Whipped Tallow Balm Recipe
Nourish your skin the natural way with this simple whipped tallow balm recipe—rich in nutrients, easy to make, and perfect for sensitive, dry, or irritated skin. Ideal for anyone seeking a non-toxic, GAPS-friendly, and deeply moisturizing skincare solution!
Equipment
- 8 oz glass jars
- cheese cloth or flour sack towels
- essential oils (optional)
- stock pot or crock pot
- stand mixer or hand mixer
- fine mesh sieve
Ingredients
- 1 cup grass-fed tallow (rendered and purified)
- 1/4 cup choice oil (olive oil, castor oil, shea butter, or coconut oil are our favorites)
- 1/2 tspn essential oils (optional)
Instructions
How to Render Tallow
If your end result from rendering yields tallow with a slightly beefy smell, you can purify it a second time using salt and water to remove the smell (see details below).
- Cut your beef tallow into small chunks and heat on low in a stock pot or crock pot. It will melt into a liquid form, and the bits of meat and gristle will begin to crisp. Some chunks sink and some will float to the top.
- Use a sieve or slotted spoon to scoop out these crispy chunks.
- Strain the remaining liquid tallow through a cheese cloth or flour sack towel into glass jar or pans.
- Allow the tallow to cool and become solid.
- Note the bottom of the container you pour the tallow into may have a layer of brown residue and have a "beefy" smell to it. I just simply scrape this off with a knife.
- Store in the freezer until you are ready to use in glass containers or ziplock bags in chunked, smaller pieces.
How to Render Beef Tallow Without a "Beefy" Smell
Once you have rendered your beef tallow and scraped off the brown film/residue (see steps above), you are ready to "purify" your tallow to further remove any beefy smell. Note, this step is optional. If you are adding essential oils to your whipped tallow balm, you can just use your rendered tallow. However, it may still smell slightly beefy, so I prefer to have a purified form for soap and body butters.
- Add rendered tallow, 6-8 cups of water, and 3 tablespoons of salt to a stock pot or crock pot. More tallow will require more water.
- Cook on low heat for about 1 hour. The tallow should be in a liquid state again.
- Strain the hot tallow into a large container through a fine strainer and cheese cloth or flour sack towel.
- Allow tallow to cool until hardened.
- Remove the block of hardened tallow from the salt water. If you see a brown film/residue, scrape this off with a knife.
- Repeat steps 1-5 a second time, if desired.
- Allow the tallow to air dry at room temp until it is dry. If it is not completely dry it may mold.
How to Make Whipped Tallow Balm
- Melt tallow over low heat until it becomes liquid.
- Stir in the oil.
- Stir in the essential oils if using.
- Allow the mixture to cool in a mixing bowl.
- When the mixture begins to solidify, whip it in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer until the texture is fluffy.
- Store in a glass jar or container.
Notes
- Tallow can eventually become rancid. I prefer to render large batches and freeze it into smaller portions, which extends its shelf life. When we are running low on whipped balm or tallow soap, I will make another batch from our frozen supply.
- Olive oil is my favorite oil to whip with tallow, but castor oil, coconut oil, jojoba, or shea butter are all good options. The consistency can vary, so add more oil slowly to experiment with textures.