This Beloved Fried Chicken Chain Uses Beef Tallow For Frying

It might sound strange to fry the meat of one animal in the fat of a different species altogether, but beef tallow turns out to be one of the secret ingredients that helps make Popeyes fried chicken so delicious. In a world where there is plenty of canola, peanut, and palm oil to fry with, why might the chain cook its chicken in rendered beef fat? There are a few reasons. 

First, fat carries flavor, whether that's ice cream spreading vanilla across your tastebuds as it melts, or in tallow's case, rich, savory beef. Not that Popeyes fried chicken tastes like chicken fried steak. The tallow's glutamic acids simply lend an undercurrent of umami, the savory flavor we associate with Parmesan, soy sauce, and good old MSG. Beef tallow also has a smoke point of 400 degrees Fahrenheit, meaning it won't burn and release unpleasant and harmful compounds at the high temperatures needed for Popeyes' juicy, crispy chicken. The final touch? Tallow is high in saturated fat, which helps keep Popeyes' famously crunchy fried chicken from getting soft or soggy while waiting in the kitchen's warming rack. And Popeyes doesn't just fry its signature chicken in the tallow. The same goes for its Cajun fries and seafood too.

Popeyes was not always Popeyes, and despite brand tie-ins with the cartoon sailor, the chain isn't named after that Popeye either. Popeyes founder Al Copeland first tried his hand at Southern Fried Chicken with Chicken on the Run in 1972. The restaurant originated in Arabi, Louisiana, in 1972 ... and then closed just a few months later. Copeland quickly changed his recipe to the spicy chicken we still enjoy to this day, and reopened as Popeyes Mighty Good Chicken, named after Gene Hackman's character in "The French Connection," Detective Popeye Doyle. And yes, Popeyes has always used beef tallow. It continued to stick with the animal fat even as other fast food establishments like McDonald's caved to pressure to switch to vegetable oils.

After suffering a brutal heart attack in 1966, the ultra-wealthy Phil Sokolof successfully dedicated his life to lobbying not just against McDonald's deep frying practices, but all fat in Americans' diets. McDonald's eventually decided switching to vegetable oil would make for a healthier compromise, and beef tallow has since nearly evaporated from all fast food. But much in the same way popular consensus seems to tilt back and forth on the health benefits or hazards of red wine and coffee so has gone the science on the health of beef tallow. If you find yourself in favor of the cow fat, here are five other restaurant chains besides Popeyes that cook with beef tallow.