Tallow, tallow, give it to me, give it to me: Teddy's Vinegar Vibe Tallow Chips

When I first saw these chips, I immediately began singing Porcupine Tree's "Shallow" in my head with the song's title replaced by "tallow". Personally, I think Steven Wilson would be proud to have his radio-friendly riff rocker in a mashup with rendered beef fat. 

I found these Teddy's Tallow Chips in the organic/artisanal junk food aisle at Woodman's. Since buying this bag I have discovered a second brand of tallow fried chips laden with salt and vinegar there which makes me wonder if tallow chips are having their micro-moment of trendiness.

The brand has a story not unlike that of Jackson's: Katherine Horvath found that her son Teddy had severe food allergies so he couldn't eat most snack foods. Mom then tested various options and found that her son could eat potato chips friend in tallow without a reaction.

Oddly enough, Teddy's, like Jackson's, hails from suburban Milwaukee - Cedarburg, in this case.

Tallow, in case you were wondering, is rendered beef fat. That is, beef fat cooked slowly so that, upon melting, the fat can be separated from any non-fat bits. 

The bag had "Subtle Tang" on the front so I wasn't expecting a vinegar overload. Still, I looked forward to trying these as I had never had tallow fried chips.

I found them to be of a darker hue of yellow and brown spots were not uncommon. They had been very thinly sliced and looked fragile. I didn't spy many bubbles on the surface of the chips. I read that tallow has a high smoke point and wonder if one fries chips at the same temp in tallow as seed oils. Being thin means less cooking time so perhaps this accounts for the lack of bubbling.

The aroma was beefy with an earthy spud scent beneath.

Crisp and tallowy is how my notes say they tasted. I think they went easy on the salt but the salinity increases the further down the bag you go. The bag did not lie as I found them to have a subtle tang as advertised. The potato flavor was sweeter than the aroma.

It would have been interesting to have tasted Teddy's chips not knowing they were friend in tallow. Would I have picked up on the animal fat? These really do have an earthy, beefy flavor to my tongue. Seed oils give a "cleaner" flavor, one that is sharper, maybe? Less earthy.

These were very tasty chips though I would have preferred more tanginess.

I'm going to (eat) Jackson('s): Jackson's Kettle Cooked Sea Salt & Vinegar potato chips

Where did I find these? Woodman's? At least my tasting happened this year and not last fall. Playing catch-up - slowly but surely.

This sampling happened last month.

Jackson's! 

Besides a different taste, is there something beyond gimmickry to frying in avocado oil? Is it healthier? Better for the environment? I guess it's not a seed oil which found themselves being demonized for reasons I do not comprehend not that long ago. Avocado oil isn't cheap so perhaps using it is supposed to give a "premium" vibe - chips for the well-heeled.

Here's the company's story, in brief.

Megan and Scott Reamer's son, Jackson, was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder and they found that a high-fat diet rich in "premium fats" benefited him. Aha!

I also see here that it's a Wisconsin company. They're in Muskego, part of the greater Milwaukee area and I like to support my local chipsmitheries. 

The camera on my phone auto-boosts brightness and either has a lousy auto-white balance or it f***s with color. I have turned off every photo enhancement setting I can find yet many photos, especially those with bright colors, end up slightly washed out. So apologies for the photo.

The chips were actually of a medium dark yellow not the near white you see above. There were some brown edges and minimal bubbles. They were cut thicklier than your normal chip. I was happy to catch a big vinegar aroma, so much so, in fact, that it hurt my nose. "A good portent," I thought to myself. Potato came next with oil trailing in third. Very odd. Oil is usually the primary smell. "Another good portent," I figured.

They were crunchy as I expected considering their thickness. Plus they were kettle cooked. I was surprised that the potato flavor was way out front with a nice sweet-earthy balance. Salt level seemed average while the vinegar tang was medium-light, a disappointment considering it was so prominent a smell and had caused me some mild olfactory distress.

My notes end with "Fine but needs more tang."