How to Render Tallow in the Instant Pot (Animal-Based, Paleo, Carnivore, AIP)
How to Render Tallow in the Instant Pot for an Animal-Based, Paleo, Carnivore, & AIP cooking fat!
Jump to RecipeThis is by far my favorite method to render animal fats. It’s fast, it’s easy, and it’s low maintenance to boot! I mean, what cooking method is better than pressing a button and walking the heck away from the kitchen?
Homemade tallow like this can be stored in air-tight jars at room temperature for up to 1 year. Which is perfection for wanna-be doomsday preppers like myself. If you store your tallow in the fridge, though, that will extend its expiration date by a few more months! Read on to learn how to make this liquid gold that is full of nourishing health benefits and magical unicorn properties.
“But you’re the GOOD Kind of Fat, Baby.”
Say ta-ta to junk seed oils that are inflammatory, oxidative, and terrible for the environment. Say hello to my little friend. Errr…I mean, to the tallow.
This majestic and versatile rendered fat has a high smoke point, is shelf-stable, and uses parts of the animal that may otherwise get discarded or overlooked. That means animal-based skillet frying, long storage life without your icebox if you choose to rough it, and mega sustainability.
It’s rich in Vitamins A, E, D, and K. It goes above and beyond with its brain-boosting healthy fatty acids content, and its saturated fat may actually increase HDL, our good cholesterol!* Source
Plus, its benefits for your skin when used internally and externally are pretty amazing, too. Try using rendered tallow to make your own DIY lip balm, face cream, makeup remover, callus softener…you name it.
If all of that doesn’t make you want to cook everything under the sun in it and slather it (room temp, please) all over your naked body, I don’t know what will, my primal pal!
Um, oh yeah…it’s also really tasty. Om nom. Phat fat.
OK. Let’s Get to the Point of How to Render Tallow in the Instant Pot, Hun.
#Step 1: Add raw beef fat and water to your Instant Pot, and break it up a bit with a cooking spoon. Seal the lid and close the vent, then press MANUAL and set the time to 60 minutes. When the completion timer sounds, allow the Instant Pot to depressurize naturally.
#Step 2: Place a fine metal sieve over a large metal or glass bowl. Carefully pour the rendered fat into the sieve, allowing the liquid fat to filter and collect in the bowl.
TIP ALERT! Save the meat scraps for pureeing and adding to chili, keep them whole to use for making bone broth, or crisp them up in the Instant Pot on the SAUTE function with some salt, then enjoy as beefy crunchy snacks.
#Step 3: Pour the strained liquid fat into sterilized jars. I like to fill 1 large, wide-mouth Mason jar first and save it in the pantry, then fill 1 small one last to use the same week I make the tallow.
The reason for this is the bottom of the liquid fat can contain some beef gelatin and juices that may spoil if kept at room temperature for too long, so it’s best to use this smaller jar more quickly. Seal with lids and store in the pantry.
Bada bing bada boom, DONE.
If you’re really strapped for entertainment ideas, you can pull up a chair and watch it cool over the course of the next several hours and change from gold liquid to white solid. Good times.
Grab a set of wide-mouth Mason jars here!
Love All Things Animal-Based & Carnivore like this How to Render Tallow in the Instant Pot Post?
You’ll love these recipes below to get your ketchup, bread, and liver on with no fuss, no muss. (OK, so maybe just a small bit of muss.)
- Carnivore Turkey Bread Loaf (Animal-Based, Paleo, Dairy-Free, Nut-Free)
- Animal-Based Banana Flour Pancakes (Carnivore, Paleo)
- Animal-Based Apricot Ketchup (Carnivore, Paleo, AIP)
- Carnivore Chicken Liver Pate (Animal-Based, Primal, Paleo, AIP)
Is there any comfort food you’re missing on this WOE that you’d like me to recreate? Let me know in the comments!
How to Render Tallow in the Instant Pot (Animal-Based, Paleo, Carnivore, AIP)
Equipment
- Instant Pot
- Metal or wooden cooking spoon
- Large metal or glass bowl
- Fine metal sieve
- 1 4-cup wide-mouth Mason jar, sterilized
- 1 1-cup Mason jar, sterilized
- Mason jar lids, sterilized
Ingredients
- 4 lb raw beef fat pellets (or raw beef fat chopped into small pieces)
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- Add raw beef fat pellets (or chopped beef fat) to your Instant Pot. Break them up a bit with a cooking spoon.
- Add water, then seal the lid and close the vent.
- Press MANUAL and set the time to 60 minutes. (This setting should automatically default to HIGH pressure.)
- Allow the machine to run its cycle. When the completion timer sounds, allow the Instant Pot to depressurize naturally for 30 minutes.
- Remove the lid, and use oven mitts to remove the inner pot.
- Place a fine metal sieve over a large metal or glass bowl. Carefully pour the rendered fat into the sieve, allowing the liquid fat to filter and collect in the bowl.
- Save the meat scraps for pureeing and adding to chili, keep them whole to use for making bone broth, or crisp them up in the Instant Pot on the SAUTE function with some salt, then enjoy as snacks.
- Pour the strained liquid fat into the sterilized jars. I like to fill the large one first and save it in the pantry, then fill the small one last to use the same week I make the tallow. The reason for this is the bottom of the liquid fat can contain some beef gelatin and juices that may spoil if kept at room temperature for too long, so it’s best to use this smaller jar more quickly.
- Seal with lids (use metal lids if you want the jars to self-seal for long-term storage) and store in the pantry.*
- Use as a nutrient-dense, nourishing, all-purpose cooking fat or to make your own homemade beauty and skincare products!
9 Comments
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Chris Webb
Ok, I did this, and after 24 hours of letting it sit, I have a jar that’s the top fourth (probably) tallow (it’s white and hard), and then a reddish-brown liquid at the bottom. Is that fat too? If not, do I scrape out the tallow to keep the “goods”?
Samantha
Hey there, Chris,
Great question!
This layer can be gelatinous leftovers from any meat tissue, or even meat juices that did not evaporate. Left at room temp, or even in the fridge for extended periods of time, it is possible this can spoil the batch.
I’ve linked below some great tips from another blog about how to purify your tallow. 🙂 I hope this helps!
https://bumblebeeapothecary.com/how-to-render-and-purify-tallow-so-that-it-is-odorless-and-white/#:~:text=How%20to%20purify%20tallow
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Ludo
Hi Samantha,
Thanks a lot for this great recipe. I have the same Instant Pot – 5.7L variant – as you do, yet I didn’t manage to render the fat in the way that you describe. When I add the prescribed amount of water, I always get a “Food Burn” message from my Instant Pot. Following the manual, this makes sense, because the amount of water that I had added for ~1KG of unrendered fat was way below the minimum required water amount – 375ML – for Pressure Cooking. Yet, in your manual/video I see you do exactly that without any issues like “Food Burn”. When I open the lid, nothing serious/dangerous/food burning seems to be the case, but the message keeps being displayed nonetheless.
I also tried with adding lots of water, not resulting in the “Food Burn” message. Yet when I did that, it became impossible to get the moisture out, even after hours and hours of pressure cooking, resulting in an unusable substance.
What are your thoughts on what I am doing wrong here?
Thanks in advance for your help,
Ludo.
Danielle
Hey Ludo,
On a comment above, Samantha shared a link to the bumble bee apothecary on how to purify tallow. Because you added a good bit of water, it would be important to follow the other blogs instructions as well as adding salt to purify! Good luck for next time!
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