At Pedro's Island Eatery in North Rustico, owner Pedro Gameiro has long been not a fan of using seed oils for frying — so much so that he once considered removing fried foods from his menu altogether.

"So, I found an alternative… by going back to my roots," the Portuguese chef told This is P.E.I. podcast host Mitch Cormier.

That alternative is beef tallow, or rendered beef fat. Gameiro said Portuguese and Italian cooking methods often use animal fats like lard and beef fat for cooking as well as …