Photo via Gingin Beef
In today’s world of fast food, oxidized and potentially rancid vegetable oils, and the genetic modification of our food supply, the most healing and nourishing foods and materials for our bodies and planet are often overlooked.
One of them is beef tallow, a type of animal fat that is shaped to meet a specific texture and criteria.
Tallow is primarily made up of triglycerides, a building block of natural fats and oils.
Beef tallow is known mainly for its use in food and food preparation. It’s been used by the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, and many other ancient cultures for its nourishing, healing, and moisturizing characteristics. The Amish have historically used beef tallow for a wide variety of purposes.
Beef tallow is ideal as a cooking oil because of its sky-high smoke point of 420 degrees Fahrenheit, which is higher than similar cooking oils like avocado oil, lard, coconut oil, chicken fat, duck fat and traditional butter.
If you’ve never tried beef tallow before, there are many health benefits worth knowing that may convince you to start adding it to your daily recipes.
Beef Tallow is Rich in Healthy Fats
Beef tallow provides a source of healthy fats and fat soluble vitamins.
Because of the healthy, fatty acids it provides, it helps those who consume it to better absorb vitamins from additional sources.
Beef tallow provides both saturated fats (like the kind found in butter) and monounsaturated fats (like the kind found in olive oil).
Some of the vitamins it contains include Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin D, and Vitamin K.
Additionally, beef tallow is a great source of choline, which most people get from eggs. Choline is difficult to get in non-animal food sources like beef tallow and eggs.
It is necessary for optimal functioning of the brain and nervous system, and helps to regulate mood, muscle control, memory, brain function, the connection of neurons in the brain and more. Choline is necessary to form membranes around cells in the body.
It is for these and other reasons that beef tallow is considered to be a nutritional powerhouse similar to foods like grass-fed beef, pasture-raised eggs and butter, raw milk and cheese, and similar food items.
It also helps to nourish and moisturize the skin, which is why it is often used as a base for lotions and creams.
Try a 100% Grass-Fed Beef Tallow Here
Beef Tallow as a Cooking Oil
Beef tallow is recommended as a cooking oil by Dr. Josh Axe, a well known naturopathic doctor.
According to Dr. Axe, the smoke point of beef tallow ranges between 420 to 480 degrees, which makes it one of the highest smoke point oils, period.
Because of its high fat content, it keeps its structural integrity better than many plant-based oils allowing for a healthier final result when it is used for cooking food at high temperatures.
Dr. Axe also notes on his blog that beef tallow is rich in CLA, or Conjugated Linoleic Acid. This acid helps to support healthy metabolic function.
Consuming more CLA-rich oils could possibly fight cancer and help to reduce inflammation. Research suggests beef tallow may support the immune system and may fight the growth of tumors in the body.
Additional Thoughts on Beef Tallow
Additional Thoughts on Beef Tallow
Cooking in animal fats like beef tallow is a time-honored tradition throughout human history. Animal fats have been demonized by governmental organizations. What these organizations fail to mention is that they are staple foods, cooking oils and materials used in the production of home goods by the world’s longest living cultures.
These uses have persisted among healthy nations, tribes and and cultures of people for millennia.
Many of the world’s longest living cultures including the Okinawans of Japan cook their vegetables and other foods including meat and seafood in some kind of animal fat.
Beef tallow and bison tallow are useful for making homemade tallow candles which are much healthier than the candles made from potential GMO soy (possibly hexane extracted) that have taken over the industry in recent years.
As mentioned by Dr. Axe, beef tallow is incredibly healthy. It can be used for making foods including pie crusts, tortillas, fried vegetables, cookies, cakes and similar foods (the first McDonald’s French fry was cooked in tallow but the company now uses genetically modified vegetable oils and other unhealthy ingredients).
The above foods are now packed with incredibly unhealthy GMO trans fats and additives that are not designed to be cooked at high temperatures like they were in traditional cultures with beef tallow, lard, ghee and other high smoke point oils.
If you’d like to try beef tallow as a cooking oil at home, I recommend using something that is 100% grass-fed and finished like this beef tallow from Paleo Valley.
It has a higher smoke point than butter and you don’t have to worry about any GMOs or pesticides inside of it that are poisonous to the human organism.
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P.S.
I cooked my steak in beef tallow recently and it tasted absolutely amazing!
If you like your cuts of meat without the buttery taste of ghee or butter sometimes and want something that works with the natural flavor of meats (instead of overpowering it) I highly recommend beef tallow.
This is the one I use and recommend – Here (On Sale Now from our friends at Paleo Valley)
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About Nick Meyer
