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Garlic-Infused Edible Tallow Candles

Directions

The beef candle at Il Posto (Photo by Eater Denver)

The beef candle at Il Posto (Photo by Eater Denver)

 

Garlic-Infused Edible Tallow Candles

Before the advent of natural gas and electricity, the illumination in most homes was provided by beef tallow candles. Today, beef tallow candles are a novelty and can be a wonderful interactive experience to be provided with bread service for the delight of your diners.

Yield: Approximately 12 tallow candles

Ingredients:
  • 14 oz Beef Tallow (note 1)
  • 4 Cloves Garlic, crushed
  • 36-inches of Twine (non-edible), cut into 12 3-inch pieces.
  • Parsley, minced (optional)
Procedure:
  1. In a 2-qt saucepan over medium heat, melt the tallow. Add the crushed garlic and increase heat to medium-high until the garlic starts to sizzle. Remove from heat. Allow to sit 15-minutes for garlic to infuse. Strain and discard garlic.
  2. Dip pieces of twine into liquid tallow to coat and set aside to create wicks.
  3. Pour 1oz portions of tallow into candle molds (note 2). Place wicks in the center of the mold and wrap excess around a small stick, such as a skewer, large toothpick or coffee stirrer, to hold wick in place. Refrigerate candles until solid.
  4. When fully solid, remove candles from mold. Run a hot knife around the edge of the mold, or dip the mold into hot water, to release candles.
  5. Refrigerate candles until fully solid. When solid, remove sticks and cut wicks to approximately ½-inch.
  6. Garnish with minced parsley (or other herbs or spices), light wick and serve with bread and/or toast.

Note 1: You can render your own tallow from fat trim in house, or use a flavorful rendered beef tallow such as Flavor King Blue from Coast Packing Co. or Wagyu Tallow from Snake River Farms, for example.

Note 2: You can use any small metallic or silicone muffin tin or baking mold for the candles.
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