Beef tallow fries recipe (2024)

Golden, crisp, and delicious… this beef tallow fries recipe makes the best French fries ever!

Beef tallow fries recipe (1)

Beef tallow fries recipe

What makes these fries so amazing? Beef tallow! That’s right. Tallow from 100% grass fed and grass finished beef is one of my most favorite things ever. I love it because it is so versatile, it has amazing health benefits, and makes food taste absolutely wonderful.

I have several other posts on my blog where I talk about things like the benefits of beef tallow, what is tallow, and how to render tallow. There are also a lot more blog posts, if you’re interested in using tallow to make things like soap, balm, and salves.

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Fast food gone wrong

But back to the beef tallow fries! Here is a bit of trivia: Back in the day, McDonald’s used to fry their French fries in beef tallow. Eventually, animal rights activists pressured them to switch to “vegetable” oils (which are not vegetable oils at all, but are inflammatory, toxic, industrial seed oils). They flavor the “vegetable” oil with MSG. What a shame!

Making French fries with grass fed beef tallow is such a better idea. You get all of the wonderful health benefits of grass fed beef. And the flavor is naturally phenomenal! No need for MSG or any other artificial flavorings. And no health destroying, inflammatory, industrial seed oils. Just pure, beef tallow fries deliciousness. And no guilt!

So skip the low quality restaurant fries, and fry up some beef tallow fries at home. Your body and your taste buds will thank you!

Beef tallow fries recipe (3)

Safety first

If you’re new to frying foods in oil, you’ll want to make sure you know what safety precautions to follow. The most important thing to remember is to never leave hot oil unattended. Fat can ignite, and grease fires are dangerous and difficult to put out. This article will fill you in on everything you need to know about preventing grease fires, and what to do if one happens. Otherwise, just follow normal cooking safety. Make sure that children and pets stay a safe distance away. Keep an eye on the hot oil to make sure it stays at the right temperature, and you should be fine.

Equipment

To slice the potatoes, a mandolin with the proper attachments, or some other slicing gadget can be really handy if you have it. If you don’t, no need to worry. A nice sharp knife will work just fine.

A deep fat fryer is also really handy, but you don’t have to have one of those either. A nice deep pan (at least 5 inches) will work as well.

You’ll need a fryer skimmer, a medium sized mesh strainer, or just a large slotted spoon to life the fries out of the tallow.

A thermometer will be necessary to keep track of the tallow’s temperature.

Since I like to avoid paper products in my kitchen, I use flour sack towels to line my dish for the finished fries to go into. But, you could also use paper towels if you want.

All set? Let’s make some beef tallow fries!

Beef tallow fries recipe (4)

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Beef tallow fries recipe directions

Ingredients:

  • 4 – 6 potatoes, either Russet or sweet potatoes
  • Several cups grass fed beef tallow (you want it to be about 2 inches deep in the pan)
  • Sea salt, pink Himalayan salt, or Redmond Real salt

Instructions:

  1. Start heating tallow in a deep fat fryer or pan on the stove with tall sides to 350 – 360° F.
  2. While tallow is heating, peel and cut potatoes into fry sized sticks.
  3. Once the tallow has reached 350 – 360° F, carefully lower about a handful of potato pieces into the hot tallow.
  4. Give the fries a stir once or twice while cooking so that they fry evenly.
  5. Once they are golden brown, remove the fries from the hot tallow, and let them sit on the flour sack or paper towels.
  6. Immediately season to taste with salt.
  7. Repeat until all potato pieces are fried.
  8. Enjoy immediately! These fries are best eaten right away.

Other things you can make with grass fed tallow

How to Render Tallow

Tallow Soap Recipe

Tallow Lip Balm with Honey Recipe

How to Make Tallow Balm

Black Drawing Salve Recipe

Herb Infused Tallow Salve Recipe

Do you already cook with tallow?

Or are you new to it? What are you excited about making? Let me know in the comments!

Join our traditional wisdom community, and grab a free DIY home remedy recipes eBook when you subscribe!

Beef tallow fries recipe (5)

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Grass fed beef tallow

Mandolin slicer

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Yield: 6 servings

Beef Tallow French Fries

Beef tallow fries recipe (6)

Golden, crisp, and delicious... this beef tallow fries recipe makes the best French fries ever!

