We Tried Cooking With Beef Tallow—Right here’s What We Thought

We’ve teamed up with South Chicago Packing to highlight their new Wagyu Beef Tallow Spray, the final word ingredient for BBQ’ing, grilling, searing, sautéeing, and extra.

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Right here at Food52, we’re a group filled with cooks, and we cook dinner A LOT. With that have comes some methods—and most well-liked merchandise—that are actually second nature to us, like preheating a pan with our favourite cooking oil earlier than dropping in an ingredient. The satisfaction of that sizzle is music to our ears—it means good issues to come back.

However generally a product comes alongside that expands our horizons. Once we have been requested to check out a brand new pure cooking fats, our curiosity was piqued. Wagyu Beef Tallow Spray, from South Chicago Packing, is 100% pure premium rendered American Wagyu beef fats, in nonstick cooking spray type. (It additionally is available in a 42-ounce tub and a 11.5-ounce glass jar.) The Amazon reviews for the spray are glowing: “Makes [a] good lower of steak style aged.” “Love air frying rooster with this spray.” “Manner higher than utilizing butter or any sort of oil for prime warmth cooks.” We’ll cease there, but it surely retains going.

I raised my hand to be a tester sooner than you may say “hearth up the grill.” Just a few different members of the Food52 fam did as effectively. Right here’s what we considered the spray.

In my home, my husband and I used it on, effectively, every thing, for a couple of week. We used it to grill flank steak at an impromptu weekend BBQ, so as to add some taste to a frozen risotto on a too-tired-to-cook Monday night time, and with our signature dinners of “random issues within the fridge that we put in a pan collectively.” (A latest iteration included roasted eggplant, a jar of crushed tomatoes, and floor turkey with basil and thyme.)

Shana Liebman, house cook dinner {and professional} recipe developer, used it to fry eggs, which she mentioned “immediately evoked reminiscences of late-night-diner steak and eggs.” She additionally mentioned it took a easy grilled cheese to a different stage. (Our Check Kitchen Recipe and Content material Creator, Nea Arentzen, tried it with eggs too—she preferred how “it made my eggs crispy good and rapidly” and famous it added richness with out overpowering taste.)

Linsey Sowa, co-owner of the non-public chef firm, Southernish, and moderator of Food52’s Cookbook Clubs, made a imply cornbread with it. “The excessive smoke level allowed me to place the cornbread on a range burner and get a pleasant crispy, crackling crust—together with the addition of a richer taste,” she mentioned. Her companion, Chef Joseph Rousey, used it to smoke a pork shoulder, and cherished that the tallow added moisture and taste all through the 10-hour course of.

I discovered that in each case, the spray added a shocking depth of taste to our dishes. My husband agreed, however identified that the flavour was comparatively impartial in comparison with one thing like olive oil. Like Linsey, he crowed in regards to the excessive smoke level. (Much less processed oils like olive oil are likely to have decrease smoke factors, refined oils are typically higher for high-heat cooking like frying.)

For Shana, the standout characteristic was the delicate taste that provides a umami richness with none chemical aftertaste. She additionally sang its high-heat praises, saying the spray is an effective way to cook dinner with excessive warmth with out utilizing extremely refined seed oils like canola.

Joseph made be aware of the spray’s impact on veggies. “It makes coating greens previous to roasting, sauteing, and even grilling a snap,” he mentioned. “No extra pooling of butter or oil on one facet of the veggies! I hate the soggy mess that occurs with veg like broccoli, when the butter clumps on the florets—a good, mild coating provides taste and ease.”

In a phrase, Chicago. Its maker, South Chicago Packing, is a fifth technology, family-owned enterprise that started off within the Chicago Stockyards over 120 years in the past. They started as a meat packing operation (therefore the title), after which transitioned into high-end specialty fat, customized oil blends, and food-grade specialty merchandise.

All of South Chicago Packing’s merchandise help what they name “nose-to-tail sustainability,” utilizing meat that’s pasture-raised and sustainably and humanely sourced. Plus, their Wagyu Beef Tallow spray is Keto-, Paleo-, and Whole30-friendly, in addition to gluten- and dairy-free.

Now that they’ve been in enterprise for a century plus, South Chicago Packing is increasing its geographic attain—however not forgetting its roots. They continue to be dedicated to Chicago itself, and purpose to reinvest in its neighborhoods and of their workers by creating jobs and contributing to the way forward for town.

Right here’s to that ethos, and to the good merchandise they produce. Blissful house cooking.

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Our pals at South Chicago Packing began out with an purpose to supply high quality merchandise and again them up with unparalleled service. Over a century later, that Drive to Serve continues to be at their core. They’re the specialists in high-end cooking fat and oils you can belief. Shop here.