What Is Beef Tallow (and How Is It Different from Beef Fat)?
Lately, you might have noticed beef tallow popping up in recipes, TikTok videos, and restaurant menus. It’s not exactly new — in fact, it’s one of the oldest cooking fats around — but it’s enjoying a well-deserved revival as more people look for natural, rich alternatives to heavily processed oils.
What Is Beef Tallow?
Beef tallow is beef fat that’s been rendered, meaning it’s slowly cooked down so the pure fat separates from any bits of meat or tissue, then strained until smooth. It’s usually made from the firm, white fat found around a cow’s kidneys (called suet), but other beef fat can be used too.
The result is a clean, shelf-stable fat that’s solid at room temperature, has a long storage life, and a high smoke point, making it excellent for frying, roasting, and sautéing. Historically, tallow was used everywhere — from searing meats to making flaky pastries — before being replaced in many kitchens by vegetable oils.
Beef Fat vs. Beef Tallow
The difference is simple: beef fat is the raw, unrendered fat straight from the animal, with all of its natural beefy aroma and flavor intact. Beef tallow is what you get after rendering that fat into a purified, more neutral form.
Both have their place in cooking. In our ramen, we use beef fat for its fuller, richer taste, which works beautifully in broth
Why They’re Worth Using
Whether you’re cooking with beef fat or beef tallow, you’re working with an ingredient that’s natural, rich in flavor, and time-tested. Both are excellent alternatives to highly refined seed oils like palm or canola, and they bring qualities that processed oils can’t match, with their rich, authentic flavor, better spice and aroma carry and a great mouthfeel in soups, sauces, and fried foods.
Why We Use Beef Fat in Our Spicy Beef Ramen
Our Spicy Beef Ramen starts with a slow-cooked beef broth. Adding beef fat enriches the umami, helps the chili oil infuse its heat throughout, and gives the soup a smooth, velvety texture — without dairy or thickeners. The golden droplets you see floating on top aren’t something we filter out. They’re part of the flavor and the experience.
The Takeaway
Beef tallow is rendered fat. Beef fat is its raw, unprocessed form. We choose beef fat for our ramen because it delivers depth, richness, and character — but both are excellent cooking fats that keep your food rich and delicious without turning to highly processed oils.
Want to try it? Shop Our Spicy Beef Ramen Made with Beef Fat
