9 ms·

Is beef tallow making a comeback?

• almosthere 9mo ago
  [flagged]
  • reactordev 9mo ago
    You can have both and not clog your arteries
  • amelius 9mo ago
    I guess by far the majority of people on this planet selected: ( ) Shitty and short life
• liquid153 9mo ago
  [dead]
• Workaccount2 9mo ago
  RFK's playbook is to wake up, check what the crunchy moms on instagram are cackling about, issue policy based on the comments sections.
  • bowmessage 9mo ago
    Remove whatever politics you might believe from the equation. Is beef tallow a better option for a cooking fat? I think it is.
    • babypuncher 9mo ago
      Our own health department has completely removed objectivity from their process. It doesn't matter if they say something right or wrong now, they've completely lost our trust.
      • bowmessage 9mo ago
        I don’t particularly trust any claims from previous administrations’ health departments, let alone this one. Politics aside, the omega6:3 ratio and PUFA content of tallow is favorable.
        • dsr_ 9mo ago
          You've made this comment three times so far. That changes my perception from "maybe that's a good point" to "spammers should die painfully."
          • stephenitis 9mo ago
            I’m with you, repeating it is like low effort copy pasta when they should’ve put effort into backing up that claim.
    • halostatue 9mo ago
      Compared to what and for what purpose? Olive oil? Peanut oil? No and (mostly) no. Compared to hydrogenated margarine that was pushed a couple of decades ago before we learned about trans-fats? Of course. If you use it when cooking for guests, you should disclose that you're using it (especially for non-meat dishes) because it may add extra fat that they're not OK with or consider inappropriate for personal dietary consumption (they're vegetarian, don't eat beef products, whatever). I have a friend for whom we can't use anything that has sunflower oil in it, which is _really hard to avoid_ in surprising ways (there are spice blends that I use which have a bit of sunflower oil in the mixes).
      • bowmessage 9mo ago
        Politics aside, the omega6:3 ratio and PUFA content of tallow is favorable.
        • lanfeust6 9mo ago
          Omega ratio matters most taking total intake of 3 and 6 into account. Since tallow is overwhelmingly saturated fat, it's a moot point what the ratio is. The remedy to low omega-3 is just to consume more dominant EPA/DHA and even ALA sources. Omega 6 won't fly off the charts except through consuming lots of packaged boxed foods and ultraprocessed foods, which overwhelming use vegetable oils like soybean or sunflower (North American fat consumption has skyrocketed over a century mostly owing to these foods). Even if you consume some nuts or seed oil now and then, just consume fish or a supplement. Arguably the "healthiest" cooking oil is olive oil. If we're looking at just the fatty acids though, replacing SFA with PUFAs is a stronger predictor of lower CVD and all-cause mortality.
        • halostatue 9mo ago
          Tallow is still higher in long chain SFAs than vegetable saturated fats, which are less healthy than short and medium chain SFAs (but neither is as good as PUFAs). That sort of overwhelms the omega ratios. As I understand it, both fish oil and (fresh) flax seed oil are still better than tallow. With RFK's dismantling of good science, politics can't be put aside, as his reasons are essentially "because I said so".
    • AstroBen 9mo ago
      Avocado, canola, olive oil would all be way better. Beef tallow is really high in saturated fat
      • bowmessage 9mo ago
        The omega6:3 ratio and PUFA content of tallow is favorable. Canola and other seed oils are made using toxic solvents which are not full removed from the final product.
        • AstroBen 9mo ago
          Go look up the studies of actual outcome data when replacing saturated fats with seed oils. Seed oils do much better
          • bitexploder 9mo ago
            Are you sure? Sydney heart diet study: Seed oil group had something like 62% higher death rate. Minnesota coronary experiment: replaced saturated fats with seed oil, cholesterol dropped, but for every 30 mg/dL drop risk of death went up something like 20%. Several recent meta analyses also indicate no real benefit migrating from saturated fats to seed oils. The only silver lining I have seen is there is some evidence replacing them for people who have had a coronary event already. So, no, I don't think the evidence supports "seed oils do much better" in a general sense.
