Walk into most restaurants today and your fried food will be cooked in vegetable oil. It’s cheaper, it’s easier, and most customers never notice the difference. But step into Ripsaw Saloon in Prentice, Wisconsin, and you’ll taste something different. Something better.
We never switched to vegetable oil. We still fry everything in beef tallow, just like we have for decades. And once you taste the difference, you’ll understand why we’ll never change. Ripsaw Saloon in Prentice. Read more Price County stories from across the web.
This isn’t nostalgia or stubbornness. It’s about flavor, quality, and serving food that actually tastes like something.
What Exactly is Beef Tallow?
Beef tallow is rendered beef fat. It’s what you get when you slowly melt down beef fat until the impurities separate out, leaving pure, stable cooking fat.
Good tallow is white when solid and clear when liquid. It has a high smoke point (around 400°F), which makes it excellent for frying. But the real magic is in the flavor.
Tallow has a rich, beefy flavor that vegetable oil completely lacks. It’s not overwhelming. It’s a subtle depth that improves whatever you’re frying rather than masking it.
The Great Switch: Why Everyone Else Changed
In the 1970s and 80s, most restaurants switched from animal fats to vegetable oils. The reasons seemed compelling at the time:
Cost: Vegetable oil was cheaper than quality tallow.
Convenience: Vegetable oil was easier to source consistently.
Health concerns: At the time, animal fats were being demonized while vegetable oils were promoted as healthier.
Supply chain: Large food distributors pushed vegetable oils because they were more profitable and easier to handle.
For most restaurants, the switch made business sense. Customers didn’t complain, costs went down, and operations became simpler.
But something was lost in the transition. Flavor.
The Flavor Difference: Why Tallow Wins
Depth and Complexity
Vegetable oil is essentially flavorless. It provides fat for cooking but adds nothing to the taste experience. Tallow adds a rich, savory depth that vegetable oil can’t match.
When you fry in tallow, the food absorbs some of that beefy flavor. It’s not like eating beef. It’s a subtle background note that makes the entire dish more satisfying.
Better Browning and Crisping
Tallow creates a superior crust on fried foods. The molecular structure of animal fat allows for better heat transfer and crisping.
Food fried in tallow comes out crispier on the outside while remaining moist inside. Vegetable oil often creates a softer, less defined crust.
Flavor Carry-Through
The flavor from tallow persists through the eating experience. That first bite has it, and the last bite has it. Vegetable oil fried food often tastes fine initially but becomes bland as you eat.
Mouthfeel
Tallow creates a different mouthfeel. Richer and more satisfying. There’s a substance to it that vegetable oil lacks.
The Health Debate: What We Now Know
The health arguments that drove the switch to vegetable oils have largely been debunked. We now understand that:
Natural fats aren’t the enemy: The demonization of saturated fats was oversimplified and often wrong.
Stability matters: Tallow is more stable at high heat than many vegetable oils, producing fewer harmful compounds during frying.
Processing concerns: Many vegetable oils are highly processed using chemicals and high heat, which can create unhealthy compounds.
Omega-6 imbalance: Most vegetable oils are high in omega-6 fatty acids, which can contribute to inflammation when not balanced with omega-3s.
Tallow, being a natural traditional fat, avoids many of these issues. It’s stable, minimally processed, and has been used safely for centuries.
The Practical Challenges of Sticking with Tallow
Sticking with tallow isn’t the easy choice. It requires:
Sourcing: Finding consistent, quality tallow suppliers.
Cost: Tallow is more expensive than commodity vegetable oils.
Handling: Tallow solidifies at room temperature, requiring different handling procedures.
Filtering: Tallow requires more careful filtering to maintain quality.
Education: Explaining to customers why we use it and why it’s better.
At Ripsaw, we decided these challenges were worth overcoming for the superior product we can serve.
What We Fry in Tallow
Wings
Our wings are the perfect example of tallow’s superiority. They come out incredibly crispy with a rich flavor that vegetable oil can’t replicate. The skin renders perfectly, becoming crackly rather than soggy.
Fish Fry
Friday fish fry is Wisconsin tradition, and tallow makes it better. The fish develops a golden-brown crust that stays crisp even under tartar sauce. The flavor enhancement is subtle but noticeable.
Appetizers
Everything from mozzarella sticks to onion rings benefits from tallow frying. The cheese melts properly without leaking, and the coatings stay adhered better.
Even Unexpected Items
We’ve found that even items you might not associate with tallow. Like french fries or jalapeño poppers. Taste better fried in tallow.
Customer Reactions: They Notice the Difference
We regularly get comments from customers who notice something different about our fried food. They can’t always pinpoint it, but they know it’s better.
Some recognize it immediately as “that old-fashioned taste”, the way fried food tasted before the switch to vegetable oils.
Others are surprised when we explain we use beef tallow. Many assume it would taste beefy or heavy, but it’s actually a subtle enhancement.
