Not Butter, Not Oil — Rub Baked Potatoes In This For The Most Flavorful, Crispy Skin

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Starchy, fluffy baked potatoes are incredibly versatile, whether served piping hot with a pat of butter or piled high with your favorite toppings for a simple and satisfying main course. (Our latest indulgence is giving your spud the Greek-style treatment.) While potatoes are typically coated with vegetable or canola oil — and salt, of course — before baking, beef tallow does the same job while infusing the potatoes with an extra punch of savory, meaty flavor.

Like its pork counterpart, lard, beef tallow is made by rendering beef fat or trimmings. A shelf-stable cooking fat prized for its high smoke point (generally around 400 to 480 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on how it's rendered and refined), beef tallow is well suited to high-heat cooking methods, including frying, roasting, and baking. It was once a staple in American kitchens before other cooking oils containing less saturated fat became more mainstream in the 1990s. Today, it's having a moment, with chefs and even major chains making the switch back, touting it for both its health properties and its taste when using it for anything from fries to steaks. There are so many great, simple ways to cook with beef tallow, and when it comes to baked potatoes, it delivers an irresistibly crisp skin with a satisfying boost of umami.

When making tallow-rubbed baked potatoes at home, start with a large russet or Idaho potato, scrubbing it thoroughly to remove any dirt or grit. Pat it dry, then rub a generous coating of beef tallow and salt over the entire skin. Remember to pierce the potato several times with a fork to allow steam to escape during baking. It should take 45 minutes to an hour in a 450-degree Fahrenheit oven, or until the skin is crisp and a fork slides easily into the center. 

Remove the potato from the oven, slice it open, and serve with your toppings of choice. The result is a baked potato with a deeply savory, meaty flavor that offers a delicious alternative to one prepared with neutral oil. You can also adapt this method to sweet potatoes, whose natural sugars develop a caramelized crust in the oven, resulting in a potato that's both sweet and deeply savory. Whichever potato you choose, be mindful not to bake it for too long or at too high a temperature, as the tallow can develop an unpleasant bitterness.

Beef tallow can be purchased on Amazon or sourced locally from your neighborhood farmers' market or butcher. It can also be made at home by slowly melting beef fat and trimmings — cut into similarly sized cubes for even heat distribution — in a pot or slow cooker until they render into a clear, golden-yellow fat with a distinctively beefy aroma. The liquid fat is then strained and, when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, can last for 12 to 24 months, giving you ample time to put it to work on your baked potatoes.