What can one use beef fat for other than compost or animal feed?

Pork fat is used as lard for making all sorts of things from rice to pastries. You could use beef fat (tallow) for adding flavor to some dishes as you suggested, or for greasing pans for cooking. It just needs to fit the flavor profile of the dish. Flavoring and adds fat for satiety. Also, sautéing onions come to mind, roasting potatoes, probably other veggies too. If the fat is rendered very well you can use it for making pastry dough and biscuits. Making soap as you mentioned. Making candles.

When I cook a steak I often trim the fat, but I use it in the pan to grease the pan rather than adding oil to the pan. I let it heat up and liquify a little before adding the steak. I sometimes season some of it and let it cook until done, my husband likes the fat, but I do wind up throwing away some of the solid fat.

The only negative thing is beef fat is very unhealthy according to current science.

I use it to help start the fire in my wood burning stove. I also burn it for extra heat.
Some talented folks use it to make candles. I use to make BTUs.

Indians used tallow for pemmican, a primitive energy bar. You can freeze and use as a rendered fat for cooking lean meats, like deer. In a pinch you could use it like any fat for cooking eggs. In the end fat is fat, waste not want not.

In our city’s recycling program, beef fat is not to be used as compost.
Use it in cooking, or to start fires, like @LuckyGuy suggests.
If you don’t like your neighbor, feed it to his dog.

I have used it to season cast iron as an experiment. Worked fine.

For years, McDonalds used it for cooking French Fries. Around here (Northern California) it gets recycled.

And you can make candles from it!

Tallow vs. lard

How to make suet for birds

[Edit: I wonder if it is really necessary to do all that if you want to feed it to birds. Can anyone who feeds wild birds comment?]

And they were fantastic fries @zenvelo!

You can’t compost meat.

I’d throw it in the alley for any stray who might need it.

@Zissou I feed seed and have hung store-bought suet. It just is less messy and more attractive to some than bird feeders.