Beef tallow - tell me about it?

[nearwildheaven]

I thought gelatin was rendered from bones and hides (and hooves too).

I used to live in Sioux City, Iowa, which had a big gelatin plant south of town. IIRC, most of that gelatin was used for non-food purposes.

[puzzlegal]

I think that not only is visceral fat worse for your health when you have it (compared to subcutaneous fat), it’s also more unhealthy to eat it.

[DSeid]

Correct. Highest concentration of saturated fatty acids and least concentration of monosaturated fatty acids. Most cardio metabolic risk and most contributory to dysfunctional inflammation.

Intramuscular fat, marbling, least harmful of the three (abdominal, intramuscular, and subcutaneous).

ETA marrow on par with marbling. Some plus and minus of composition but roughly a wash. That is probably what that oxtail fat is mostly. And marrow is very yummy.

[Loach]

@Dewey_Finn

I wonder if there is any chemical or taste difference between ordinary beef tallow and wagyu beef tallow?

It tastes like money. No idea if there is an actual taste difference.

@puzzlegal

But I’ve never tried wagyu beef. Honestly, the photos don’t look appealing. I can, as a guilty pleasure, eat a strip of fat cap from my steak. But meat that’s got more fat than muscle fiber looks unhealthy to unappealing to me.

In all beef the flavor comes from the fat. The marbling in Waygu melts into the meat when it’s cooked. Waygu is more buttery and tender than what you normally have. It’s not eating fat, it’s eating meat infused with fat.

I’ve had Waygu and liked it. I can’t really say I liked it more than other good cuts of meat. It’s just different. I have no idea how that translates to the tallow. I’m going to guess the difference isn’t much except in price.

[Dewey_Finn]

@puzzlegal

@Dewey_Finn

I wonder if there is any chemical or taste difference between ordinary beef tallow and wagyu beef tallow?

I’ve read that there is. They don’t just have more fat, they have different fat. But I’ve never tried wagyu beef. Honestly, the photos don’t look appealing. I can, as a guilty pleasure, eat a strip of fat cap from my steak. But meat that’s got more fat than muscle fiber looks unhealthy to unappealing to me.

Perhaps there is a difference, although I’m skeptical.

[Loach]

I don’t remember what the price was in person but on the Costco app the Waygu beef tallow is $60. That’s for 2 jars of 22 ounces each.

[Dewey_Finn]

That’s $1.36 per ounce, versus $1.09 per ounce for the beef tallow at Big Y Supermarket, though that’s from ordinary American cows.

[burpo_the_wonder_mutt]

Hey, watch that “ordinary” stuff; our cows have tools.

Google Image Result for...

[SCAdian]

All this talk about tallow, and not one mention of candles?

[DSeid]

@DSeid

monosaturated

Monounsaturated … oops.

[Beckdawrek]

I thought about tallow candles.

[ParallelLines]

Well, now that we’ve moved past culinary usage and value, I present: Billy, the Beef Tallow Boy!

Warning, not precisely NSFW, but this is Classic semi-disturbing Ren and Stimpy show.

[purplehorseshoe]

@DrDeth

Is the tallow you want to get for skincare or cooking?

The description states that the unflavored version can be used for both.

I had NO idea this ingredient had been so politicized (I read the posts in another thread about it) and admit that my familiarity with it until now was strictly regarding the late, lamented McDonald’s fries. Hence, starting this thread.

Thank you all for the replies so far (keep 'em coming!) and for the record, duck fat is delishush and so is beef marrow.