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To make tallow-fried fries at home, cut skin-on russets into 1/4-inch sticks, soak and dry them, fry once in beef tallow at 325°F until soft, then again at 375°F until crisp. It's the same double-fry method fry shops use, scaled down for a single pot on the stove.
At a glance: Tallow-Fried Fries at Home: ready in 1 hour 10 minutes, serves 4, cooked in beef tallow, with no seed oils.
More restaurants are frying in beef tallow again, and big snack brands now sell tallow-cooked fries and chips. (Our explainer on tallow vs seed oils at restaurants covers what's changing and what the health debate says.) You don't need a commercial fryer to get the same result. These are thinner, skin-on fries than our classic thick-cut tallow French fries, so they cook faster and come out extra crunchy.
Why tallow works for fries
Beef tallow is mostly saturated and monounsaturated fat, so it stays stable at frying temperatures and can be strained and reused. It also gives fries a savoury, beefy flavour. To see how it compares with other fats, read tallow vs ghee or our smoke point guide.
Small-pot tips
- Fill the pot no more than halfway. The fat bubbles up when the potatoes go in.
- Fry in small batches. Crowding drops the temperature and makes greasy fries.
- Use a thermometer. The two temperatures, 325°F then 375°F, are what make the double fry work.
- Never leave hot fat unattended, and keep a lid nearby to smother a flare-up. Never use water on a fat fire.
Tallow-Fried Fries at Home
Serves 4 · Prep 15 min plus 30 min soaking · Cook 25 min · Total 1 hr 10 min
Ingredients
- 2 lb (900 g) russet potatoes (about 3 large), scrubbed, skin on
- 1.5 quarts (1.4 L) beef tallow, enough for 2 to 3 inches in the pot
- 1 tsp fine sea salt, or to taste
Equipment
- Heavy, deep pot or Dutch oven
- Deep-fry thermometer
- Wire rack set over a tray, or paper towels, and a slotted spoon or spider
- Lodge Essential Enamel Dutch Oven, 6 qt: A deep, heavy enamelled pot keeps the tallow temperature steady and contains splatter.
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Check price on Amazon - Taylor Deep Fry Thermometer, Pan Clip: Clips to the pot so you can hold the fat at frying temperature. Check price on Amazon
Method
- Cut. Cut the potatoes lengthwise into 1/4-inch (6 mm) slices, then into 1/4-inch sticks. Keep them even so they cook at the same rate.
- Soak. Soak the sticks in a large bowl of cold water for 30 minutes to rinse off surface starch, then drain.
- Dry. Dry the fries thoroughly with a clean kitchen towel. Wet potatoes make hot fat spit and steam instead of fry.
- Heat the tallow. Melt the tallow in a heavy, deep pot, filling it no more than halfway, and heat to 325°F (163°C) on a deep-fry thermometer.
- First fry. Fry in small batches for 3 to 4 minutes, until the fries are soft and pale but not browned. Lift out onto a wire rack or a paper-towel-lined tray and let them rest for at least 10 minutes.
- Second fry. Raise the tallow to 375°F (190°C). Fry the blanched fries in batches for 2 to 3 minutes, until deep golden and crisp.
- Salt and serve. Drain on the rack or paper towel, salt straight away while hot, and serve at once.
- Save the tallow. Let the tallow cool, strain it through a fine sieve, and store it covered in the fridge to reuse for frying.
Storing and reheating
Fries are best eaten straight away. To revive leftovers, spread them on a tray and reheat in a hot oven or air fryer until crisp again. Strained tallow keeps covered in the fridge and can be reused for more frying.
New guide: How to deep fry in beef tallow at home, with USDA frying temperatures, grease-fire safety and how to strain and reuse the fat.
Frequently asked questions
What temperature do you fry tallow fries at?
Fry them twice: first at 325°F (163°C) for 3 to 4 minutes until soft, then at 375°F (190°C) for 2 to 3 minutes until golden and crisp.
How much beef tallow do I need to fry fries at home?
About 1.5 quarts (1.4 L), enough for 2 to 3 inches of fat in a heavy, deep pot that is no more than half full.
Can you reuse tallow after frying fries?
Yes. Let it cool, strain it through a fine sieve, and store it covered in the fridge to use again for frying.
Do I have to soak the potatoes?
Soaking the cut fries in cold water for 30 minutes rinses off surface starch. Dry them thoroughly afterwards so the hot fat doesn't spit.
Prefer the air fryer? My Seed-Oil-Free Air Fryer Cookbook has classic tallow French fries, double-cooked tallow steak fries and 89 more recipes cooked in tallow, ghee, butter and other traditional fats.
Part of: Beef Tallow Recipes · Shop the pantry →
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