can Support Your Immune System, Skin Health, Bone health, and More
It’s also important to note that tallow and rendered animal fats generally can be cooked at higher temperatures before breaking down and having a negative health impact over time. Often times you hear about oils going rancid from being cooked at high temperatures, or breaking down (not in a good way) when cooked at high temperatures. Cooking with tallow will give you a lot more wiggle room at the stove top where temperature is concerned.
However, for those who can’t have tallow for one reason or another, know that unrefined avocado oil has a smoke point right up there with beef tallow at 480f/250c. It also has different health benefits as well.
If you’d like to learn more information about the health benefits of beef tallow, read this awesome article by the Mayo Clinic.
Butter v Beef Tallow
When looking at beef tallow vs butter, one of the main differences is that tallow can be cooked at much higher temperatures. The smoke point of butter is 300f/150c whereas the smoke point of tallow is 480f/250c. For the record, clarified butter, aka ghee, has better high-heat applications since the smoke point is 480f/250c.
The next big difference is flavor. Tallow is going to have a naturally beefy flavor where butter will have the classic buttery flavor most people associate with, well, butter. I can’t tell you more than that since I’m allergic to it, as are most of my taste testers.
Next up, the source. Whilst butter and tallow both come from the same animal, tallow comes from the flesh and butter comes from the milk. For those with a milk allergy or lactose intolerance, butter is off limits, but tallow is on the menu.
Another big difference: spreadability. If you’ve ever left butter on your counter, then decided to make toast, you’ll know that butter spreads across toast beautifully. Tallow on the other hand doesn’t do that. Since it’s still pretty solid at room temperature, you can’t spread it on toast or anything else. You’d need to heat the tallow some first to make it pliable.
Finally, there’s the cost. plain butter, salted butter, organic butter, and grass-fed organic butter will all cost a lot less than tallow. In terms of equivalents, in my area, I can purchase several pounds of organic grass-fed butter for the same price as one jar of beef tallow. If I were to compare that to my bison tallow, I could get 6 pounds of organic grass-fed butter for the same price.
So, if you’re feeding a large family, you may want to reserve the tallow for very specific cooking applications and use butter regularly.
Beef Tallow v Lard
When we look at tallow vs lard, one of the key differences is the hardness. Pork fat (lard) has not only a softer texture but a milder flavor as well. Lard also has a lower smoke point of 375f/190c. It can still be used in most frying applications, and plenty of stove top cooking. However, many people enjoy using it in their baking rather than beef tallow so the flavour isn’t so prominent.
Like butter, lard costs a lot less than tallow. This may be an important factor for you, especially if you plan to regularly cook and bake with animal fats.
How to Incorporate Tallow into Your Recipes
If you ask me, tallow is a great choice for roasting small amounts of food in the oven. You’ll be able to impart a an extra richness and beefy flavor into root vegetables (potatoes, beets, etc.), and other meats as well.
You can also bake with tallow, and I show you how to do that in this awesome episode of Dang! That’s Delicious.
Tallow can be used in stovetop cooking for shallow pan frying, cooking meatballs and steaks, and even as a butter replacement when cooking eggs. The key point to remember when cooking with tallow is that it can start to return to a solid state if it sits at room temperature for too long, so make sure you eat your meals hot.
Essentially, where cooking is concerned, any recipe that calls for a cooking oil or cooking fat, you can absolutely use tallow. In baking, tallow should only be used in some applications. You don’t want the flavor of the tallow to overtake the flavor of what you’re baking.
I know for me, bison tallow has become a must-have pantry staple in the kitchen. I use it for all of my cooking and baking needs where other fats are normally called for.
Related Article: 25 Easy Ground Bison Recipes & Ideas
Answering Your Tallow and Butter Questions
Can tallow be stored at room temperature?
Yes. Beef tallow and other properly rendered animal fats can be stored at room temperature. Every so often, you’ll run into an artisanal product that says it should be stored in the fridge. Additionally, tallow tends to have a long shelf life, but the artisanal products tend to have a a much shorter shelf life. The good news though is that you can freeze tallow to preserve the artisanal goods.
Does tallow have a nutty flavor?
No, I wouldn’t say nutty. More earthy and meaty with a hint of funk. Now, I’m telling you this based on bison tallow, not beef tallow. You’ll have to purchase beef tallow or borrow some from a friend to see if beef tallow is the same as bison tallow.
Can I use tallow for deep frying?
Yes, you absolutely can use tallow and other animal fats for deep frying. Interestingly, decades ago, fast food restaurants deep fried their French fries in beef tallow, as it was said to be a better option. Now, we could go down that rabbit hole, but we won’t. Instead, just know that tallow for frying is a good option, but can be expensive. To bring down the cost, use a small pot for frying, rather than a large deep fryer.
Is tallow considered a dairy product?
No, tallow and all rendered animal fats are dairy free. There aren’t any milk solids, lactose, or whey present in tallow or other animal fats. Butter and clarified butter (ghee) is considered a dairy product. People with a milk allergy should not consume butter or ghee.
Does tallow only come from ruminant animals?
By pure definition, yes, tallow comes from ruminant animals. However, in modern times, just how we have almond milk, we have chicken tallow. You can purchase rendered animal fats from pork, beef, sheep, goat, buffalo, duck, chicken, and camel. Whilst most grocery stores won’t carry many of these options, stores in your area will probably have lard and beef tallow available.
Should I purchase my tallow from grass-fed cows only?
