After graduating from college, I traded my Floridian flip flops and sunglasses for Ariat boots and cowboy hats in Texas. I entered my master’s program in Texas A&M University’s Meat Science program looking as out of place as Billy Crystal’s character at the beginning of City Slickers. By the time I delivered my thesis, I had learned all there was to know about picking a great steak and how to make tougher cuts of beef more tender and tasty.
At that time, a major focus of the beef industry and their trade association, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), was how to increase sales of lesser used parts of the steer. How often are you making a stew or pot roast? Not very often because those cuts of meat require long cooking times to become tender. The attention beef tallow is starting to get would have made a lot of people happy back then. This is especially true as seed oils replaced beef tallow in most kitchen pantries decades ago in response to research showing a link between increased red meat consumption and heart disease.
Now, it seems, the pendulum is swinging back in beef tallow’s favor. In February, national restaurant chain Steak ‘n Shake announced plans to swap seed oils for beef tallow in French fry fryers starting in March 2025. Steak ‘n Shake joins other restaurants such as Popeyes and Outback Steakhouse frying menu items in beef tallow.
I wrote an earlier post about seed oils. ICYMI, the criticism of seed oils distills into two concerns. One, the most prevalent, though not exclusive, method of extracting oil from the seed uses hexane. Without rigorous testing of residual hexane in commercially produced oils, some are concerned this poses a health threat. Two, excessive consumption of foods containing seed oils throws off the optimal omega 3 to omega 6 fatty acid ratio in the body. That imbalance can lead to increased inflammation. This claim is lacking substantial scientific support. Dr. Walter Willett, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health was quoted in a New York Times article in response to this claim, “But I’ve gone through these papers and there’s not a single shred of evidence that this is actually true.”1
Is beef tallow a healthier choice? Nope. Most of the science I learned years ago in nutrition classes still holds true. The reason seed oils gained popularity decades ago was because beef fat was found to contain high levels of saturated fat; the stuff found to clog arteries. More specifically, saturated fat has been found to increase levels of LDL, or “bad” cholesterol. Elevated levels of LDL increases one’s risk for heart attacks and strokes.
Where things get a bit more nuanced is the fatty acid profile of beef tallow. Some of the saturated fat in beef tallow is stearic acid. There is some research to indicate stearic acid may not raise cholesterol like other types of saturated fat. But, and this is a big but, it’s still a saturated fat. This is basically saying beef tallow may not be as bad as other saturated fats like butter. It is not saying beef tallow is healthier than seed oils, which contain unsaturated fats.
While not a perfect comparison, a recently published study in JAMA examined data from three large cohort studies, over 200,000 adults, and concluded diets with higher amounts of butter, representing saturated fat, led to an increased risk for overall and cancer mortality. Diets containing plant-based oils, including seed oils, were associated with a lower total, cancer and cardiovascular mortality. The authors concluded substituting butter with plant-based oils reduces the risk for the leading causes of death in the United States, cancer and cardiovascular disease. 2
Supporters of beef tallow argue tallow is more natural and contains essential fat-soluble vitamins. Um, pressing a seed is a fairly natural process. Expeller and cold pressed varieties of seed oils do not use chemical extraction. While beef tallow may contain vitamins A, E, and K, the amounts are not believed to be large enough to impact one’s health. Let’s be honest, beef tallow is used most frequently to deep fry foods. The small amount of fat soluble vitamins is not negating the detrimental impact of eating fried foods. Maybe stick to carrots, almonds and leafy greens for your primary source of these vitamins.
To summarize, the medical community, especially cardiologists and nutritionists, is not endorsing the replacement of seed oils with beef tallow. If you prefer the flavor of foods fried in beef tallow, go for it. Do not believe, though, restaurants making the switch to tallow from seed oils in their fryers are making America any healthier.
Legaspi, C. Is Beef Tallow Good For You? Kennedy Thinks So But Experts Disagree. New York Times. March 20, 2025.
Zhang Y, Chadaideh KS, Li Y, et al. Butter and Plant-Based Oils Intake and Mortality. JAMA Intern Med. Published online March 06, 2025. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2025.0205