            • AstroBen 9mo ago
              I don't have time to look into the sydney heart study but I know for the minnesota experiment they, not knowing how bad it was at the time, used margarine with high trans fats as the replacements. Also had a huge 95% drop out rate Actually on a quick check the sydney study looks to be the exact same
              • Workaccount2 9mo ago
                What are all the grifters going to do when AI can reliably tell people if a study is shit?
    • tombert 9mo ago
      It's probably still better to avoid eating french fries regardless of what they're fried in. That would probably lead to better health outcomes regardless. Unless you're claiming that it tastes better, then sure, beef tallow is pretty tasty.
      • bluGill 9mo ago
        If you are eating french fries once or twice a year they probably are not bad for you (by enough to matter, and perhaps even good if they give some micro nutriant you are not getting elsewhere). And then by all means eat them friend in beef tallow because that tastes better. If you are eating french fries twice a week - which seems to be common - they are bad for you. Clean up your diet, eat a larger variety of food.
    • m000 9mo ago
      Hey! You forgot to mention about its favorable omega 6 to omega 3 ratio. /s
    • an0malous 9mo ago
      How is “I think it is” a more valuable contribution than what the parent said?
      • dimitrios1 9mo ago
        Discussing the subject without reactionary political takes is more valuable.
        • deleted 9mo ago
          [deleted]
    • waysa 9mo ago
      > Is beef tallow a better option for a cooking fat? I think it is. Better compared to what? Better than refined canola? Probably. Better than good quality, cold-pressed vegetable oils? Probably not. It's not great for heart health.
  • tombert 9mo ago
    He's almost the perfect example of the colloquial stereotype of "Dunning Kruger Syndrome", which is why he's so dangerous. I've made this example before, but it bears repeating. I know absolutely nothing about chemistry, medicine, or healthcare policy. I am wholly unqualifed to be in charge of anything involving healthcare. Suppose that, despite all reason, I am appointed into a HHS secretary anyway. This would be bad, but because I know that I know nothing, my potential for damage is actually pretty limited. I would have to defer a lot of decisions to advisors, who would likely be doctors and chemists and data scientists. I probably wouldn't make a lot of "progress", and I would likely more or less just maintain the status quo, but I probably wouldn't make things much worse. RFK Jr. is the worst, because he doesn't know any more about health or medicine than I do, but because he's read a bunch of idiotic blogs and Facebook pages he thinks he knows better than the entire medical establishment, and because he thinks he knows everything he feels qualified to start cutting funding for American medical research and blame everything on people not eating enough beef fat. People have been (understandably) focusing on Trump's descent into authoritarianism, but it's possible that that gets somewhat fixed once he's out of office, but I think that the damage that RFK Jr. has done to our medical research establishment might be irreparable. He is uniquely dangerous.
    • AstroBen 9mo ago
      He seems to be aware of his lack of knowledge: https://youtu.be/AGq_Q7tVLCU?si=Qcw_cQHoqbBc5dgW https://youtu.be/AGq_Q7tVLCU?si=Qcw_cQHoqbBc5dgW Yet still here we are
      • tombert 9mo ago
        I think he's actively lying with this to have some amount of plausible deniability. If you look at pseudoscience "alternative health" treatments on YouTube, they always have some disclaimer saying "This is not medical advice, I am not a physician, please consult your doctor", and then immediately go on to tell you about how injecting yourself with ozone or drinking paint thinner will cure all your diseases. I think it's just a legal disclaimer, not like they are actually aware that what they're doing is bullshit.
    • 9mo ago
• relax88 9mo ago
  Might wanna put some shoes on before you deep fry your turkey.
