How to make dishes using beef tallow
These beef tallow fries are better than any fast food fries.
problem solved
In 2026, the United States will celebrate its 250th anniversary, or half-five years since its founding. Steak and Shake is celebrating the anniversary with new dessert items.
The burger chain announced on its social media platforms that for the month of January, it will be offering Patriot Milkshakes for just $2.50. No further information about the milkshake was provided. However, the photo shared by the company shows a milkshake garnished with whipped cream and a cherry, along with red, white and blue sprinkles.
“Steak & Shake has a head start on America’s 250th anniversary,” the company said on Instagram. “For the entire month of January, Patriot Milkshakes will cost just $2.50 🇺🇸.”
Steak ‘n Shake was one of the first to jump on the tallow trend
Steak ‘n Shake was one of the first and most notable fast food chains to switch to beef fat frying in early 2025.
Rendered beef tallow is a favorite of Secretary of Humanity and Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has publicly urged restaurants to use it instead of seed oil, which he called “one of the most unhealthy ingredients in food.”
Steak ‘n Shake announced the switch in March 2025, saying in a social media post, “Steak ‘n Shake is proud to support MAHA and Secretary Kennedy! Your lives are numbered. We want to be at the forefront and make a difference! #MAHA.” RFK thanked the restaurant for its “leadership in the movement to make America healthy again.”
In a notice on its website, Steak ‘n Shake said it is “committed to removing seed oil” from its restaurants and is working with suppliers to meet its goals.
“At our restaurants, our French fries, onion rings, and chicken tenders are prepared with 100% beef tallow. Beef tallow contains no additives, preservatives, or chemicals,” the notice reads. “We also worked with our french fry manufacturers to completely eliminate, at considerable cost, the vegetable oils that were used to parfry the product before freezing and shipping it to us. As a result of these efforts, our tallow fries are now completely free of seed oil.”
The company also said it now uses 100% Grade A Wisconsin butter in some burgers and sandwiches instead of “previous butter blends that included seed oil.” Steak ‘n Shake now also offers Cane Sugar Coke in its restaurants.
Other chains that have chosen to use beef tallow for frying include Smashburger, Popeyes, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Outback Steakhouse.
Why have restaurants largely stopped using beef tallow?
Several restaurants, including McDonald’s, stopped using beef tallow in the late 1980s and early 1990s, The Week reported, following guidance from health advocacy groups who said cooking with the substitute could help prevent heart disease.
Christopher Gardner, a nutritionist at Stanford University School of Medicine, told NPR that saturated fats like tallow and butter can clog arteries and cause high cholesterol, a risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Although seed oils are an ingredient in many highly processed foods, they are not the only reason these foods are unhealthy, he added.
“If people started eating more hamburgers and fries, even though they were consuming tallow instead of seed oil, more people would die,” Gardner said.
Contributor: Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY
Gabe Hauari is USA TODAY’s national trends news reporter. You can follow him at X @gabehauari Or email Gdhauari@gannett.com.
