Where to Buy Beef Tallow in Toronto: A Guide for Home Cooks and Chefs

Beef tallow is a rendered form of beef fat that has been used for centuries as a cooking and frying fat. With its high smoke point and rich, meaty flavor, beef tallow is growing in popularity once again among home cooks, bakers, and professional chefs. If you’re looking to cook or bake with this versatile animal fat, Toronto has plenty of options for buying quality beef tallow from local producers. In this guide, we’ll explore where to find it across the city.

What is Beef Tallow?

First, let’s quickly cover what exactly beef tallow is. Beef tallow is a rendered and purified form of beef fat. To make tallow, beef fat is heated slowly to melt and separate the fat from impurities and tissue. Once strained and cooled, the resulting tallow is an off-white, shelf-stable cooking fat.

Compared to vegetable oils and other fats, beef tallow contains a high percentage of saturated and monounsaturated fats This makes it extremely stable for high heat cooking with a smoke point around 400°F The saturated fat content also gives beef tallow a rich depth of flavor. When used for cooking or frying, it imparts a subtle beefy taste.

Benefits of Cooking with Beef Tallow

Using beef tallow for cooking and baking provides a few advantages:

• High smoke point for searing, frying, and more
• Adds rich umami flavor
• A little goes a long way compared to oil
• Shelf stable at room temperature
• Natural source of vitamins A, D, E, and K

With its favorable fat profile and heat stability beef tallow has been valued by chefs and home cooks for ages. Now let’s look at the best places to buy it in Toronto.

Where to Buy Beef Tallow in Toronto

In Toronto, you have a few options for sourcing quality beef tallow from local producers. Here are some of the best places to buy beef tallow across the city:

Sanagan’s Meat Locker

Sanagan’s Meat Locker is a popular whole animal butcher with locations across Toronto. Their shop on Baldwin Street in Kensington Market sells beef tallow rendered from their own beef fat trimmings.

You can buy Sanagan’s beef tallow in 250ml and 500ml jars. It has a mild beefy aroma and adds great flavor for frying sautéing, and more. Sanagan’s also uses their tallow for items like sausage, pâtés and confit chicken legs.

Cumbrae’s

Cumbrae’s is another trusted Toronto butcher and charcuterie that produces their own beef tallow. They sell it in convenient 250g tubs at their shops on Church Street and in Etobicoke.

Cumbrae’s tallow has a clean flavor and the white tubs keep it neatly contained for cooking. Pick some up to deep fry up some fish and chips with the classic English flavor.

Olliffe Butcher Shop

Olliffe Butcher Shop in the east end is a full service butcher that makes high quality beef tallow for sale. They sell it in 500g plastic containers.

Olliffe’s tallow has a nice even texture and adds richness when used for roasting potatoes or other vegetables. It’s a good option if you live in Leslieville, the Beaches, or east Toronto.

The Healthy Butcher

The Healthy Butcher is a local chain of organic butcher shops across Toronto. Their tallow is grass-fed andfiltered for purity.

You can buy their tallow in convenient 250g and 500g jars. It has a milder flavor than standard beef tallow, making it ideal for more delicate recipes. The Healthy Butcher also sells ready-to-eat bone broths and spices to pair with their tallow.

Marben Restaurant

Marben restaurant renders and sells their own beef tallow in partnership with Cumbrae’s. You can buy Marben-labeled tallow in 250g containers at Cumbrae’s shops.

As a fine dining restaurant, Marben pays extra attention to straining and cleaning their tallow. It has an extra smooth texture ideal for frying and sautéing. Marben chefs also suggest using the tallow for flavoring popcorn or oven-roasted vegetables.

Farm Boy

Several Farm Boy grocery store locations in Toronto sell packaged beef tallow from Flora Farm. It’s a good option for buying smaller quantities, like 250g or 500g jars.

Farm Boy’s Flora Farm tallow is triple filtered for purity. It has a neutral flavor suitable for general cooking. The wide availability at Farm Boy makes this a convenient choice.

Online Stores

Toronto has some online specialty fat and tallow shops that will deliver beef tallow right to your door. These include FatWorks, Marben Foods, and All Things Tallow. The tallow is packed in mason jars or tubs.

Ordering online is a fast way to get high quality tallow for baking, confiting, and frying without leaving home. The online stores also carry specialty fats like duck fat and leaf lard.

Things to Look for When Buying Beef Tallow

To ensure you get high-quality beef tallow, keep these things in mind:

• Look for tallow rendered from suet or fat trimmings, not low-quality tallow
• Check for a mild, clean beef aroma without off flavors
• Tallow color can range from off-white to light yellow
• It should have an even, smooth texture when solidified
• Make sure it’s stored properly in sealed containers
• Opt for local Toronto tallow if possible

Always inspect and smell tallow before buying. Well-made tallow will enhance food with its beefy richness. With proper storage, it can last for months.

How to Store and Use Beef Tallow

Beef tallow is typically sold in solid form in jars or tubs. To store it:

• Keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator or freezer
• It can last for several months in the fridge and up to a year frozen
• The freezer will help prolong freshness and shelf life

To use tallow for cooking and frying:

• Scoop out desired amount from the container
• Melt over low heat in a pan or pot
• Use in place of oil or lard in recipes
• Add to beans, soups, stews, and sauces for flavor
• Excellent for pan-searing, sautéing, stir frying, and deep frying
• Adds richness when used to roast vegetables like potatoes, carrots, parsnips
• Use for popcorn seasoning or oven-baked potato wedges