• Rendello 9mo ago
  I made it a few years ago. Tallow is trendy (and thus expensive), but you make it by rendering suet which is basically a throw-away product at butcher shops. Lots don't even bother selling suet, which is a pain. Rendering was just slow-cooking and removing the little pieces, then you're left with candle wax you can cook with. I thought the candle wax consistency was a coincidence, but it was the main way to make candles for most of history. It tastes pretty good but has a strong smell when cooking (or burning as a candle, presumably).
  • NedF 9mo ago
    [dead]
  • elric 9mo ago
    If I understand it correctly, tallow is made from beef or mutton. The same principle can be applied to pork fat -- and presumably any other herbivore? -- to create lard. Which is is also delicous for fries.
    • Rendello 9mo ago
      Yes, the difference is that tallow is solid at room temperature, so great for preservation. I was planning on making pemmican with it, but slicing, drying, and pulverizing hundreds of tiny strips of meat seemed like a lot of work. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pemmican https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pemmican
      • ninth_ant 9mo ago
        Lard is also solid at room temperature.
        • jalada 9mo ago
          Depends on the room.
• halostatue 9mo ago
  Not to be flippant, but we know that the answer to that is "No" because of Betteridge's Law of Headlines[1]. I haven't read the article ("too hard, didn't care"), but as a foodie: - in certain food circles, it never went away - industrially, McD's in at least North America used beef tallow as one of the par-frying oils for their fries well into the 21st century -- which caused a stir amongst vegetarians and Hindu who had assumed that the fries were vegetarian (I remember stories here in Canada in 2002-2003) - beef tallow is now fascionable, which accounts for the reactionary resurgence for something that never really went away - the science is very clear that the new guidance from RFK's worm-eaten brain is junk - the science is also very clear that while saturated fats like beef tallow are bad for you compared to olive oil and seed oils, they're better than hydrogenated fats and trans-fat products that were pushed on the world for a couple of decades a couple of decades ago Beef tallow is a net good inasmuch as it helps ensure whole animal use, but that doesn't make it healthy or suitable for all diets. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge's_law_of_headlines https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge's_law_of_headlines
  • bowmessage 9mo ago
    Beef tallow has a favorable omega 6 to omega 3 ratio and low levels of PUFAs, compared to seed oils and other cooking fats. I recommend reading the article.
    • JumpCrisscross 9mo ago
      > tallow has a favorable omega 6 to omega 3 ratio Source for Americans needing more omega-6-fatty-acid intake? > seed oils Do we have evidence around seed oils? Or is this the new homeopathy?
      • lanfeust6 9mo ago
        There's little evidence surrounding seed oils - https://dynomight.net/seed-oil/ https://dynomight.net/seed-oil/ I expect that, to the extent there's a problem, it's that they are an additive to most packaged/ultra-processed food products which can be non-satiating, and therefore boosts overall consumption of fats and calories. Sugar of course is another component.
• beejiu 9mo ago
  It's kind of mentioned in the article, but I'm more comfortable cooking with lard than either tallow or oil based on the current evidence. Avoiding UPF is probably the most important factor though.
  • tptacek 9mo ago
    UPF as in ultra-processed food? UPF designations are farcical; they're a modern formally-ratified instance of the naturalist fallacy. There are attributes of ultra-processed foods that are bad, but it's not the ultra-processing that makes it so; it's a very "correlation is causation" situation.
    • beejiu 9mo ago
      The fundamental problem with UPF isn't the nutritional qualities of the food. It's the _process_ itself. UPF is basically derived from A/B testing food continuously to making it (a) highly consumable and (b) low cost. Repeat that process over decades and thousands of times and you get overconsumption of shit food.
      • tptacek 9mo ago
        I think you mean highly palatable. Hyperpalatability is a real problem. But that's not intrinsic to "ultra-processing"; there are lots of reasons to "ultra-process" foods that aren't about maximizing caloric input.
        • beejiu 9mo ago
          No, I mean consumable, as in spending dollars to buy a product. Palatability is an input to consumption. It drives consumption and profit.
          • tptacek 9mo ago
            I mean, that's not as far as I know an actual commonly-used metric but it's closely enough aligned with hyperpalatability that I think the distinction doesn't matter.
