bacon grease storage

what is the best way to store bacon grease?

[bdachow]

Strain it through a paper towel into an old water glass and stash in the back of the fridge for those occasions calling for a little smoky porky goodness. Kale and white bean soup this weekend was one of those occasions.

[LeoLioness]

I let it cool and pour it into a tupperwear container that I keep topping off. I use it for frying potatoes and other vegetables, frying eggs, greasing the pan for cornbread, etc.

[Motosport]

I just use a paper hot cup. Pour in the hot grease and put it in the fridge where it gets hard. The cups don't leak and I top it off when I make more bacon. Simple and seems to las forever.

[Bill Hunt]

We have a little Pyrex container with a lid (it does not really seal), and our bacon grease goes into that.

I have saved a few jars, with a metal wire, and a gasket for the glass tops, but we have never employed them - yet.

Hunt

[Motosport]

I store bacon grease in the fridge for months without it going bad.

[mike0989]

I use an empty pint paint can which can be bought at the hardware store. Cost very little and seals nicely. when it's full, I tosss it.

Stored for future use or for future disposal ?

Future use, of course! I use it for cornbread, sauteing vegetables for quiches and pasta, sauteing "the Trinity" (onions, celery, and bell peppers) for jambalaya, black eyed peas, or anything that calls for fat. Bacon grease makes most everything better. My cast iron is seasoned in bacon grease and crisco.

Blue skies,
Catherine

Link: http://www.southernangel.com/bacongr....

[sylvan]

isn't that up to you????

[Bill Hunt]

For us - future use, and we seldom have THAT much, as we use it in many dishes.

Hunt

I suggest straining the grease. I use a metal funnel (plastic will melt from the hot fat) and paper coffee filters. I store it in the fridge in a screw top jar.

Freeze it flat in a small ziploc bag.

I use a bacon grease keeper, a little tin pot with a removable strainer that sits in the fridge. I'm having a hard time pulling up an image online (it's not the Fryer's Friend style strainer -- think cheap instead), but it's about 3 inches tall, 5 inches in diameter. Should be no more than $5-7 at a country hardware store or at Wally World.

I joke that at 25, I'm probably the youngest person in America who saves her bacon grease. :)

Catherine,

I have you beat by a couple of years! But, I do admit, I don't have a certified bacon grease keeper. :)

Allie

PS I don't strain, because I figure any little brownish bits -- that are already tiny -- add flavor... is that bad?

I don't strain my bacon grease either. I just store it in the frig and use it to fry potatoes in. Yummy! D.

P.S. Don't tell my doctor I do this.

No, you're actually the oldest person...the other's all died from heart disease! LOL!

Seriously a little won't kill you, but use judiciously. Women don't have to worry so much about clogged arteries while they are menstruating, but men are at risk if this is a regular part of the diet.

I saw an episode of Lydia on PBS where she was cooking sausages. She said that the fat that comes off is known as 'bad fat' or mal-something in Italian, meaning saturated fat and she pours it off after the sausages are browned and uses olive oil or another monosaturate to continue with the rest of the cooking.

[Bill Hunt]

As a guy, who does love a bit of bacon fat in many dishes, I concentrate on having that extra glass of red wine - every night, just to be safe.

Hunt

[njmarshall55]

I usually prick the sausage skin, boil them to get most of the fat out, THEN pan fry them. I know fat is where the flavor is, but still...there's enough for my taste.

[dndelaney]

At 21 I, too, save my bacon grease. I use it in a number of my Great-Grandmother's recipes from Ireland. It saves me time and mess over cooking bacon every time I want colcannon.
My question is, my Great-Grandmother and my Grandmother used to store their bacon grease on the counter near the stove. Everything I've read recently says it must be stored in the fridge. What is the truth? How long is it good for on my counter?

[diablo]

Storing it on the counter is the old school rule, but it will keep longer if you store it in the fridge. How long it will last varies, depending on room temp, etc. If you want to store it on the counter you should use it up pretty quickly---I'm pretty sure your g-ma's used it frequently, so less chance of spoilage...

[Bill Hunt]

My mother had one of those, but I have no idea what happened to it. The device was neat, and was always in her 'fridge. I have not seen one in decades. Need to go looking at a good hardware store.

Thanks for the tip, and for the memories.

Hunt

Depending on how much you usually use, you may find it convenient to get some ice cube trays to divide them into portions. This makes it a bit more convenient to freeze, too.

I keep it in the refrigerator in a glass jelly jar.

[Bill Hunt]

That is sort of what I have been shooting for. The "jelly jars," are the old-fashioned variety, with the wire closure, that holds the glass lid tightly. For some reason, we have just not moved from that little Pyrex container, and I have several jelly jars waiting. Maybe I'll surprise my wife?

Hunt

it goes into old fancy feast brand cat food tins and into the freezer.

[njmarshall55]

Never thought of that! Have used the coffee can before, but smaller container gives better portion control! And my cats go through enough cans of the FF, fer sure!

Don't know if it's the *best* way, but I pour it through a fine mesh strainer into a coffee can I've washed and saved just for that purpose. Once it's cooled enough not to melt the plastic lid, I cover it and store it in the refrigerator.

Do you mean to store it to throw out or to reuse? To use again to fry potatoes, etc., I put it in a jar and store in the frig. D.

I do occasionally use stored bacon fat; that's why I strain each new addition - just in case. When a coffee can gets full, though, I throw it out and start again. More often than not, though, it all eventually gets tossed out. Storing it in the fridge is just an easier way to get rid of it because I don't like the idea of pouring the hot grease down the drain and possibly causing problems.

what do you do with it?

Oh, you can do so many wonderful things with bacon grease. It sounds disgusting, but is splendid for frying eggs, and a tablespoon or two added to tougher greens like kale or mustard, adds marvelous flavor. And cornbread - add a bit to the batter and a bit to the pan and wow - very yummy.

I don't think it is highly recommended by physicians, except Atkins types, maybe.

[The Professor]

Nothing disgusting about it at all. Bacon fat and/or Fresh Pork fat are versatile and add great flavor to a lot of different foods, and as far as I'm concerned there are a lot of foods you just can't make properly without it. It is no worse for you than butter, and probably a lot better for you than margarines and other industrial fats/substitutes.

Like everything, you just shouldn't overdo it.

[Bill Hunt]

Marcia,

Sounds like you and my wife are twins, but from separate mothers.

+1 for everything that you said.

Hunt

[Bill Hunt]

We use it in many greens dishes, black-eyed peas, white Lima beans, and also in black iron skillets for fried eggs. I think that my wife uses it to grease her cornbread pans too.

I use it to fry onions for my French Three Onion Soup. One half of the Bermuda Onion gets really cooked down - almost burnt.

Same for my grandmother's Red Gravy, but as bacon is part of that recipe, there is always hot bacon grease in a skillet, so we do not need to go to the 'fridge.

Hunt

[Bill Hunt]

That lid would probably be better than our Pyrex container, but we use so much, that we've never had a problem.

Good idea,

Hunt