Certain foods stand out as political signifiers: You’re more likely to see Republicans at a steakhouse chowing down on a rare filet and less likely to see them at the local salad bar ordering a vegetarian greens and grains bowl. Democrats are more predisposed to their ice cream fix from Ben & Jerry’s or perhaps former President Joe Biden’s beloved Jeni’s. Post-2023, you’re less likely to see a Republican-coded figure drinking a Bud Light — unless it’s comedian Shane Gillis.
There’s a new split emerging in the food world, and it’s one whose popularity you can credit to the “Make America Healthy Again” movement. The prominent members include “crunchy moms” and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. This political chasm may be more “uber-health conscious vs. establishment” than “Republican vs. Democrat,” but the division remains.
We’re talking about beef tallow. Fast-food chain Steak ‘n Shake went viral this week after it hosted Kennedy and Fox News’s Sean Hannity to celebrate the rollout of its beef tallow fries.
“We have made a commitment to remove seed oils from our restaurants,” says a note on the chain’s website located prominently under the section “Seed Oils.”
“Our fries, onion rings, and chicken tenders are now cooked in 100% beef tallow in our restaurants,” the note continues. “The beef tallow has no additives, preservatives, or chemicals.”
Beef tallow has become a popular cooking alternative to the dreaded “seed oils,” which are commonly used in fast-food restaurants (and at-home kitchens) and include canola, corn, or grapeseed oil. Critics have argued that these substances are artificial and not meant for human consumption and are, as Kennedy has said, “one of the driving causes of the obesity epidemic.” This explains the popularity of apps such as Seed Oil Scout, which directs users to seed oil-free establishments.
Steak ‘n Shake may be grabbing all the headlines, but it’s not the only place that cooks its fries in tallow. Outback Steakhouse has been frying with tallow since its founding in 1988. Not that it likes to brag. The casual dining chain shows up frequently on lists of seed oil-free restaurants, but its menu makes no note of this distinction — neither next to its Aussie fries nor by its signature appetizer, the bloomin’ onion.
When I visited my local Outback in northern Virginia, I asked the waiter if the fries were cooked in tallow. He looked nervously at the fries sitting on my plate and said he didn’t think so. I asked if he could go back to the kitchen to ask, and when he returned, he assured me that the fries were cooked with beef tallow. Obviously, not too many customers are asking.
But that doesn’t mean the demand for seed oil alternatives isn’t growing. Over the past year, Google searches for “seed oils” and “beef tallow” have spiked, indicating that the public is interested in information about the food it consumes and is hungry for alternatives.
RFK JR. LAYS OUT HEALTH VISION WHILE CHOWING DOWN AT STEAK ‘N SHAKE
While Steak ‘n Shake is all-in on the cultural war side of the seed oil debate, Outback has taken a more apolitical approach. When the Washington Examiner reached out for comment on the trend, an Outback spokeswoman simply replied, “We use beef tallow for frying because it creates exceptionally crispy, golden-brown foods with a rich, delicious flavor that can’t be matched by vegetable oils” before adding that the practice has been in place for nearly four decades.
Whether or not the tallow trend continues, it’s hard to deny the flavorful points in its favor. When I took my 3-year-old to Outback for a taste test, he barely touched his order of mac and cheese — but he devoured his tallow fries.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
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