• lylejantzi3rd 9mo ago
  Tallow is popular right now, but plain old butter is just as good, easier to work with, and doesn't make everything it touches taste like beef.
  • koolba 9mo ago
    > and doesn't make everything it touches taste like beef. That last one is not necessarily a bad thing. You haven’t truly had popcorn till you’ve had beef tallow popcorn.
    • antonymoose 9mo ago
      I used to work across the street from a “New Southern” style eatery, beef tallow biscuits are to die for.
    • esperent 9mo ago
      It's great until it cools down and the fat hardens. Then it's gross.
  • Larrikin 9mo ago
    The main point of cooking with any oil that isn't a neutral oil is to impart the flavor into the food.
  • itsdrewmiller 9mo ago
    Why would confidently assert this? They are very different and useful for different purposes. Do you cook at all?
  • zabzonk 9mo ago
    butter burns more easily, unless clarified. for things like chips/fries i've always found goose or duck fat to be best, but high end UK chip shops swear by beef lard.
  • hluska 9mo ago
    That’s really the purpose of beef tallow. It starts at suet, which both butcher shops I frequent consider a waste product, then you chop or grind the suet, render it down for around eight hours and use it for cooking. It adds flavour where there wasn’t flavour or where the existing flavours didn’t pair as well with other foods. It works really well with certain foods. As an example, poutine is quite popular now. A classic poutine calls for a brown sauce, which is a gravy made with equal parts beef and chicken stock. If you cook the fries in beef tallow, you get the full depth of the brown sauce. Or if someone you really like is coming over for a steak and some beers make steak frites. Blanch the fries first, let them dry completely, deep fry them, let them cool and then when the steaks are cooling, put some tallow in the cast iron, let it flash and then drop your fries in to fry them a final time. This concludes this week’s episode of Cooking with Greg where I impart food knowledge that tried to kill me. Tune in next week when I talk about more of the reasons I had a heart attack in my late thirties. :)
• getpost 9mo ago
  Brad Marshall[0] makes a case for the benefits of stearic acid (C18:0), which is predominant in beef tallow and cocoa butter. It acts as a beneficial metabolic signal that promotes mitochondrial fat oxidation, higher energy expenditure, and leanness—counteracting the obesogenic effects of polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs), especially linoleic acid. [0] https://fireinabottle.net/every-fire-in-a-bottle-post-from-the-beginning/ https://fireinabottle.net/every-fire-in-a-bottle-post-from-t... EDIT: I'm sympathetic to Brad's argument and I'm concerned that RFK Jr's incompetence will interfere with ongoing research in this area of metabolism.
  • bloaf 9mo ago
    We all know there has been a replication crisis across many different disciplines of science. I think that the set of things we actually know about nutrition and health is a lot smaller than the experts think. However, the problem is that the public has also come to that conclusion. The public has gone on to decide "that means my incredibly weakly-evidenced idea is just as good as the expert opinions" which does not follow and is often disastrously wrong. So I'm also sympathetic to the idea that the saturated fat picture is more complex than a blanket ban suggests. But I know better than to treat things like Brad's arguments as anything other than "interesting hypothesis" as opposed to "something we actually know about nutrition."
    • franktankbank 9mo ago
      Lived experience is not really weak evidence though. Personally I use tallow minimally but it seems like a really good high flash point oil.
      • gruez 9mo ago
        >but it seems like a really good high flash point oil. On what basis? Using the list of smoke point table someone else linked[1], tallow does indeed have a high smoke point, but it's unclear how it's better than many other oils in that list (peanut, sunflower, soybean) which are far easier to procure. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Smoke_point_of_cooking_oils https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Smoke_point_of_cookin...
• dyauspitr 9mo ago
  Beef tallow itself with its triglycerides cannot be healthy.
