We occasionally have bacon in our house. It is often an ingredient, but sometimes we make it for dinner (BLTs) or a weekend brunch. I will not feel guilty about bacon. Just sayin.
We pour off the grease into a can, unless I'm truly lazy and let it congeal in the pan and then scrape it into the trash instead. This can sits on the counter by the sink. This can is gross.
I decided over Christmas--it's a convoluted story that involves listening to Pandora radio on my phone plugged into the car on a station I created out of classic and jazzy Christmas music and then there's Bing telling me to save grease to help support the troops in the 1940s--that I wouldn't just throw bacon grease away. As an added bonus, it would also no longer grace my kitchen counter.
Last night was our first bacon since Christmas. We poured the grease off into a can and let it cool in the sink. Stuck it in the fridge, where my parents used to keep a similar jar of grease. I'm sure Jake's parents did too. Or do.
I'm not sure what to do with bacon grease, really. I feel thrifty for saving it in the fridge, but then what?
Lucky for me, there is the internet. Google "uses for bacon grease" and there you go. The best answer I got was "anytime I need to cook something in oil or butter I think, 'will bacon grease do?'"
Probably not the healthiest choice, but a little bit of bacon flavor goes a long way. I'll report back my findings. I'm thinking most of it will wind up on greens this spring, frankly.
My mother ALWAYS cooked with bacon grease. Julia Child cooks with bacon grease, or at least she did, and many of her recipes call for bacon grease. We keep bacon grease at our house, in the frig. Great way to season up canned green beans. I use it when I cook a steak in the cast iron skillet, along with a little butter.
ReplyDeleteMmmm. I'm sure we'll be fine...
ReplyDeleteMmmmmm, bacon.
ReplyDeleteIn our house growing up, my mother had a big dish full of mutton fat, collected the same way, for roasting potatoes and more mutton. And we were all skinny too. Anything and everything in moderation.
Best cocktail nibbly I ever ate was almonds warmed in bacon grease.
ReplyDeleteI use mine to make popcorn, then sprinkle on BaconSalt. Then I eat the entire batch and smack any hands that try to reach for my bacon popcorn. Getcherown.
YES please report. We just had bacon on bison burgers tonight. But we pour all of the grease from everything into the same jar. I would write about how gross I noticed it was today (grease from ground beef and lamb and bacon, accumulated over the last few months) but...oh wait, I just did.
ReplyDeleteSo yes report! I love bacon. I also like Jules' idea.
bacon grease makes turkey bacon taste almost edible. and most other things very yummy, especially green beans and cornbread and eggs.
ReplyDelete