What’s the Difference Between Lard and Tallow?
A very common question I get about our products is, What is the difference between lard and tallow?
They are both types of rendered fat, and both have been around for a VERY long time. I’ve observed that very old words often have multiple meanings, or maybe the current meaning has shifted slightly away from the original meaning. All that to say, not everyone who reads this will agree with my explanations of these ancient foods. However, I want to try to shed some light on what I know about the subject.
The basic difference is what animal these fats come from. Lard is Pork Fat. Tallow is Beef Fat. (Tallow may also include lamb or other ruminant fat, and even if that’s true, the following would still be generally true.)
A fun fact for you is that rendered Chicken Fat is called Schmaltz. And yes, it’s a thing. You see it in the pan after you’ve roasted a nice plump chicken.
Lard, Tallow, and Schmaltz are all rendered fats.
What does “rendered” mean?
Every healthy mammal’s body contains fat in two areas: under the skin, and around the kidneys. What that fat is NOT is free liquid oil, floating around in the body. Nope. The raw fat from a cow or pig or chicken must be removed from its surrounding connective tissue before it can be useful as a cooking oil. That’s a very simple process (UNLIKE the extraction of seed oils from tiny, non-oily, non-mammalian seeds and grains like cottonseed or corn). All you have to do is warm the connective tissue up gently, and out melts the liquid fat. The fibrous (for lack of a better word) tissue left behind is “crackling,” and makes a very hearty snack when you crisp it up in a skillet.
This process is called Rendering, and it ends with the two byproducts: Crackling and liquid Rendered ___ (Lard, Tallow, Schmaltz). Crackling is a bonus, but the liquid oil is what we’re really after. You don’t really need to include the “rendered” part because the names of those products imply that the extraction has already taken place, but it can eliminate ambiguity that can come with those super-old words. In fact, I don’t even know what raw pig fat is called. Pig fat, I guess! Ha. Raw beef fat is called suet, but even then… some people use the word suet when they mean rendered tallow and vice-versa.
What is the functional difference between Lard and Tallow?
Source
Lard can actually come from two different places on the pig. Pigs are fat factories, after all! Depending on how the pigs are raised and what breed they are, much of the fat can be found under the skin, and would be called Back Fat. Back fat produces a lard that is much lower in saturated fat, and I hypothesize that it’s this area that would tend to be richer in Vitamin D if the pigs are raised on pasture, since the skin is where vitamin D is manufactured. The other area pigs store fat is around the kidneys (like all mammals), and kidney fat tends to be higher in saturated fat, and therefore will be stiffer and harder at a given temperature. Either one from a pig tends to be much more unsaturated than Tallow, meaning it is softer and more pliable.
Beef fat principally comes from the kidney area. A very fat cow will have fat under the skin, but it’s not thick like on a pig, therefore it will tend to be more difficult to harvest. Plus, since beef hangs much longer than pork after slaughter, the skin fat is usually left in place to protect the underlying meat from oxygen and moisture loss.
Taste
Lard is a delightful replacement for Crisco (or should I say, Crisco attempted to replace lard!). Lard is the best choice for pastry and other baked goods. Rendered correctly, it will have very neutral flavor. Generally speaking, pork back fat will tend to taste a little “porkier” than pork kidney or “leaf” fat, but done right, either one is very mild in flavor. I had a chef once tell me that his favorite way to make chocolate chip cooks is using lard!
In my opinion, beef fat has quite a “beefy” flavor, even when rendered quickly and carefully. If you are just getting started into incorporating animal fats, and maybe have that lingering fat phobia that I did when I first started, I might suggest starting with lard and working your way up to Tallow Level. Who knew real food could be so much like a video game? Haha. But you can use that natural flavor to your advantage. Tallow is an excellent frying oil, and it makes the World’s Most Delicious French Fries. Did you know that McDonald’s used to fry in tallow when they first opened their restaurant chain back in the 1940’s? But the cholesterol scare lobbyists pushed for them to eliminate animal fats from their frying oils, so now to achieve the same authentic flavor, they have to add “essence of beef.” Sad, huh?
Texture
In its solid state, tallow is similar in texture to cold butter. It is crumbly and hard when cool and therefore will not make a great choice for pastries, since it is not very pliable. Because tallow is highly saturated, it solidifies easily at room temperature and can leave a filmy feeling in your mouth after eating if your food has cooled down too much.
Lard, however, tends to stay liquid after being melted, and is a great choice for sautéing vegetables or browning meat. It is quite soft at room temperature and is very much like Crisco in possible uses.
