Steak ‘n Shake is handing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. one of his first big wins as US Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The fast food chain is officially switching from vegetable oil to beef tallow for cooking fries in all of their restaurants nationwide.
The brand, known for their steakburgers and hand-scooped milkshakes, noted on Monday that they are already serving ‘100% beef tallow’ fries in Colorado, Florida, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Texas. As of 2024, Steak ‘n Shake had over 400 eateries throughout the US.
The move to beef tallow isn’t just a coincidence, as the chain actually mentioned RFK Jr. in an announcement about the change.
Steak ‘n Shake wrote on X, ‘By March 1 ALL locations. Fries will be RFK’d!’
Beef tallow is the rendered form of beef fat. Sometimes called ‘beef drippings,’ it’s made by removing, simmering, and clarifying the fatty tissue surrounding the organs of animals like cows, goats, and deer.
RFK Jr. has been pushing the country to move away from vegetable oil for frying, claiming that Americans are ‘being unknowingly poisoned by heavily subsidized seed oils.’
Kennedy was confirmed as HHS secretary on February 13 in a 52-48 vote by the US Senate after a hotly debated hearing focused on the 71-year-old’s controversial opinions – including his views on vaccines and processed foods.
Steak ‘n Shake has announced that they will be cooking French fries in beef tallow in all of their restaurants by March 2025
RFK Jr. has been an outspoken advocate of the switch to beef tallow, claiming that seed oils are ‘poisoning’ Americans
So, why the switch to beef tallow? According to some experts, it may be much healthier than cooking with other liquid oils and fats.
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic note that, just like butter and coconut oil, beef tallow is mostly made up of saturated fat.
Conversely, liquid fats such as olive oil, peanut oil, and canola oil generally consist of unsaturated fats.
‘While saturated fats have been demonized in the past eating certain kinds or small amounts might not be as harmful as previously thought,’ researchers said.
The Mayo Clinic added that some of tallow’s saturated fat is known as stearic acid, which doesn’t appear to raise cholesterol levels in the same way that other saturated fats do.
Moreover, beef tallow contains monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which studies suggest may actually provide heart-healthy benefits.
To show his support for tallow, RFK Jr. recorded himself deep-frying a Thanksgiving turkey in the beef fat.
‘This is how we cook the MAHA way,’ RFK said, referencing his Trump-inspired slogan, ‘Make America Healthy Again.’
From the standpoint of taste, beef tallow could actually make fries more flavorful.
‘Beef fat is much fuller-bodied compared to most vegetable oils, which have no flavor at all and can be detrimental to savory foods,’ according to Wild Foods.
Steak ‘n Shake operates roughly 400 restaurants throughout the US, focused mainly in the Midwest and Southeast
Some researchers believe cooking with beef tallow provides heart-healthy benefits due to the presence of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats
Fast food fans will be waiting to see if other major chains jump on the tallow bandwagon as the debate over vegetable oil intensifies.
The medical community remains split on the issue. While the American Heart Association says there is ‘no reason’ to avoid vegetable oils, scientists have found links between vegetable oils and obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and inflammatory bowel disease.
One 2023 study by the University of California discovered that consuming too much soybean oil displayed a connection with higher rates of ulcerative colitis – a disease causing chronic inflammation of the large intestine.
‘Fast Food is a part of American culture. But that doesn’t mean it has to be unhealthy, and that we can’t make better choices,’ RFK Jr. wrote on X in October.
‘Did you know that McDonald’s used to use beef tallow to make their fries from 1940 until phasing it out in favor of seed oils in 1990? This switch was made because saturated animal fats were thought to be unhealthy, but we have since discovered that seed oils are one of the driving causes of the obesity epidemic,’ the new HHS secretary added.
‘Interestingly enough, this began to drastically rise around the same time fast food restaurants switched from beef tallow to seed oils in their fryers.’
