The Burger Chain That's Switching To 100% Beef Tallow At All Locations

Earlier this month, Tasting Table praised Buffalo Wild Wings for cooking its fries in old-school beef tallow. Now, according to a press release published on January 16, fellow fast-food chain Steak n Shake is hopping on the tallow train.

If you aren't familiar with it, beef tallow is a flavorful cooking fat made by slowly rendering the fat off of any cut of a steer. Once rendered, the tallow is left at room temperature to firm up and solidify into a butter-like texture. By the end of February 2025, all of Steak n Shake's more than 400 locations will be using 100% all-natural beef tallow to cook its iconic shoestring fries. Previously, the chain had been using vegetable oil. (However, this switch means that Steak n Shake's fries will no longer be accessible to vegetarian fast food fans.)

In October 2024, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, championed an industry-wide switch to beef tallow. As he wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, "People who enjoy a burger with fries on a night out aren't to blame, and Americans should have every right to eat out at a restaurant without being unknowingly poisoned by heavily subsidized seed oils. It's time to Make Frying Oil Tallow Again." Time will tell whether the trend catches on with other burger giants.

Beef tallow's gaining emergence in the modern food sphere is fascinating considering the ingredient is so traditional. As noted in the press release, when the first fries were created, they were fried in tallow. It also has a naturally high smoke point, making it an easy fit for cooking fries. Indeed, today's fast-food fry game at large can be pretty hit or miss. "The consumer wants the best and deserves the best," shared Kristen Briede, chief global development officer for Steak n Shake. "By adopting 100% beef tallow, Steak n Shake is delivering the best fries possible." But, for Steak n Shake, this shift isn't just about fries. 

The company has been implementing other notable changes over the past few years, indicative of a large-scale transformation. To usher in a more lucrative, fresh-faced future for the beloved burger chain, Steak n Shake closed 49 stores from 2022 to 2023 alone, shifted to a franchise-focused business model, and changed most locations to 14-hour per day operating hours instead of the previous 24/7. In 2022, Sardar Biglari, chairman of the board of parent company Biglari Holdings, told investors, "We Michelangelo'ed Steak 'n Shake," in reference to the overhaul. "The sculpture is already complete within the marble block before I start my work," said Biglari. "I just have to chisel away the superfluous material." Apparently, one such superfluous material was vegetable oil.