The most common reaction is, “I don’t know what it is, but this is the best fried food I’ve had.”
The Economic Reality: Why It’s Worth It
Using tallow costs us more money. significantly more. But we believe it’s worth it for several reasons:
Quality differentiation: In a world of sameness, we stand out.
Customer loyalty: People come back specifically for our fried food.
Pride in product: We’re proud to serve the best version of everything we make.
Tradition: We’re preserving a way of cooking that’s disappearing.
Word of mouth: People tell others about our food, bringing in new customers.
The extra cost is an investment in quality that pays returns in customer satisfaction and reputation.
The Broader Movement: Others Returning to Tallow
Recently, we’ve noticed a trend of restaurants rediscovering tallow. High-end chefs are using it for its flavor properties. Artisanal producers are making small-batch tallow for discerning customers.
Even some fast-food chains have experimented with returning to tallow frying for their fries, recognizing the superior flavor.
It seems the industry is coming full circle, realizing that the switch to vegetable oils sacrificed flavor for convenience.
Why Wisconsin Bars Are Natural Holdouts
Wisconsin has always been practical about food. We care more about how it tastes than about food trends or what’s supposedly healthier this week.
There’s also a stubborn independence in Wisconsin culture. If we like something and it works, we’re not likely to change just because everyone else is.
Many Wisconsin bars never switched because their customers would have noticed and complained. The regulars at these places have palates attuned to how food should taste.
At Ripsaw, our regulars would revolt if we switched to vegetable oil. They’ve come to expect and appreciate the quality that tallow provides.
How to Identify Tallow-Fried Food
If you’re wondering whether a place uses tallow, there are telltale signs:
The crust: Tallow-fried food has a distinct crispness and color.
The aroma: There’s a rich, savory smell that vegetable oil lacks.
The aftertaste: Tallow-fried food leaves a pleasant, satisfying aftertaste rather than a greasy feeling.
The menu: Places that use tallow often mention it proudly.
The price: Tallow-fried food often costs more, reflecting the higher ingredient cost.
The Ripsaw Commitment
At Ripsaw Saloon, we’re committed to keeping the tallow tradition alive. We believe that:
Quality matters: Our customers deserve the best possible version of everything we serve.
Tradition has value: Some things were done a certain way for good reasons.
Flavor is everything: If it doesn’t taste better, why change?
Honesty in ingredients: We’re transparent about what we use and why.
We’ll continue sourcing quality tallow, maintaining our frying equipment, and educating customers about why our fried food tastes different.
Come Taste the Difference
If you’ve never experienced food fried in beef tallow, come visit us at Ripsaw Saloon. Order the wings, the fish fry, or any of our fried appetizers.
Pay attention to the crispness, the flavor, the In general eating experience. Then compare it to what you get elsewhere.
We’re confident you’ll taste the difference. And once you do, you’ll understand why some Wisconsin bars never switched. And why we’re winning the flavor war because of it.
Good food is worth the extra effort. At Ripsaw, we’ve always believed that, and our commitment to beef tallow is proof. Come taste what you’ve been missing.
See also: our complete Price County fishing guide, our guide to free camping in Wisconsin and Cultural Mosaic: Immigrant Communities and Heritage in Price County
See also: our complete Price County dining guide
Frequently Asked Questions
What is beef tallow and why do some Wisconsin bars use it for frying?
Beef tallow is rendered beef fat that was the standard frying medium in American restaurants for decades before vegetable oils took over. It produces a richer, more savory flavor and crispier texture than vegetable oil. Some Wisconsin bars, including Ripsaw Saloon in Prentice, never switched because the taste difference is unmistakable.
Is beef tallow healthier than vegetable oil for frying?
The health comparison between beef tallow and vegetable oil is nuanced. Tallow is higher in saturated fat but free from the trans fats created when vegetable oils are heated to frying temperatures. As of 2026, nutritional science increasingly recognizes that the stability of animal fats at high heat may make them a better choice for deep frying than polyunsaturated vegetable oils.
Can I still find beef tallow fried food in Price County?
Yes, Ripsaw Saloon, 1117 Railroad Ave, Prentice, WI 54556, (715) 428-2042 continues to fry with beef tallow, producing fish fries, fried chicken, and other menu items with the distinctive rich flavor that keeps locals and visitors coming back.
Why did most restaurants switch from tallow to vegetable oil?
See also: supper clubs within an hour of Price County
The switch from tallow to vegetable oil
The switch from tallow to vegetable oil in the 1980s and 1990s was driven by health campaigns targeting saturated fat and by the lower cost of vegetable oil. However, many food historians and chefs now argue that the switch sacrificed flavor and potentially introduced new health concerns from oxidized seed oils.
What does beef tallow fried food taste like compared to vegetable oil?
Beef tallow fried food has a noticeably richer, more savory flavor with a crispier exterior that holds up longer. The difference is most apparent with french fries, fried fish, and fried chicken—items where the cooking fat is a major flavor component rather than just a cooking medium.