  • dmschulman 9mo ago
    It's not healthy in the least, but attempts to help fans understand why it is so are met with resistance due to ingrained biases and skepticism of the establishment. The pushback against "institutional nutrition" has been a long time coming and is honestly welcomed as health and nutrition science have evolved from the days of telling us to avoid all fat and offering consumers "low calorie" processed foods that didn't do our bodies much good. In the same way the bacon craze of the 2000s was a successful marketing effort from pork farmers, cattle farmers (and their lobbying groups) are now having a moment with beef and subsequent beef products. Good nutritional science has been pointing to many fats (but not all fats) actually being good for our diet, contrary to those old institutional guidelines, but there's a lot of nuance around adding fats back to a person's diet. Many aren't making the distinction between saturated vs unsaturated fat as well as UDL and LDL cholesterol that ends up in our bloodstream (one of those is not good for us!). But in an era of memes, misinformation, and context collapse good luck trying to have that more complicated discussion with people when the nutritional aspect is brought up (the book is closed on the flavor debate of course, it's delicious)
• paulnpace 9mo ago
  > relatively obscure cooking medium I guess I'm old now, because I remember when it was a big deal that McDonald's switched from using tallow.
  • wincy 9mo ago
    I listened to Malcom Gladwell talking about how McDonald’s switched from beef tallow, and decided to try the double fry method using tallow for myself. Deep frying your fries in beef tallow is an absolutely incredible experience, each bite is so rich and satisfying. We definitely lost something in the switch.
    • Workaccount2 9mo ago
      Don't worry, they are already salivating at the idea of a tallow renaissance, where they can do a viral marketing blast of "McDonalds Tallow fries"
      • bluGill 9mo ago
        Maybe. Tallow is more expensive so they are probably happy to charge less for fries to the majority that wouldn't pay extra for it. Keeping two different sets of fries is more headaches than they are likely to want to have.
        • jader201 9mo ago
          Why both? Just go back to beef tallow fries. Even if it’s more expensive, the marketing could bring back more customers. Worst case, they could increase the cost, and people would probably still pay it, given the current hype around tallow and people’s love for the former tallow fries.
          • bluGill 9mo ago
            I don't work for McDonald's, much less in any of the departments that would make this decision. I'm speculating, but I still stand by my claim that they won't do this: they need to arrange supply lines before they can make that switch - which would take years, the tide could change at any time in those years. That is why continue to stand by my claim, but I'm not an insider and so if they do something different - it won't be the first time I predicted the future and turned out wrong.
• m000 9mo ago
  As an outside observer of this beef tallow trend, it looks to me a lot like a fad driven by some internalized machismo: "It's not proper food if it's not from a dead animal." While this is not unique to the US, apparently believers of this in the US reached a critical mass enough to make it public policy. I don't doubt that one can find health benefits in beef tallow. But I also vividly remember ads in the 80s and 90s that promoted the health benefits of seed oils and margarines, which years later proved to be cherry-picked facts. So, I'm skeptical on whether we have the same thing happening, only now it is beef tallow that is promoted by cherry-picking studies. And frankly, RFKs "new pyramid" is at least misguided, if not worse. Bread and grains at the bottom of the pyramid make no sense. In mediterranean countries (e.g. Italy, Greece, Spain) bread and pasta are on the table in ample quantities every single day. And guess who has longer life expectancy than the US.
  • AstroBen 9mo ago
    The #1 thing to look out for in studies they reference is what's the replacement Saturated fat looks good when you replace trans fat Red meat looks to be neutral when you eeplace refined grains Doesn't mean there aren't better options though
  • UncleMeat 9mo ago
    This is my vibe too. There is a huge masculinism effort across not only the Trump administration but broader society. Just look at the number of "cereal, but for MEN" products that have cropped up in the last couple years. Relatedly, it is crazy to me that people don't see the value in gender studies as an academic field when so much of the past couple years has revolved around gender.
    • Cornbilly 9mo ago
      A lot of guys are very insecure because they’re overweight and sedentary and have a desk job (instead of working manual labor). And since the US is all about making your consumption your identity, the “x is masculine” marketing is like shooting fish in barrel.
