Why Tallow Is A Win Win

Along with lard, tallow – beef fat – was the standard for frying before the cheaper seed
oils came along. But in recent years, canola oil and vegetable oil have been rising in price, and
now is at par with the price of tallow. Peanut oil is significantly higher in cost than tallow. The
average wholesale price of canola oil is nine cents per ounce making it equal with tallow in
price. Peanut oil is $.11 per ounce, almost 20% higher.
Is moving to tallow for frying a good move? Let me count the ways:

1. Marketing. It’s a great marketing point that your restaurant doesn’t fry with seed oils like
   canola or peanut or soy oil. Tallow is a natural food free of chemicals.
2. For health, tallow has none of the inflammation-causing linoleic acid that the seed oils
   have, and there’s no chance traces of hexane – a hydrocarbon used in the seed oil
   processing – present in tallow.
3. Allergans. Soy and peanut allergies have become more common. Tallow allergies are
   rare.
4. Financial. My restaurant used 850 lb of peanut oil per month. Switching to tallow saved
   $272 per month on average. And, to those who repeat the mantra I used to say, “Peanut
   oil is good enough for Chick-fil-a!”, the great chicken champ will have to change direction
   on this point within the next several years.
5. Tallow v Lard. There are no religious dietary restrictions to worry about with tallow.
6. Taste. Tallow kicks up the taste of your fried foods a couple of notches.
7. Durability. Tallow has a high smoke point and lasts longer than any other oil. With a
   good oil filtration system, tallow should last at least a week at a medium-volume
   restaurant ($1M to $2M annually).
   
   
   The only con against tallow could be, What would you say to vegans? Vegetarians don’t eat
   meat, so oil is not an issue. Vegans have a more religious view, although 20% are not purists.
   Thus, if the potential vegan clientele is significant, there is another option of maintaining an
   avocado oil fryer or, for lesser volumes, frying orders for vegans on the stove top. Just
   remember to save the leftover oil and cool it down each time.