Spill the Tallow

BuffaloGal talks with regenerative farmer Emmet Cabiness of Eden Pure Beef about cattle and pasture management, tallow quality, and building a resilient farm business. Emmet shares how his farming practices changed and why he believes direct sales and value-added products can help support farmers.

• Emmet’s move toward regenerative practices and lower-input farming.
• Why his steers take about 40 months to reach market.
• How sourcing, rendering, and processing affect tallow quality.
• Making tallow skincare with low-temperature dry rendering and herb infusions.
• How value-added products can support farm income.
• Emmet’s advice to aspiring farmers: learn hands-on from working producers and keep overhead manageable.

00:00 - Emmet’s path to regenerative farming
00:49 - A cattle experience that changed his approach
02:54 - What regenerative agriculture means to him
04:25 - Why his cattle take longer to finish
05:42 - Quality fat versus processed fat
08:32 - Why tallow skincare is gaining attention
09:25 - Making herb-infused tallow products
11:47 - Value-added products and farm income
15:05 - Why farmers need to set their own prices
20:20 - Advice for young farmers
22:37 - Vertical integration
24:55 - Leasing land versus buying it
28:00 - How Spill the Tallow got its name
30:11 - What to ask about tallow sourcing
31:53 - Why supporting farmers matters

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“Regenerative agriculture is not fast.”

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“We have to be price makers, not price takers.”

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“Friends don’t let friends use anonymous tallow.”

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Shalley Carrell explains why tallow quality can vary dramatically from jar to jar, even when the label looks the same. This episode is a reality check for anyone buying or making tallow skincare, where sourcing, rendering, and storage can matter more than the word “tallow” itself.

• Why tallow isn’t one uniform ingredient, and how sourcing and the animal’s diet can affect quality.
• The difference between suet and trim fat, and why Shalley prefers suet for facial skincare.
• What RBD tallow is and why she cautions against heavily processed tallow in leave-on products.
• Why yellow fat may offer a clue about forage but isn’t proof of quality.
• How rendering and storage can affect stability, texture, and shelf life.
• Why high stearic acid content can be desirable but takes care to formulate.
• Why Shalley recommends shea butter or cocoa butter if high-quality tallow isn’t available.

00:00 - Is all tallow really the same?
02:17 - Sourcing, fat choice, rendering, storage, and formulation
05:00 - Tallow skincare’s popularity and expectations
07:08 - What tallow is; suet versus trim fat
10:04 - Commercial RBD tallow
14:34 - Yellow fat: a clue, not a verdict
16:55 - Rendering, stability, and shelf life
21:27 - Virgin tallow versus refined cosmetic-grade tallow
24:24 - Why some people believe low-quality tallow is working
29:30 - When botanical options may be a better choice
33:08 - What to look for when buying tallow from a farmer
35:01 - Stearic acid and formulation
39:59 - Tallow better suited to cooking than skincare
41:09 - Why Wagyu doesn’t automatically mean better tallow
43:56 - Scrutinizing claims about vitamins and sourcing
48:06 - Why transparency matters
49:33 - Shalley’s bottom line: choose botanicals if you can’t source quality tallow

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Shalley Carrell shares how a chance spill of warm tallow in her kitchen became the spark for Buffalo Gal Grassfed Beauty and a tallow-based skincare line. This episode traces her path from farm life and wellness work to discovering that the ingredient she was searching for was already on the family pasture.We discuss why she turned to tallow, how her dry skin shaped the product idea, and how early formulation experiments led to the balm that defined the brand.

• Shalley shares how Buffalo Gal Grassfed Beauty started with an accidental spill of rendered tallow on her kitchen counter.
• She explains her background in natural foods, wellness, and an early skincare venture focused on bath salts, soaps, and boutique hotel products.
• Her interest in natural skincare grew from years of dry, sun-damaged skin and a long search for something that felt truly restorative.
• She recounts reconnecting with her husband David, a lifelong farmer who had been raising water buffalo since 2000.
• The family’s meat business pushed them toward full inspection processing, which later created the path for using the fat instead of wasting it.
• A chef, David Larkworthy, suggested they save the suet and consider uses like soap or candles, helping shift her thinking toward value-added products.
• She explains that at the time, few companies were making tallow skincare, and Vintage Tradition was one of the few names she knew in the space.
• Shalley describes the moment she realized tallow felt richer and more lasting on her hands than expected, which led her to explore lip balm and face balm formulas.
• She talks about early formulation challenges, including the need for beeswax to improve texture and stability.
• She says a mentor helped her understand that her face product was a balm, not a cream, and introduced her to herbal infusions.
• She explains that tallow is not hydrating in itself, but is occlusive, helping seal moisture into the skin.
• She closes by describing her rendering process and why dry rendering preserved the quality and smell of the tallow.

00:00 - Welcome to Spill the Tallow and the origin of Buffalo Gal Grassfed Beauty
00:57 - A brief college romance, years apart, and a return to Georgia
01:25 - Wellness work, natural foods, and an early skincare side project
02:44 - Why natural skincare felt fringe before it became mainstream
04:08 - Searching for a unique ingredient to address dry, sun-damaged skin
05:51 - Looking abroad for inspiration and reconnecting with David
06:20 - Discovering tallow as the ingredient already on the farm
07:33 - Chef David Larkworthy and the idea to use suet for dessert
08:43 - Nose-to-tail thinking and turning waste into value
09:34 - Vintage Tradition and the modern return of tallow skincare
11:57 - The kitchen spill that made tallow feel different
13:25 - From Burt’s Bees frustration to a tallow lip balm idea
14:55 - Early lip balm batches, beeswax, and texture problems
15:45 - Meeting the tallow community at the Weston A. Price Foundation conference
16:41 - Learning the difference between a cream and a balm
17:33 - Building a face balm for long-lasting moisture retention
18:27 - Dry rendering, preserving quality, and the smell of fresh tallow

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to enjoy 15% off.Sign up for the weekly Letter From the Farm newsletter: buffalogalgrassfed.com/pages/newsletter