Bacon grease.

[vash]

you save it?

how long does it last in the fridge..is there a refrigerator-shelf life?

you just keep it in a jar? you strain it first?

i dont save it, ever. but last night i made a pasta dish, that started with bacon and saute onions..the smell was intoxicating, and the final dish had a fantastic smokiness and richness..
thinking i might be missing something tossing the grease.

i buy hipster artisanal bacon, since i rarely eat it. it has no injected water and makes nice pool of grease.

[GH85Carrera]

My grandmother-in-law raised 5 kids several miles outside of Ames, OK. No running water, no electricity, through the dust bowl years, and into the early 1980s. They did not get electricity until the 1950s.

She had to feed farm hands, and a flock of hungry kids. She saved every scrap of anything that could be eaten. Old bacon geese, chicken fat, and grease for hamburger meat. She would make the next few meals with those scraps. She lived to age 98. She gave up on living because she had outlived all her friends, and several kids killed in accidents.

My grandparents all saved all that same stuff, and even re-used aluminum foil and bread wrappers.

No, we don't keep it now, or any grease or old chicken fat. Food is too cheap in this country to bother.

[asphaltgambler]

Yes, I save it, do not filter. I pour the leavins into a small plastic container with a sealed lid, keeping it in the fridge using it for future recipes like my world famous grilled hamburgers. I'll tell you a little goes a long way in flavour. IE: 2 lbs ground chuck, I would add @1 oz of liquefied bacon leavins with other basic seasonings, mix thoroughly the use hand press to form @1/4 patties.

It's a wonderful addition to a lot of different cooking, but also adds saltiness. So if adding that youll need to back off of salt in your recipe.

[id10t]

Save it in a old plastic coffee can, toss in trash when full and/or stinky. Dont' want grease going into my plumbing and septic system.

When I want/need bacon grease to cook with (gravy, biscuits, etc) I usually need/want bacon to go with, so I get it "fresh".

Dog always gets a few drops on her kibble when I have it...

[dan88911]

Spread that solid bacon grease on bread and have a bacon grease sandwich.




Just kidding.

[ckelly78z]

We get thick cut, maple syrup glazed bacon from the Kroger deli....it sizzles up to perfection, then cook some over easy eggs in the grease.

This has to be healthier than some of the GMO meats, with addatives, and preservatives. We usually do this on a Saturday morning before working hard on the farm all day, when you need something to stick to your ribs.

[RKDinOKC]

Mom always kept a mason jar of bacon grease in the fridge. She poured the bacon grease into thru a couple layers of cheese cloth or paper towel so it was white with no actual little pieces of bacon. Just kept adding to it and using from it, never replaced it.

Sure made fantastic pancakes!

Would use one now, but don't have bacon often enough to keep.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by dan88911

Spread that solid bacon grease on bread and have a bacon grease sandwich.

Just kidding.

When I was in Romania, they would use salted lard on bread, sprinkled with paprika.

[tabs]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

My grandmother-in-law raised 5 kids several miles outside of Ames, OK. No running water, no electricity, through the dust bowl years, and into the early 1980s. They did not get electricity until the 1950s.

She had to feed farm hands, and a flock of hungry kids. She saved every scrap of anything that could be eaten. Old bacon geese, chicken fat, and grease for hamburger meat. She would make the next few meals with those scraps. She lived to age 98. She gave up on living because she had outlived all her friends, and several kids killed in accidents.

My grandparents all saved all that same stuff, and even re-used aluminum foil and bread wrappers.

No, we don't keep it now, or any grease or old chicken fat. Food is too cheap in this country to bother.

Well ain't you livin high on the hog with your being wasteful and all.

I don't see nothin wrong wih keeping and reusing AL foil, pie pans etc , bread wrappers, egg cartons, Mayo jars, toilette paper rollers and the such. They mighen come in handy someday.

[tabs]

Just look at yourselves and see how wasteful you have become...you can because you all think you can afford it. What you all have forgotten is that in reality you are still Kmart shoppers.

[ckelly78z]

Originally Posted by tabs

Well ain't you livin high on the hog with your being wasteful and all.

I don't see nothin wrong wih keeping and reusing AL foil, pie pans etc , bread wrappers, egg cartons, Mayo jars, toilette paper rollers and the such. They mighen come in handy someday.

I would hate to think how many plastic resealable containers we have around the place, along with a stack of egg cartons for all the eggs our chickens lay (generally give them away to friends/family), and pie pans also......no need to be wasteful.

[kach22i]

I have several cast iron pans that I'm constantly greasing with bacon fat.

I keep a small glazed ceramic or glass bowl open in the refrigerator, no cover/top.

It has it's own designated corner on the upper left as it's like an old 911, it marks it territory.

Often I will use a little of the fat to get the saute onions started, will supplement with olive oil or real butter.

The best use of bacon fat is to wet your pan with it so that turkey bacon taste like something edible.

[74-911]

Originally Posted by asphaltgambler

.....It's a wonderful addition to a lot of different cooking, but also adds saltiness. .

My parents used to keep a "bacon grease container" on the stove. It had a perforated strainer under the lid which filtered larger pieces of stuff out of the grease when it was poured into the container.

One thing the grease was used for was "wilted lettuce salad" .... good stuff and I'm sure the AMA gives it a seal of approval... :-)

i.e.:
Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. ...
To the hot bacon drippings, add vinegar, lemon juice, sugar and pepper. Stir over medium heat until hot.
In a large bowl, combine the lettuce and green onions. Add the warm dressing and toss to evenly coat.

[RKDinOKC]

Oh yeah, wilted lettuce...yum.

[Rickysa]

yep...cook with it all the time.

when the fridge gets full, we freeze it.

[Rick Lee]

I keep it in an old spaghetti sauce jar by the stove, not refrigerated. I use maybe a tsp of it each day to fry an egg. These days I really only eat bacon so I can collect the grease when I need more of it.

[epbrown]

I used to save it for cooking, but I haven't had bacon in years, thank goodness. You know the old saying "there's no such thing as leftover bacon?" With me there was no such thing as unused bacon - if I had it, I cooked it and I ate little else until there was no bacon left. I did a 10 mile run once and I could swear my sweat smelled like hickory - I took that as a sign...

[OK-944]

For a bit of decadence...try popping popcorn in a bit of bacon grease - not bad! (you can cut the grease with an equal amount of the usual peanut oil to make it a bit "healthier" and less smoky)

Also...I think the very best cornbread is created by pouring the batter into a bacon-grease anointed cast iron skillet (even better when left over bacon-bits are present!) - then either pre-crisp a bit on top of the stove prior to placing in oven, or place in oven on a low rack - and do this before the oven is completely pre-heated...to give the bottom a bit of extra "crisping time."

Back in the day...my mom would fry up some bacon and leave the grease in the skillet for the eggs which followed. She'd do these sunny side up - and spoon the hot bacon grease over them as they cooked. Result...eggs with pink yolks! She got quite a reputation for this!

[OK-944]

ps...about that cornbread - pre heat the skillet prior to pouring in the batter so it sizzles nicely right away! Then pop into the oven.

[stevej37]

bacon grease make the best 'egg in a hole'
the bread ends up being crispy and delicious