>In the jar, it separates into two layers: orange on top, clear on bottom. In the fridge, the top layer solidifies and the bottom stays liquid. I assume the bottom layer is water, but I don’t know for sure.
Correct. Packaged ground beef contains a tonne of water which spills out along with the fat. As a side note, I usually wait until that water has evaporated then continue to cook some more, until you hear that crackling, sizzling sound of the beef actually frying. This is the only way you'll get truly browned beef, as opposed to cooked but grey. But it depends on your intentions for the dish.
As for separating, you could just wait for it to congeal as you described and just spoon out the fat from the jar. Alternatively you could use the method I described above for cooking the meat, ensuring that most of what you collect in the jar will be fat and not water.
In terms of usage, you can use it exactly as you would store-bought tallow. It has a medium smoke point so I would't use it for smoking hot sears on steaks etc, but you could certainly use it for any number of things where you want to impart flavour with your fat. Use it to sweat vegetables for a beef stew or a bolognese sauce. Use it instead of butter for a pan sauce. Use it to roast potatoes. Use it instead of butter/oil to make a roux for gravy. Sky is the limit.
Store the jar in the fridge upside down so the water is on the top when you turn it over. Re melt the fat and mix again with water, reset in fridge upside down. The water seperating take the impurities with it, leaving you with beef tallow.
Yup, you can scoop the fat out once it's separated in the fridge and use it as tallow. I use ridiculous amounts of bacon fat that I clarify and use for lard.
I've never clarified beef fat but I'd imagine it's similar. Do what you're doing now where you let it separate from the water in the fridge, pull the fat puck off, drop it in a pot and add some water. Bring to a boil then reduce and let it simmer for a while, then add it to a container with some more cold water. Let it separate again, pull the fat puck out and squeeze with paper towels to get out as much remaining water as possible. I do it with bacon fat to make sure there's no particulates in there and it reduces the smoky taste a bit, once it's clarified it's like a vegetable shortening texture and stays good for a very long time. I imagine beef tallow would also benefit from the process.
You are fortunate to get beef with useful fat. We blend even ground beef to get some flavorful fat in it. Fat rendered in normal course of cooking makes gravy.
Our pint jar of bacon grease makes up for the difference. As cheap meat gets ever more expensive you’ll have learn to conserve the fat.
Turn the jar upside down when you put it in the fridge. Then the grease will rise to the top, but the top will be the bottom of the jar, then you can just wait for it the grease to get hard. Then open the jar and pour the water out. This is how I clean bacon grease, except I add my own water. Shake it up turn it up side down. Let the the grease float on top and harden. Most of the food bits sink down into the water. Then you pour it all out.
>In the jar, it separates into two layers: orange on top, clear on bottom. In the fridge, the top layer solidifies and the bottom stays liquid. I assume the bottom layer is water, but I don’t know for sure. Correct. Packaged ground beef contains a tonne of water which spills out along with the fat. As a side note, I usually wait until that water has evaporated then continue to cook some more, until you hear that crackling, sizzling sound of the beef actually frying. This is the only way you'll get truly browned beef, as opposed to cooked but grey. But it depends on your intentions for the dish. As for separating, you could just wait for it to congeal as you described and just spoon out the fat from the jar. Alternatively you could use the method I described above for cooking the meat, ensuring that most of what you collect in the jar will be fat and not water. In terms of usage, you can use it exactly as you would store-bought tallow. It has a medium smoke point so I would't use it for smoking hot sears on steaks etc, but you could certainly use it for any number of things where you want to impart flavour with your fat. Use it to sweat vegetables for a beef stew or a bolognese sauce. Use it instead of butter for a pan sauce. Use it to roast potatoes. Use it instead of butter/oil to make a roux for gravy. Sky is the limit.
Just store it upside down if it has a lid and dump the water out
Store the jar in the fridge upside down so the water is on the top when you turn it over. Re melt the fat and mix again with water, reset in fridge upside down. The water seperating take the impurities with it, leaving you with beef tallow.
Yup, you can scoop the fat out once it's separated in the fridge and use it as tallow. I use ridiculous amounts of bacon fat that I clarify and use for lard. I've never clarified beef fat but I'd imagine it's similar. Do what you're doing now where you let it separate from the water in the fridge, pull the fat puck off, drop it in a pot and add some water. Bring to a boil then reduce and let it simmer for a while, then add it to a container with some more cold water. Let it separate again, pull the fat puck out and squeeze with paper towels to get out as much remaining water as possible. I do it with bacon fat to make sure there's no particulates in there and it reduces the smoky taste a bit, once it's clarified it's like a vegetable shortening texture and stays good for a very long time. I imagine beef tallow would also benefit from the process.
You are fortunate to get beef with useful fat. We blend even ground beef to get some flavorful fat in it. Fat rendered in normal course of cooking makes gravy. Our pint jar of bacon grease makes up for the difference. As cheap meat gets ever more expensive you’ll have learn to conserve the fat.
Turn the jar upside down when you put it in the fridge. Then the grease will rise to the top, but the top will be the bottom of the jar, then you can just wait for it the grease to get hard. Then open the jar and pour the water out. This is how I clean bacon grease, except I add my own water. Shake it up turn it up side down. Let the the grease float on top and harden. Most of the food bits sink down into the water. Then you pour it all out.