Who’da thunk it? The tough little street fighter of a second-tier burger joint that fought the COVID Crisis and the odds, Steak ‘N Shake, has blind sided the big guys with an unexpected marketing move: reviving Beef Tallow Fries! Is this a Fast Food game changer?
Remember the big consumer protest against original McDonald’s Fries back in the 1990s? When it became widely known that they were cooked with health-horrible beef tallow? The uproar was bad enough that the burger behemoth dropped beef tallow and switched to vegetable oil. Then, it took more McGrief from fans because its fries no longer tasted ‘right’…
McD’s fights back
The chain fought back – allegedly pumping millions into research and testing of new ways to make their best-selling menu item taste like it used to. They were never totally successful. But their fans eventually forgave them.
Now, Steak n Hake – famous for sometimes-wild, always ‘out-there’ menu innovations – has done it again. The sprightly, mischievous brand has announced, with great fanfare, that it is bring back the great, old American ‘institution’ of Beef Tallow Fries.
Bands playing, flags flying…
Not literally, but with the kind of over-blown language that used to be popular in rousing politcal campaigns:
“When fries were created centuries ago, they were made with tallow,” The official news release exults. “‘Our fries will now be cooked in an authentic way, 100% beef tallow, in order to achieve the highest quality and best taste,’ said Chris Ward, Chief Supply Chain Officer for Steak n Shake.”
“Steak n Shake has long been famous for its shoestring fries – and it will now fry them in the best way possible.”
Chief Global Development Officer for Steak n Shake, Kristen Briede, stated: “The consumer wants the best and deserves the best. By adopting 100 percent beef tallow, Steak n Shake is delivering the best fries possible.”
What’s the big deal about Tallow?
“Tallow is a whiteish substance that is solid at room temperature,” The Mayo Clinic tells us. “It’s made by removing, simmering and clarifying the fatty tissue that surrounds the organs of ruminant ani-mals. Ruminant animals ‘chew their cud’. They include cows, buffaloes, sheep, goats and deer. Beef tallow is commonly made from cows and is sometimes called ‘beef drippings’.”
Conventional wisdom tells us that any fat that’s solid at room temperature is saturated. And, as such, bad specifically for heart health, and human health in general.
But relatively recent science disagrees with that assessment in the case of tallow. It possess a unique fat ‘profile’ that sets it aside from other such fats, such as lard and hydrogenated vegetable oil (i.e.- Crisco’).
“In tallow, some of the saturated fat is a specific type known as stearic acid. Stearic acid appears to not raise cholesterol in the same way as other saturated fats,” Mayo explains.
“Tallow also contains monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which are considered healthier. Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is one polyunsaturated omega-6 fat found in animal fats and linked to potential health benefits such as preventing plaque buildup in the arteries (atherosclerosis).”
However, Mayo hedges its bet about the latter, cautioning that, “more research is needed about the effects of conjugated linoleic acid.”
So…
It appears that Steak n Shake has picked up on the latest assessment of Beef Tallow and decided to run with the potential marketing bonanza.
I have a suspicion that McD’s test kitchens also took note of the recent exoneration of tallow by health experts. But their marketing people decided not to stir up the deep fryer by bring tallow back. After getting the fry-fat issue back under under control – at great effort and expense – they just wanted to leave it in the past, and move forward – with brave new experiments such as CosMc’s and The Restaurant of the Future…
My questions to you:
Do you agree with The Mayo Clinic, that Beef Tallow is not nearly as unhealthy as was once claimed?
Would you try Steak n Shake’s new tallow-fried fries?
Even just once, to see what all the hubbub about the crispness and flavour of tallow-frying is all about?
Or do you still believe that tallow is demonic and should be shunned at all costs?
And… Has ‘David’ Steak n Shake effectively blind sided ‘Goliath’ McD’s in the Tallow department?
Muse on that…
~ Maggie J.