DIY Whipped Beef Tallow Body Butter
Sounds a little crazy, but it’s actually great for your skin. Welcome to the world of cosMEATics.
Yes, it’s technically edible, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
This entire experiment started off as a typo. A friend send me a message about a wagyu burger he’d eaten but instead of ‘burger’ he’d typed ‘butter’. WAGYU BUTTER Y’ALL! A frantic instant-gratification-fueled google search ensued, which eventually led me to the world of tallow-based beauty products.
I’m a fan of the nose to tail philosophy, which dictates that all parts of the animal should be used and none should go to waste. This is a great alternate use for excess and trimmed fat (brisket trimmings, hello?!), the only caveat is you have to use grass fed fat only – that’s where the nutrients are.
Basically, the big benefit of using tallow over regular lotion is that it’s all natural, preservative free, absorbs easily and contains fat soluble vitamins A,D,K & E. Here’s the thing: certain amount of what you put on your skin will actually absorb into your bloodstream (that’s how things like nicotine patches work), so better than your skin be absorbing something natural, right? Plus, more importantly, COW LOTION!
This stuff is actually super easy to make, makes your skin feel soft (I don’t care who you are, both men and women appreciate soft skin!), and no, you won’t smell like grease. Just render some fat to turn it into tallow, mix three basic ingredients and whip. Simple!
Redneck pro-tip: I used a chux kitchen wipe to strain instead of muslin or cheesecloth – works great!
Recipe after the pics.
DIY Whipped Beef Tallow Body Butter
Ingredients
- 500g/1lb grass/pasture fed beef fat or trim (makes around 2 cups tallow)
- 4 tbs extra virgin olive oil
- 3–5 drops essential oil (see note 1)
Instructions
- Cut fat into small pieces and place in a saucepan or pot with high sides – this stuff is scorching hot as it melts)
- Put a small amount of water in the bottom of the pan, set the heat to medium and stir occasionally. As the fat melts any skin and impurities will be left behind and appear as crackling.
- The process will only take 20-30 minutes, keep an eye on it to ensure the grease doesn’t start smoking.
- Strain rendered fat though muslin/cheesecloth into a glass or metal container – do not use plastic, it’ll melt!
- The cracklins left behind in the cloth are technically edible, but they’re not as tasty as they look.
- If you want to store your tallow, heat a clear jar in a microwave for 30 seconds to bring it up to temperature to take the hot fat, then pour the clarified tallow in and allow to cool. If you’re making the body butter, just leave it in the strained container.
- Once cool, add the olive oil and essential oil and put in fridge until the mixture becomes solid.
- Whip solid mixture with an electric beater and store in a jar.
- Voila – body butter! Tallow can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a year, the whipped body butter can be stored at room temp for at least 4-5 months.
Notes
Note 1: You can use any essential oil you want for this recipe. Peppermint is nice for a refreshing change otherwise any of the floral ones will make it seem extra fancy. The oil is mainly to mask the tallow smell, which is mild in the jar but has no odour at all once it’s on your skin.
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About Jess Pryles
Jess Pryles is a full fledged Hardcore Carnivore. She’s a live fire cook, author, meat specialist and Meat Science grad student. She’s also a respected authority on Texas style barbecue. Australian born and raised, she now lives in Texas.
I made this today and OH MY WORD I can’t believe how soft and smooth it made my skin feel! I have very dry skin and I’m constantly using lotion and moisturizers. The tallow balm absorbed very quickly and didn’t feel even a little greasy, but my skin feels amazing. I keep rubbing the skin on my arms because it’s just super soft! Thank you so much for the recipe.
Ik i threw out all my body lotions..come to find out they all had polymer in them..only tallow,coco butter,coconut oils for me now..n udder cream
Love this tallow lotion. Question: do you need to refrigerate the jars you are not using? (It will take several months to use it all.)
Do you need to refrigerate the jars you are not using? (As it will take a few months to use it all.)
How can I make this when I have a jar of prepared tallow already? Do I heat up the tallow, allow it to cool and add the other ingredients?
Amazing recipe. I suffer from a skin condition and have used various creams over the years to try and stop the itching and heal the skin. Most have had limited effect. This has completely changed things for me. It basically reduces itching to almost nothing and skin repair is so much quicker than before. I can’t get enough of it and will be turning my back on the Petroleum based creams that are hawked by the pharma industry.
Hi there I’m day two of using tallow,I didn’t have olive oil I used castor oil and fresh rosemary.and I love it
Going to try this! Quick question, can I use a different oil like coconut oil instead?
yes, that should work.
Can I use lard instead of tallow and can I put 15 drops of essential oils to take away the smell of tallow or lard?
Mine turned out grainy. Any ideas?
your tallow may not have been purified enough.
when this recipe is whipped how many jars or oz of jars can it fill. looking to make gifts
I use oven to render the fat, I don’t have to mix it and I never burn it. BTW cracklins taste awesome if salted.
What’s the purpose of the olive oil being added? Is it necessary?
Love it! I used a few drops of lavender oil for a subtle fragrance. It is so nourishing on my skin and I love that there are zero chemicals. I will make this again and again.
I have fresh calendula flowers. How can I incorporate them into this??
Can I use jojoba oil instead???
yes
I just tried making a batch. I halfed the ingredients, but mine did not turn to a butter consistency. how long do you whip it?
Sounds like you didn’t make tallow, but that you rendered beef fat (muscle or meat fat trimmings).
Tallow 100% comes from suet- — which is specific to the fat surrounding the kidneys.
The composition of muscle / meat fat and suet is day and night difference.
Suet rendered into tallow is so healthy for your skin.
Meat fat rendered into solid meat fat (as it isn’t tallow) is healthy for your skin, too, but not nearly as if it was made with real tallow!!
Does it need to be 100% grass fed or just grass finished? Will it still be good just not AS nutritious if not grass fed?
Just tried making this today and it’s honestly a super fun and interesting experience. I did have one issue though. Mine came out extremely greasy and liquidy. any idea why that might be happening? I did use a grass fed beef tallow from the store so maybe that?
I purchased a jar of tallow from my butcher. How can I use this with your recipe?
I’d like to add the olive oil and essential oil. Do I melt it down, add it in, and then chill?
Interested in try this as I have some beef fat in my freezer!
Wondering how easy it is to whip when solid out of the fridge?
Also, seems like essential oil is optional, correct? I prefer unscented products.
Anything I can add to make it a little less oily??? I love it, but some of my friends say it’s too greasy for them!
hi this looks interesting any idea how long you can keep it, and does it need to be in fridge or cupboard. thankyou
My new favorite body lotion!
I’ve been using tallow balm on my face for approx 1 year now and absolutely love it! After looking up options for larger amounts of tallow balm to use as a full body moisturizer, I came across your recipe and went all in. Yesterday I bought 2 lbs of beef fat, which yielded about 3 cups of tallow. I experimented with various essential oils and ended up with 1 8oz jar for personal use ( I went with rosewood oil- divine!) and 7 4oz jars for gifts and to have a jar next to my bed (this batch I used lemon/citrus oil- delightful!).
The body butter turned out fluffy and white the more I mixed it. My skin LOVES it! It absorbs quickly and gives a lovely glow without any greasiness. I plan to use this as a base to make homemade sunscreen soon. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!