Chef and podcaster Mike Reid says beef tallow is the best ingredient for cooking steak, delivering a "beefier" flavour than processed oils. The rendered beef fat has a high smoke point, making it suitable for high-heat cooking, and helps form a crisp, deeply browned crust on the meat.
Why tallow beats oil for steak
Reid, who hosts the new podcast The Two Hungry Chefs - The A-Z of Food alongside Jeremy Pang, recommends tallow for sirloin, ribeye or wagyu cuts. Unlike most cooking oils, tallow is solid or semi-solid at room temperature.
"Beef tallow [is best to cook steak with], every time. It has a high smoke point, so it handles the heat needed for a proper sear, and it adds a deeper, beefier flavour that no processed oil can," he said.
"I'd steer clear of processed seed oils altogether," he added. "If you don't have tallow, dripping or lard will also do the job."
Basting and preparation tips
To intensify flavour, Reid recommends adding butter, garlic and thyme towards the end of cooking and basting the meat, rather than at the start, as butter can burn in a hot pan. He also advises against cooking steak straight from the fridge.
"Never cook steak straight from the fridge," he shared. "You'll burn the outside before the centre has a chance to warm through." Letting the steak rest briefly before cooking removes the chill, though the time needed depends on the thickness and size of the cut.
Cut-by-cut guidance
For sirloin, Reid says the key is "high heat and confidence." He advises seasoning generously with sea salt and not turning the steak too often, letting it develop a crust. For medium steak, he suggests taking it off at medium-rare and letting it rest.
Fillet is "very lean," with about four per cent fat content, so it lacks the depth of flavour of ribeye but offers a butter-soft texture. Reid warns not to overcook it and to let it come to room temperature first.
Ribeye, he says, is "for flavour lovers," as the marbling renders down during cooking, basting the steak from within. He advises cooking it hard and fast to build colour and resting it properly.
For wagyu, Reid stresses careful handling: "The more you cook it, the less you're going to have." He notes that a 200g wagyu steak cooked well done could render down to around 90g of meat.
While beef tallow can be used as an occasional cooking fat, it is high in saturated fat, and health guidelines advise limiting foods with elevated saturated fat content.
