Why Restaurants Are Shifting Their Cooking Oil Choice to Tallow

For our great-grandparents and grandparents, tallow was a kitchen staple. But, for the past century, seed oils have been a staple in the restaurant industry. However, a growing number of food establishments are now making and/or considering switching to cooking with beef tallow. Here’s why this shift is gaining momentum as a seemingly healthier alternative.

What is beef tallow?

Rich in flavor, beef tallow is rendered beef fat. It’s a whiteish color and solid at room temperature. The oil is derived from the fat of the cow, particularly around the loins and kidneys. Beef tallow is produced by slowly cooking the fat until it clarifies, resulting in a clear oil.

Beef tallow is used in frying, roasting, and searing due to its high smoke point. Historically, restaurants have used it for frying foods—especially French fries—as the oil adds a distinct, savory flavor. It’s used in baking, too, to enhance the flavor of a wide range of baked goods.

Why are restaurants switching to beef tallow?

As early as this year, one major restaurant chain announced that they planned to switch back to old-fashioned beef tallow for frying French fries. Steak ’N Shake no longer uses seed oils—a move widely supported by fans with concerns about the health implications of ultra-processed foods.

Steak ’N Shake’s supply officer, Chris Ward, stated that the famous chain would revert to beef tallow to bring out the best flavor and quality in their fries. According to him, without the addition of preservatives or additives, beef tallow is the authentic way to cook the popular finger food.

As Steak ’N Shake shakes up the restaurant industry, leading the way to healthier frying, other restaurants are following suit. Four major chains, including Popeye’s and Outback Steakhouse, are planning to shift to tallow or are currently using it to prepare their French fries.

Health influencers are also behind the move to bring back the use of beef tallow in frying. They praise beef tallow as a healthier and more natural alternative, the urge to use it in frying has become known as the “beef tallow movement” in restaurants. Podcasts in recent years have also criticized seed oils, stoking the widespread repulsion of these oils.

As more restaurants embrace beef tallow for its rich flavor and frying quality, this shift marks a broader trend in the food industry—one driven by taste, tradition, and growing consumer interest in natural ingredients. However, with the widespread use of tallow comes a new responsibility: managing and recycling used cooking fats sustainably. That’s where Mahoney’s used cooking oil recycling services step in, offering restaurants an efficient and environmentally friendly way to dispose of and repurpose their used tallow.

Used Cooking Oil Recycling from Mahoney Environmental

When it comes to used cooking oil removal, restaurants rely on Mahoney Environmental as their trusted partner. If your restaurant switches to tallow, we’ll remove your used cooking oil and recycle it. Our cooking oil recycling program complements your frying schedule with timely pickups and deliveries which help streamline operations.

When you’re switching from using seed oils to tallow, you need to make sure your used cooking oil recycler can handle tallow. Once the tallow cools, it solidifies. Making it difficult to collect in colder climates or times of year. If you have equipment that pumps the liquefied tallow into a heated collection tank, it prevents it from solidifying. We offer used cooking oil collection solutions that can be used with seed oils and/or tallow.

Our oil recycling technicians are available 24/7, which means we are ready to pick up used cooking oil and deliver fresh oil on your preferred schedule. Whether that means picking up after hours or on weekends, our specialists cater to your scheduling needs.

We offer a comprehensive range of other services to keep your restaurant running smoothly. These include commercial grease trap services and the availability of used cooking oil containers. In select markets, we also deliver bulk quantities of fresh oil in a timely manner, so your kitchen never runs out.

When you seek to improve food quality, increase operational efficiency, and manage costs, Mahoney Environmental is the solution. We’re also a proponent of environmental sustainability. Our cooking oil recycling services turn used oil into sustainable fuels for vehicles and aircrafts.

Mahoney Environmental is an important partner in restaurant operations. We invite you to contact us to handle your cooking oil disposal and the recycling process from start to finish. Call today to promote environmental sustainability and manage your used cooking oil efficiently.