Prep Time20 minutes

Cook Time15 minutes

Total Time35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4-6 potatoes
  • several cups grass fed beef tallow, 2 inches in pan
  • sea salt, pink Himalayan salt, or Redmond Real salt

Instructions

  1. Start heating tallow in a deep fat fryer or pan on the stove with tall sides to 350 - 360° F.
  2. While tallow is heating, peel and cut potatoes into fry sized sticks.
  3. Once the tallow has reached 350 - 360° F, carefully lower about a handful of potato pieces into the hot tallow.
  4. Give the fries a stir once or twice while cooking so that they fry evenly.
  5. Once they are golden brown, remove the fries from the hot tallow, and let them sit on the flour sack or paper towels.
  6. Immediately season to taste with salt.
  7. Repeat until all potato pieces are fried.
  8. Enjoy immediately! These fries are best eaten right away.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1 people

Amount Per Serving:Calories: 777Total Fat: 69gSaturated Fat: 34gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 31gCholesterol: 74mgSodium: 276mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 4gSugar: 2gProtein: 4g

Beef tallow fries recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is beef tallow good for fries? ›

Because rendered beef fat, tallow, naturally high a very high smoke point of about 400 degrees F. This makes it perfect for frying french fries or roasting just about anything. The key when frying with any oil, but especially beef fat, is to give it time to come to temperature.

How to use beef tallow for frying? ›

Add the Beef Tallow to a wide, heavy-bottomed skillet (10-12” width pan is ideal for a 1-2” depth of oil) and place the pan over medium heat. When the surface of the oil begins to shimmer, the oil should be hot enough to fry.

How much tallow do I need to fry chips? ›

Beef Tallow French Fries
  1. A few cups of beef fat – enough so there are two inches of melted tallow in the pan.
  2. A few potatoes (russets are best)

Does McDonald's still fry their fries in beef tallow? ›

From 1940 - 1985, McDonald's famous french fries used to be cooked in beef tallow. Everything changed in 1990 when a motivated millionaire pressured them to switch to vegetable oil. Since 1954, McDonald's has been the behemoth of fast food.

Why not to use tallow? ›

“Tallow, because it's high in oleic acid just like olive oil is, it's been shown to disrupt the skin barrier and actually cause more irritation versus plant oils that are high in linoleic acid,” Shah said, explaining why it's “not really the best moisturizer.”

How many times can I fry with beef tallow? ›

You can reuse beef tallow for frying multiple times! 💡 Simply strain and store it properly, and it can be reused about 3-4 times.

Is beef tallow healthier than butter? ›

However, it, especially grass-fed tallow, is also a good source of vitamin D, choline, and other healthy fatty acids like palmitoleic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, and linoleic acid. It also has 902 calories (kcal) per 100 grams, which is a lot more than the 717 kcal in butter.

Is beef tallow bad for cholesterol? ›

However, beef tallow is hypercholesterolemic compared with fats containing less cholesterol-raising saturated fatty acid. Therefore, curtailment of beef tallow in a cholesterol-lowering diet seems appropriate.

What is the healthiest oil for deep frying? ›

Olive oil and avocado oil are good choices for deep frying. Peanut and palm oils are less suitable, either for health or environmental reasons.

What is the best fat for fries? ›

Using beef tallow or duck fat gives you fries that are wildly more delicious than fries cooked in soybean oil or other vegetable oils. Beef tallow and duck fat are also a more stable fat that tolerates high heat frying with the least amount of oxidation (I discuss this at length in my podcast).

Why did they stop using beef tallow? ›

Yes, fast food companies stopped frying their fries in beef tallow because of health concerns about saturated fats. In the 1980s, there was a growing public awareness of the health risks associated with saturated fat, and fast food companies were under pressure to reduce the amount of saturated fat in their products.

Is beef tallow healthier than vegetable oil? ›

In contrast, beef tallow is almost 50% saturated fat at 49.8g per 100g. Regarding micronutrients, vegetable oil far exceeds beef tallow, providing meaningful amounts of vitamin E (11.73 mg) and vitamin K (117.9 μg). Tallow only contains trace amounts of selenium and notable quantities of choline (79.8 mg).

Who fries their fries in beef tallow? ›

This Washington Post article from 1985 identifies Arby's, Bob's Big Boy, Burger King, Hardee's, McDonald's, Popeyes, and Wendy's as fast-food spots that use beef tallow in their fryers.

Is tallow better for frying? ›

For recipes that require high heat like deep frying and roasting, tallow is the clear winner due to its high smoke point and stability.

Is lard better than beef tallow for fries? ›

Tallow is rendered fat from ruminants, including cattle, bison, and lamb, whereas lard is rendered fat from pigs, boars, and other similar animals. Both are common cooking fats but are also used in other ways such as industrial lubricants. For frying and a beefier taste, use tallow.

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