Beef Tallow: Bringing Back an Old-Fashioned Essential
The movement toward regenerative farming can feel like a return to "the old ways.” Farmers are stepping away from heavy tilling and chemical inputs and back toward practices that build soil, restore biodiversity, and support thriving ecosystems.
Another overlooked “old fashioned” tradition is the use of beef tallow. Tallow is rendered suet, which is the dense white fat that surrounds a cow’s organs. Once melted down and purified, it becomes a creamy fat that’s solid at room temperature, similar to coconut oil but firmer and waxier.
Once a household staple, rendered beef fat was used in everything from curing frying pans to skincare—long before moisturizers came in pumps and seed oils lined grocery store shelves. Somewhere along the way, tallow fell out of favour.
Why did we stop using tallow?
Back in the '80s, we thought saturated fats and red meat were the bad guys. Rising concerns about heart disease led many people to switch from animal fats to vegetable oils and from meat to carbohydrate-heavy diets. We now know that the story is more complex: highly processed seed oils are not always the healthier alternative they were marketed to be, and carbohydrates—especially refined ones—are processed like sugars in our bodies, then stored as fat.
But today, with a better understanding of nutrition, inflammation, and whole foods, people are returning to these simple, nutrient-rich fats. But in moderation.
Omega-6 and Omega-3: why balance matters
The fatty acids we eat play important roles in our body:
- Omega-6 fats increase inflammation, which we need to fight infections and heal injuries.
- Omega-3 fats decrease inflammation, helping keep the body in balance.
Historically, humans consumed these fats in roughly equal amounts. But modern diets, filled with vegetable oils (AKA oils like sunflower, soybean, grapeseed, and corn oil), skew heavily toward Omega-6. Too much of these oils creates a chronic inflammatory load, which can contribute to metabolic issues and heart disease.
Beef tallow, especially from grass-fed and grass-finished cattle, offers a more balanced ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3.
Like all animal fats, it is high in saturated fat—but in moderation, it can be part of a wholesome, nutrient-dense diet.
Grass-Fed & Grass-Finished: Why it Matters for Tallow
When cattle are raised on pasture and finished on grasses and herbaceous plants rather than grain, the nutrient content of their fat changes significantly. Grass-fed, grass-finished tallow contains:
- Higher levels of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K
- More anti-inflammatory properties
- More Omega-3 fatty acids
- A deeper, richer nutritional profile overall
This makes grass-fed tallow a standout not only for cooking, but also for skincare and home use.
How to Use Beef Tallow
For food: use tallow instead of cooking oil for frying and roasting, or instead of butter for baking (very keto-friendly).
In the home: season cast iron cookware, condition wooden cutting boards and utensils, and even treat leather goods.
For the body: use directly as a lotion (it's naturally anti-inflammatory) or whip it with a light carrier oil and essential oils to reduce the beefy scent. You can also make homemade soaps, salves, balms, and candles with it.
Should We All Switch Back to Tallow?
The key message isn't that eating a lot of beef tallow will fix your health. It's calorically dense and has a high saturated fat content. This is about using healthy, balanced fats in moderation.
Whether you're using canola oil or beef tallow, deep frying everything you eat isn’t going to do your body any favours. But choosing minimally processed fats like beef tallow - especially from healthy grass-fed and finished cows - is a step towards balanced Omega-6 and Omega-3 fatty acids, meaning less inflammation and more nutrients.
Beef tallow is simply a time-tested ingredient that deserves a place back in the modern home.