Nutrition
Remember, lard comes from pigs, and pigs are akin to little Vitamin D factories when they are raised outdoors. Lard is the best natural source of vitamin D on earth, only second to cod liver oil. When piggies are out on pasture, soaking up the sun all day, their hormones help them create vitamin D, which is stored in their fat. Bacon is officially a health food. But only from pasture-raised pigs!
Commercial pigs, sadly, never see the light of day EVER. They are born inside and live inside until that very last day. CAFO (confined animal feeding operation) pork is among the saddest commercial “foods” that there is, because confining these animals under such stressful conditions does a great disservice to their piggy personalities, and it also does a great disservice to pork lovers everywhere because they are missing out on this wonderful, natural source of vitamin D. You can’t get much natural vitamin D if you never see the sun.
Additionally, many commercial pig operations add Ractopamine to the feed, which tends to unnaturally force the pig’s body to reduce stored fat and increase muscle, so that the final cuts will have more profitable muscle and less fat. I think it’s rather tragic considering all the benefits of pork fat, not to mention the delightful taste of Real Pork.
Tallow’s benefits include all those associated with grass-fed beef. When you hear someone spout off the list of great things about grass-fed beef, guess what? MOST of those benefits are ONLY found in the fat. Higher Vitamin E, Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA), and Omega-3 fatty acids. And tallow, of course, being pure fat, is chock-full of all of them! On the other side of that coin, however, is that commercially-raised cattle fed corn and soy, do not have these beneficial fatty acids in their fats. Once again, it’s all about what those animals are eating and how they are raised that ultimately determines the benefits the human consumer is able to obtain.
Here’s a fun little chart summarizing the main differences between Lard and Tallow. Find out how to get some here!
Fats are a delightful way to stretch a meal and increase its nutrient-density. I hope this article has been helpful and informative! Thanks for reading.
–Jerica
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Well, Jerica, I feel so much smarter and am ready to cook with my rendered lard. Question…is duck fat just duck fat, I’m a big fan of that..
Hi Susie! Sorry it took me so long to reply. I’m not sure why I overlooked your question! Duck fat doesn’t have a special name so far as I know, although I sometimes call it schmaltz because it’s really so similar to real schmaltz (soft rendered chicken fat). But you DO still have to render it from the connective tissues before use. Hope that answers your question!
1) Is there a taste or other differences between beef tallow and lamb/mutton tallow for culinary purposes?
2) Can the taster tell the difference in deep frying
Hi Cynetta, thanks for your comment!
Yes, there is definitely a taste difference. Both beef tallow and lamb tallow have quite distinctive flavors in my opinion. Though I have never tried deep-frying in lamb fat, I would think you would be able to taste the difference. Lamb fat is probably the most distinctive of the cooking fats that I have worked with. It’s not bad, but decidedly “lamb-y.” 🙂
The uses for lard mention shortening. Being a non-native speaker I’m left wondering what that is. Could you give a brief explanation please? Thanks for the thorough post so far!
I’m not sure how the term came about, but shortening refers to the solid fat used in pastries or other baked goods. I suspect it’s how “short bread” got its name. The traditional fat for shortening was lard, and was widely used until the industrial revolution came up with Oleo or hydrogenated vegetable oil as a “cholesterol-free” alternative. It is unfortunate that the marketing worked so well because research actually shows that dietary cholesterol does not have a negative impact on heart health, and there are many physicians who believe cholesterol actually has a protective effect; in fact, it plays a major role in hormone production and brain health.
The origin of the term shortening is its effect on a dough. A dough made with more fat and less water is short or breaks into short pieces or crumbs more easily, and yes, that is how shortbread got its name, for its fragile non-chewy texture. The same applies to a short crust pastry.
Shortening is any kind of fat.
Hey Jerica! Thank you so much for this super awesome and informative article! My husband and I were on a long drive home and got to talking (as we do…) about food and good food and what the technical differences were between tallow and suet and lard – you really cleared that up for us!
We don’t live anywhere near you – we happily support our local farms – THANK YOU and your family for your hard work, dedication and education! If we ever end up visiting near Tex-Ark-La (? Did I say that right ?) we will be sure to look you up. 🙂
Excellent post and very thorough explanation!
Very helpful post. Thank you.
Very helpful. Quick question. I finished cooking beef bones yesterday but before the broth came off I did toss about 2 bign hands full of dehydrated veg. Mix in for flavor and let it simmer about6 more hrs.. Now I am going to strain the fat off in the morning. Have you ever used the fat w veg seasoning. In it like I have done? Would it be worth saving ya think? And would freezing the beef fat be good? I know, loaded questions. Thank you.
I’ve never done it that way, but I have tossed in various veggie scraps, etc. The fat will probably pick up some flavor and color from the veggies, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I would use it!
