Beef Tallow from Montgomery Meats

There was a time when people knew what to do with every part of an animal. The fat wasn't trash - it was fuel. It's what you cooked your potatoes in. What you used to keep your cast iron from rusting. What kept your hands from cracking in winter.

Then somewhere along the way, we decided fat was the enemy. We started cooking everything in oils that came from laboratories instead of pastures. We threw away the good stuff and replaced it with things we couldn't pronounce.

Montgomery Meats in Indiana still renders their beef tallow the old way. Small batches. Slow heat. They take fat from cattle raised in their own state and cook it down until it's this pure, golden fat that solidifies when it cools. Nothing added. Nothing taken away except the impurities.

You can use it the way people used to. Fry potatoes in it and they'll come out crispy in a way that vegetable oil will never achieve. Sear a steak in it. Roast vegetables. Season your cast iron so it develops that black, glassy finish that only comes from real fat and time.

Some people use it for their hands in winter. Turns out what's good for cooking is also good for keeping your skin from cracking when it's cold. Your great-grandmother probably knew this already.

This is a one quart container - it keeps well on the shelf until you open it, then throw it in the fridge. It'll last longer that way, though honestly, if you cook with it the way you should, you'll go through it faster than you think.