Personally, I only purchase bison tallow from grass fed and grass finished bison. I would suggest you do the same with your beef tallow, and get organic if you can, especially if you’re purchasing tallow for its health benefits.
If you’re someone who manages chronic diseases, you’ll especially want to get the highest quality foods possible. Said foods will become the building blocks of your healing journey.
Can I cook with tallow if I have a lactose intolerance?
Yes, you can. Just how you can eat beef with a lactose intolerance, you’ll be able to eat tallow. Unlike ghee, tallow comes from the flesh of the animal, not the milk. There aren’t any milk solids or lactose present in the flesh of the animal.
Does Wagyu beef tallow taste different when compared to regular tallow?
Based on what I’ve read (I’m allergic to beef and can’t give you a personal take), wagyu beef tallow not only tastes different, but better. Wagyu beef with an A5 designation comes from Japan and indicates that it’s of superior quality. The tallow is made from the fat of the A5 high quality meat. The final product is said to have a more buttery flavor when compared to normal tallow.
My personal take: when it comes to higher priced items, they’re worth trying at least once, especially if you’re a foodie at heart. I wouldn’t commit to using this 100% of the time, but it could be great for a steak experiment. Try coking a New York strip steak or ribeye steak in both regular tallow and wagyu tallow to see which one you prefer. Make sure you purchase an organic grass-fed tallow if possible so it’s a more fair comparison.
Which would be better for high-temperature cooking? Butter, or tallow?
If you’re using plain butter, tallow is the better choice for high-temperature cooking and that’s because butter smokes at a much lower temperature (300f/150c compared to 480f/250c for beef tallow).
If you plan to use ghee (clarified butter), either one would be an excellent choice since the smoke point is nearly identical. At that point, you’d be choosing based on taste preference and dietary restriction (ghee is not for anyone allergic to milk).
I’d also encourage you to experiment with a range of animal fats for cooking as each one will have a different flavor profile. You may find that you love duck fat potatoes and beef tallow asparagus.
Could I use tallow in pastries?
You could use tallow in some of the elements when making pastries. For example, a tart shell, special cookie base, or crunchy layer could all work well with tallow. When it comes to creams and glazes that you’d use on your pastries, tallow would not work, as it’s just too hard at room temperature to get the job done well. Plus, the taste would be very noticeable (and I don’t mean that in a good way).
I’d also remind you to think about the flavour of tallow. Its beefy flavor will carry through to your final pastries. If that’s your goal, awesome. If it’s not, you’ll need to use something more neural in flavor. Some good oils you could use as an alternative to tallow (assuming butter isn’t an option) would be tiger nut oil (tuber, not a tree nut) and palm oil (shortening).
Would tallow work in sauces rather than butter?
Whilst there are some similarities between tallow and butter, I would not use tallow in sauces. Butter has a different melting point, a different flavor profile, and brings a different enhancement to a properly made sauce. The shine and body that butter brings to sauces won’t be the same if you were to use tallow.
Additionally, tallow can become solid, or even semi-solid at room temperature. Properly made and emulsified sauces will stay liquid at room temperature. If for some reason you can’t use butter in your sauces, I’d suggest dairy free butter or tiger nut oil (tuber, not a tree nut).
Do grocery stores sell mutton tallow?
Mutton tallow is not super common, and you won’t see it in 99.9% of grocery stores. You can however find mutton tallow online and have it shipped. You may also be able to find it at a local butcher if you have one of those “super regenerative and always carries grass fed meats” types of butchers in your area.
One of the reasons mutton tallow isn’t in most grocery stores is the price, and overall demand. Mutton tallow can run you about $20 for a 7 ounce jar which is considered pretty high for most people.
Can tallow and other animal fats be used to cook steaks? I always see chefs use butter.
Yes! You can absolutely cook steaks in tallow. In fact, I cook my bison steaks in tallow all the time. The reasons you’ll see chefs using butter if for the flavour and the overall cost. Currently, good, high quality tallow costs more than good, high quality butter.
If you’ve seen chefs baste their steaks in butter, you can replicate the same action using tallow. Your steaks will have a deeper, meatier flavour if you ask me. If you’re in for the richness of a classic buttery flavor, go for the butter. Just make sure you don’t rest your meat at room temperature for too long, as the tallow can start to return to its solid state as it sits (been there, done that, didn’t like the steak).
Could I make an apple pie crust with tallow rather than butter and shortening?
Yes, you can make crust for your apple pie with tallow. If you follow a traditional apple pie recipe, they’ll have you cut the lard/shortening/fat into your flour. In your case, you’d want to heat the tallow a bit so it’s more pliable, and use your food processor to make the crust (I’m speaking from experience here).
It’s a million times easier to make a tallow pie crust in a food processor than making it by hand. Keep this in mind: whilst the tallow will function properly, it will make your apple pie taste different, and people will absolutely notice. If this is your first time using tallow in a pie crust, I’d suggest starting with a savory pie filling where the tallow will compliment your filling rather than clash a bit (like how it might with the sweet apple filling).
Though, not going to lie, I’m the type of person who would make some wild apple maple sage thyme pie filling that’s less sweet than normal *just* to have an excuse to pair it with a tallow pie crust. So, don’t be afraid to try this out at least once.
Is butter a 1:1 substitute for tallow in recipes?
Usually, yes, butter will be a 1:1 substitute for tallow. If you’re using butter as a substitute in high heat cooking however, clarified butter (ghee) is a better substitute since it has a higher smoke point.