    • strken 9mo ago
• friarpuck 9mo ago
  I was looking for duck fat to roast some potatoes in. The store didn't have it but they did have beef tallow. I gave it a shot. Worked great. I'd get it again
  • dataviz1000 9mo ago
    I would make Foie Gras Torchon which is Foie Gras that has been cured like gravlax and then wrapped in a cheese cloth (hence the name) and cooked slowly in duck fat, confit. I would end up with a 1/2 gallon of foie gras infused (normal) duck fat. Decided to make french fries using it. It was the best fries I have ever had. Nonetheless, I would never eat like that today.
• OptionOfT 9mo ago
  Beef tallow is how we used to fry fries in Belgium. First lower temp to cook, and then a higher temp to crisp up.
• boringg 9mo ago
  Someone on this thread is able to speak to the argument that has been made about beef being specifically the animal meat to not eat due to its ability to raise inflammation in the system. I had one of the top level specialists say that people with high cholesterol should only eat beef once a year due to its ability to raise inflammation in the circulatory system. Wouldn't beef tallow be along the same line? It's seems contradictory that beef tallow is the next greatest thing yet also ramping up inflammation internally. I can't square the circle here (I haven't done a deep dive though). [Edit: I looked into it --> Beef uniquely raises ApoB-containing particles in susceptible people + Saturated fat from beef down-regulates LDL receptors]. [Edit 2: Beef tallow is worse than eating beef since it is a concentrated version of what I wrote about in edit 1]
  • Geonode 9mo ago
    You're gonna need some sources for those claims.
    • 2358452 9mo ago
      The link between cardiovascular disease and general consumption of animal products (in comparison with diets with reduced or zero animal products) is by now extremely well established I believe. I believe in this case meta-analyses and large studies should be very informative (although understanding root causes is also important). All cause mortality also observed to be reduced, although to a lesser degree. Just from a cursory search, you can find tons of studies supporting this. It is not a controversial statement at all in scientific nutrition and medical fields. Some studies: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11537864/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11537864/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33951994/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33951994/ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-30455-9 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-30455-9 I think it's significant however that unhealthy plant based diets show increased mortality, so it's important to pay attention to what you eat in any case. It's also worth keeping in mind conflicts of interest and cultural aspects. I think probably there are strong interests in the side of animal products, although this is partisan in the US (and surely there is some lobbying from the opposite direction as well). Also I think culturally there's strong preference for animal products, in particular meat and beef consumption, almost everywhere. Of course, science is supposed to be resistant to conflicts of interest (and it is usually mandatory to disclose funding conflicts of interest), but not all studies are the same. Those conflicts being mostly in the other direction give me additional confidence there isn't a strong bias from those sources. Also I always like to mention you should supplement a plant based diet, with vitamin B12 and usually a few other vitamins. --- Also, for the more literally minded, it's obviously not simply due to the atoms from your food source having come from animals most recently that they're unhealthy, so it's also obviously theoretically possible to produce healthy animal-based foods (if only by transmuting their atoms with nuclear reactions), it's the particular proteins, fats and other compounds typically found tend to interact in unhealthy ways with our system. But that said it's also very significant (in favor of plants) that animals often suffer a lot in the production of those food products, and whether or not you consume them you have the responsibility to diminish their suffering.
• sergiotapia 9mo ago
  I wonder why there is this political line I see clear as day between people who advocate for beef tallow and people who say it's bad for you.
  • jhrmnn 9mo ago
    Is it perhaps https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schismogenesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schismogenesis?
• mkoryak 9mo ago
  Gift link: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/10/dining/beef-tallow-food-pyramid-rfk-jr.html?unlocked_article_code=1.EFA.1Ug2.UfiFLB3tIdd5&smid=nytcore-android-share https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/10/dining/beef-tallow-food-p...
• ksherlock 9mo ago
  What the hell? This story and (these comments) were from 3 days ago, but now the timestamps have been updated.