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Steak n Shake is doubling down on its commitment to beef tallow, an alternative to seed oils touted by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The Indianapolis-based fast-food chain announcing in an Instagram post on Wednesday that it will begin selling jars of the rendered beef fat as a premium cooking oil in its restaurants starting June 23. The jars are labeled as 100% grass-fed beef tallow made in the USA.
The move follows the chain’s mid-January decision for its restaurants to switch to cooking its french fries in beef tallow, aligning itself with President Donald Trump’s appointed Secretary of Health and Human Services. It also uses tallow for cooking its onion rings and chicken tenders.
Kennedy is a vocal critic of seed oils like soybean and canola oil, arguing that they contribute to various health issues. He publicly praised Steak n Shake in a Fox News interview, saying, “People are raving about these french fries.”
In its Instagram post, the restaurant chain referenced “Make America Healthy Again,” or “MAHA,” Kennedy’s signature agenda, which has targeted everything from pesticides to prescription drugs. Kennedy visited Indiana in April to help introduce Gov. Mike Braun’s “Make Indiana Healthy Again” agenda, which includes tightening requirements and food eligibility for nutrition assistance programs and signals an intent to study food dyes, diet-related chronic illness and food consumption.
Using beef tallow to cook fries really isn’t new. Historically, most restaurants used it in their deep fryers. Fast-food giant McDonald’s used beef tallow to cook its fries until 1990, when it switched to vegetable oil because of concerns about saturated fat.
Conservatives have praised the restaurant’s shift as a win for Trump’s controversial cabinet pick. The company’s chief operating officer said in a February interview on Fox News that the chain had “RFK’d” its french fries, a move that seemed to please the country’s top health official.
“They’ve turned my name into a verb,” Kennedy said at the time.
Owned by Biglari Holdings, Steak n Shake has more than 400 locations nationwide and continues to sell its branded chili and frozen burger patties in grocery stores across the country.
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You know what would make Steak and Shake great again? Biglari selling the chain to someone with the slightest clue on how to operate a restaurant chain. He decided to compete with McDonald’s with his upmarket brand and the litany of closed locations is a testimony to his, ahh, talents.
You want good food? Go to Freddy’s or Culver’s.
Yes!
I think he wanted to compete with Rally’s, which is even lower than McD’s. Just when fast casual was becoming a thing, he decided to chase rock-bottom pricing and food. Brillant!
Amen!
Good for them. Glad they are making food a little healthier for all.
And you know this because…?
Beef tallow, while a source of some vitamins and beneficial fatty acids, is not generally considered healthy due to its high saturated fat content. Saturated fat, found in beef tallow, can contribute to increased cholesterol levels, potentially raising the risk of heart disease and other cardiovascular problems. RFK’s “experts” are in denial over such facts.
By absolutely no extent is this “healthier.” Good lord.
I wish steak and she didn’t think this was a political move. I just spent a week in Belgium, where all the fries are fried in beef tallow. The story was World War I GIs met French speaking Belgium’s from Flanders and brought back french fries to the United States. They were all fried in beef tallow and still are to this day.
Biglari took a popular classic restaurant chain with a good menu and table service and turned it into Greasy spoon food trucks without wheels ! Now crediting RFK Jr. with a way to profit from the waste grease .
I officially ended my trips to Steak and Shake this last winter. I haven’t missed it at all.
Should consumers have options? Is beef tallow truly healthier? A boon for the beef industry? What will Make America healthy again? So will beef tallow reduce obesity? Will high fructose corn syrup be removed [from oh so many products]? Will the US produce healthy bread, for example, free from harmful preservatives. Will prohibition be introduced [again]? Should smoking be banned entirely? Which other measures might be proposed to MAHA?
Beef tallow makes for crispier fries! There is a slight difference in taste, maybe for the better. As long as fries is only one meal a week, I suspect the health risks are minimal.
They’re bankrupt and just grasping at straws at this point…
Biglari should be banned from the restaurant business for what he did to Steak And Shake !
Freddy’s has shown how smash burgers and shoestring fries like Steak n Shake’s can be successfully marketed. Steak n Shake has tried to follow by ending their table service, but their poor management has bungled these attempts. During our last visit to a Steak n Shake two customers chewed out the manager, who pleaded throughout our visit about having only one employee working that day. I felt for him, but after experiencing the negative atmosphere, we doubt we’ll go to Steak n Shake any time soon.