Steak ‘n Shake wants to make frying oil tallow again. The company, which invented the steakburger, dropped the bombshell that it’s ditching cooking its famed shoestring fries in vegetable oil and switching to 100 percent all-natural beef tallow.
The fourth-oldest burger chain announced its return to throwback fries just before Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination as head of the Department of Health and Human Services. RFK Jr. has been an outspoken proponent of cooking with fat.
Now, Steak ‘n Shake wants to make the glorious past its future. Their throwback fries are a return to the way fries used to taste—and should taste. Sorry, vegetarians.
Let’s take a brief history lesson. Fries have been cooked in beef tallow since they were first invented in Belgium hundreds of years ago. There is a saying among chefs that “fat is flavor.” Belgians knew smothering sliced potatoes in smoldering fat was a recipe for deliciousness.
That recipe remained until the 1990s, when the seed oil advocates got their way. Restaurants started to change the way they cooked their food. McDonald’s—which showed up six years after Steak ‘n Shake opened in 1934—ditched tallow in 1990, swapping it out for vegetable oil.
RFK Jr. wrote on X recently that: “It’s time to Make Frying Oil Tallow Again.”
People began to take notice, and President 47, Trump, has nominated Kennedy because he saw him as a kindred spirit who wasn’t afraid to shake up the status quo.
For Steak ‘n Shake, the timing couldn’t be more perfect. The restaurant chain has been working on tallow for a long time and made the announcement before the inauguration and Kennedy’s confirmation hearings. By the end of February 2025, all locations will use 100 percent all-natural beef tallow.
“The consumer wants the best and deserves the best,” said Kristen Briede, the chief global development officer for Steak ‘n Shake. “By adopting 100 percent beef tallow, Steak ‘n Shake is delivering the best fries possible.”
Thanks to Kennedy’s leadership and Steak ‘n Shake’s commitment to tallow, customers will soon be able to experience fries cooked the classic way. Now, the Senate has to do the right thing and confirm Kennedy.