I make my own bone broth on occasion and always save that fat to mix in a tablespoon or two with any soups my wife makes. It does so much for the soup! Gives it a better mouth feel, tastes better, and helps the fat soluble vitamins in the veggies/meat be much more bio-available.
The fat from the bone broth is good in the fridge for about a week or so since it’s very difficult to not get a little broth along with it. The broth will spoil it unfortunately. As far as freezing goes, I’m sure it would last much longer.
Hi Jerica,
Can I use Tallow (Beef Fat) when I make pastries and pie crust? Will there be a difference in taste? Thanks for any information
Hi Kendall,
Theoretically you can use any fat for pastries, but the pastry will tend to follow the characteristics of the fat you’re using. So in your case, pastry made using tallow will tend to be crispy and extremely crumbly–not very workable when cold. It may also have a bit of a “beefy” flavor that is less neutral than a well-made lard. So definitely doable, but worth some experimenting to find what works for you. Hope this helps!
–Jerica
Im making Christmas pudding for the first time using lard and am concerned about the flavours and consistency. As I am unable able to buy beef dripping any more here in port Macquarie NSW. Just need some reassurance
Regards Margaret
Hi Margaret, I am an aspiring pudding-maker here in the USA! 🙂 I would suggest using butter if you can, as it is more like beef tallow than lard. However, I have used lard in British Christmas cake and it works just fine. The main idea is you need a firm shortening. Lard does suffice, but be sure it is not porky or smoky in flavor, like bacon grease. You need just plain and fresh rendered lard if you’re going that route. Hope this helps!
What are effective methods for washing cooking utensils that have come in contact with Tallow? Like candle wax that it is, tallow solidifies immediately after pouring or a spoon is lifted out of it, and is a pain to deal with. I have been using Lard for a long time, and unfortunately discovered this property of Beef Tallow after trying it for the first time and regret it. It does not melt under hot water and solidifies in the sink if I manage to melt it; it does not readily react with caustic soda.
I find the connectice tissue of Back Fat of a Pig crumbly, tasty by itself, in a porridge or eggs. The internal fat is cheap, but chewy and has a bad aroma that would fit more for feeding an animal.
Hi Jason,
It’s not quite wax, but yes–it seems like it when it solidifies! I keep a metal bench scraper handy to scrape off most of the residue from stove/counter when cooking, and then just discard that in my regular trashcan. Being fairly brittle, tallow can be pretty easily scraped off off dishes and utensils before washing. Your dishwasher detergent and heat should be able to take care of the rest. Using a robust dish soap should work for washing dishes by hand. It’s generally a good idea to try to clean up while it’s still liquid. If you’re concerned about tallow clogging your drain, you can use paper towels or newspaper to sop up excess liquid fat before washing up.
I really enjoyed reading this informative and educational post. I grew up on a farm and I remember my grandmother making tallow after butchering a hog, so I thought she made it from pork. I could be wrong, but I remember it so vividly. After she rendered the fat, she would scoop off the fat and there was a jelly substance left in the bottom of the wash pot that she used to make lye soap with. I remember that she called it tallow and used it while ironing laundry for the people she worked for. She put it in a piece of cloth and tied it up tightly and rubbed it on the hot iron and the shirts would come out like they had been starched. Just thought I’d share this old memory with you because it was so interesting to read all of your posts.
The chart shows both lard and tallow’s ideal storage temp to be “refrigerated”, however, when in stores it is found on the shelf. Does it need to be refrigerated after being bought?
Some store-bought brands are made shelf stable by high temp processing. They should be fine on the shelf until opened, but once opened should be kept refrigerated.
Is it possible or advisable to mix fats? I already have mixed shmalz and rendered bacon fat and seems to work fine.
I am wondering about mixing tallo and lard.
Would that give me a less pronounced beef flavor?
Could I deep fry with it?
Would ractopamine be present in the lard? I am allergic to it, and commercial products products are a no go for me. However, if I can safely use the lard, I can just purchase back fay from a butcher with no worries. True pasture raised pork is hard to find sometimes
Hi James, it’s hard to say whether the ractopamine would absolutely not end up in the fat, so I would suggest finding a farm raising pork that is mindful of their feed ingredients and make a point never to feed ractopamine. There are lots of pastured pork farmers nowadays, so the attempt to find them is getting easier, and it completely worth the effort! I would NOT merely trust buying from a butcher, as they may be purchasing retired show pigs, which are routinely fed ractopamine (and last I researched, there is no withdrawal time before slaughter). If you’re allergic, you need to be sure, and the only way to do that is to go direct to the farmer.
What is ractopamine?