Seasoned Advice Asked by stephennmcdonald on July 26, 2020
This weekend I will be in possession of 100 lbs of beef suet (which I’ll be getting from a butcher friend) and plan to render it into tallow. I can’t even begin to imagine exactly what this amount of tallow will look like, but I’m absolutely certain I won’t have nearly enough room in the fridge or freezer to store it.
I was told large quantities of rendered tallow can be stored at room temperature for up to or even a year; possibly longer if I keep it in my cool, dark basement. Rendered fats never last long enough in our house to know for sure.Apparently canning isn’t an option because the heated fat will keep the jar from sealing, but it will be fine in a well sealed glass (Mason-style) jar.
A quick Google search turns up some anecdotal evidence but I’d prefer some science.
Can I store my rendered tallow in well-sealed glass jars in the basement for up to (or over) a year? More importantly, why or why not?
Edit: I’ve been operating under the assumption that the rendered tallow will be safer to store for a long period of time. I just saw on StillTasty (which doesn’t have a tallow entry unfortunately) that commercial suet can be stored for a year in the pantry, opened or unopened. That seems really strange to me – is that true? I would expect fat to go rancid quickly in an opened container in the pantry. Is it because it’s “commercial” suet – is there anything I could do to my suet so I could store it unrendered?
Tallow does not need to be refrigerated and can last a year or longer. I would not worry greatly about decomposition, but oxidation can be a problem. Make sure to store it in an airtight container and you shouldn't have a problem.
Correct answer by Ray on July 26, 2020
Pure fats tend to last quite a long time and for whatever reason bacteria and bugs are not attracted to pure fats. You can also preserve food with ghee, lard and tallow as it's an oxygen barrier.
Answered by John on July 26, 2020
I waterbath can my tallow in jars for 10 minutes. I found a really good scientific explanation once saying why it was ok to can it this way but I can't find it now. Basically for fat to go rancid or for bacterial / mold to grow there has to be certain conditions met such as moisture, air, etc. Because rendered fat has no moisture, if done correctly, then it is safe to can in a water bath. Then you can store it on the shelf for longer than a year and it takes it out of the refrigerator or freezer. Seems I'm a little posting to this now but this is knowledge for the future :D
Answered by Kim H on July 26, 2020
the best way to keep it is by vacuum sealing the fat or tallow making sure it is absolutely clean and dry. It will keep that way in a cool and dark place for well over a year.
Answered by chef Michael on July 26, 2020
I render mine in a slow cooker then filter and pour into Silicone cupcake pan making small discs. I then put these in plastic freezer bags and store them in the freezer. They will pretty much last forever in there so long as I double bag it to keep the freezer burn down and since they are easy size I can just grab one when needed. In theory you can store it in jars but the problem can happen with impurities spoiling a jar. I tend to salt the bottom of the jar and warm can them. For extra security you can use a food grade wax at the top of the jar before sealing. I would expect this to be good for at least a year in jars if not more. Note that suet is going to keep much better then lard. The fat around kidneys was used for candle making and keeps solid at room temp so less air to spoil.
Answered by James on July 26, 2020
Suet was used for pemmican 100s of years ago, I read in history books they found some that had sat dry in bags for over 25 years and was still good Native Americans used this process for hundreds of years , Lewis and clark used Suet pemmican for a major food source for months on their long trip over years
Answered by Imrubicon on July 26, 2020
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