Why I Started Rendering Beef Tallow (And Why You Should Care)

I’ll be honest with you—a few years ago, if someone told me I’d be running a beef tallow company, I would’ve laughed. It wasn’t part of the plan, not even close. But here we are, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

What started as a simple switch in my own kitchen turned into something much bigger: a mission, a passion, and eventually a business built on real ingredients and real flavor. The more I learned, the more it made sense—why tallow works so well, why people used it for generations, and why so many of us are craving something simpler and more genuine in the way we cook.

I never set out to build a brand. I just wanted better food. But sharing that discovery with friends, then with customers, and now with an entire community has been one of the most rewarding surprises of my life. Every message from someone who tried tallow for the first time and had that same “oh wow” moment reminds me why I’m doing this.

If you had told me all this would grow from one jar sitting next to my stove… well, I definitely would’ve laughed. But now? I’m all in. I’m grateful every day that this unexpected path is the one I get to walk, and I'm proud of every jar we send out.

How This All Started

The spark came on a grocery run, standing in front of shelves packed with oils I couldn’t pronounce and ingredient lists longer than the recipes I was making. It didn’t sit right that something as basic as a cooking fat had become so complicated. I wanted to cook with something real—something that actually came from a farm, not a factory.

That curiosity followed me home and turned into late-night research, a lot of trial and error, and a growing desire to simplify what I was putting into my food. Eventually, I swapped out those highly processed oils for pure, grass-fed beef tallow—and the difference was immediate. Suddenly, everything I cooked had depth, richness, and actual character again.

Vegetables roasted instead of steaming in their own moisture. Meat browned beautifully instead of sizzling into a gray puddle. Even the simplest things—like eggs or a skillet of potatoes—tasted more satisfying. It felt like I’d unlocked a piece of cooking I didn’t even know I was missing.

That moment of “whoa, why is this so good?” snowballed into a genuine passion for returning to ingredients that make sense. And that passion is what eventually inspired The Golden Tallow Co.—a way to bring back real cooking fat for people who care about flavor, simplicity, and knowing exactly what’s in their food.

Why Grass-Fed Matters (To Me, Anyway)

Look, I'm not here to preach. But when I started learning about where our food comes from, I couldn't unsee it. Cattle raised on pasture, eating grass like they're supposed to, living outside under the sun—that's not just better for them. It's better for the land, better for the ranchers doing it right, and yeah, better for us.

The tallow from grass-fed cattle is different. Richer color, better flavor, more of the good stuff our bodies actually need. It's not magic—it's just what happens when animals eat their natural diet.

What I Actually Use It For

Every single day, I reach for tallow before anything else:

Sunday mornings: Hash browns that make my kids fight over the last piece. The secret? Tallow in a hot cast iron skillet.

Weeknight dinners: Searing steaks, roasting Brussels sprouts (yes, my kids eat them), sautéing just about anything. It handles high heat like a champ and doesn't smoke out the kitchen.

Wild game season: If you hunt, you know that venison and elk can be lean. A little tallow brings back the richness and keeps everything moist.

The Thing Nobody Talks About

Here's what surprised me most: how easy it is.

Tallow doesn't need to be refrigerated. I keep a jar by my stove, and it's ready whenever I need it. Simple. Reliable. The way cooking used to be.

Beyond convenience, it’s wonderfully versatile — a spoonful warms into a silky coating for a hot pan, a pat melts into mashed potatoes, and a little rubbed into pie dough makes the flakiest crust. It handles high heat without drama, so my pans brown food evenly instead of burning or breaking down. Cleanup is easier too; the pan wipes out with a paper towel and a quick swipe.

There’s something satisfying about using a single fat for so many jobs. It feels economical — one jar goes a long way — and honest, because what’s in the jar is exactly what it says it is. Knowing it comes from local, grass-fed animals makes it feel even better: cleaner, less processed, and more connected to where my food begins.

Keeping that jar on the counter changed the way I cook. Meals became faster, tastier, and somehow more intentional. Once you try it, it stops feeling like an experiment and starts feeling like the most useful thing in your kitchen.

Why I'm Sharing This With You

I started The Golden Tallow Co. because once I experienced the difference, I couldn't go back. And I kept thinking about all the people out there trying to cook real food, feed their families well, and connect with something more authentic.

We're not trying to reinvent anything here. We're just bringing back what worked for generations—quality fat from grass-fed cattle, rendered the traditional way, no shortcuts.

If you're tired of cooking oils that don't deliver, if you're curious about what your grandparents used, or if you just want your food to taste better—I think you'll get it.

Start Simple

You don't have to overhaul your whole kitchen. Just try it once. Make some roasted potatoes. Fry an egg. Sear a steak. See what you think.

I'm betting you'll taste the difference. And once you do, you'll understand why I can't shut up about this stuff.

Welcome to The Golden Herd. Let's cook some real food.

— The Golden Family