What do you do with bacon grease?

[rbohan]

I save it but end up tossing it out after the can is full. What can one use it for and does it require any prep?

[eight_inch_pestle]

With regards to health, I've found that mixing a little bacon fat with a healthier oil still lends a dish that subtle smoky meatiness while keeping your arteries open.

[Cherylptw]

My family is from the south, we use pork in a lot of dishes and the grease from bacon does not get thrown away. Growing up, my mom (now that I think of it, she still does) would keep her grease in a can on the stove. I keep mine in the fridge; it lasts forever. It can be kept in the freezer as well. I don't boil it or "clean" You may as well throw it away if you're going to do all that to it, you're removing the flavor.

That said, I use mine to season greens, dry beans and other vegetables. I love to use the part of the grease that has bacon bits at the bottom specifically for these dishes. It gets used to fry potatoes & onions, pan sauteed summer squash & zucchini, and to cook eggs in; it's great for a slow poached egg. I'll coat my griddle to cook pancakes as well as add it to biscuit & cornbread mix. Hot bacon vinaigrette uses the grease as well as the bacon to top a spinach salad. Pork chops benefit from being seared in bacon fat and you can sear pork tenderloin/pork loin and cook liver in it. The only time I throw mine away is if it gets scorched.

[Mayor of Melonville]

I do the same thing my mother and grandmother did: keep the bacon fat in a container in the fridge. I use it to fry all manner of things, but especially eggs and potatoes on cool mornings here in Georgia.

[Whats_For_Dinner]

I cook almost anything in it. Eggs, potatoes, other meats, mirepoix for soups (made a GREAT puree of broccoli soup last night with bacon fat as the base), stews... I've even used it in baked goods (those that are already bacon-themed, that is...)
This summer I even used it in place of butter when I was playing around with savoury mini phyllo tartlet shells filled with goat cheese and roasted veg. Mmm.

OT, perhaps, but my favourite use for duck fat is plain, on good warm bread, with a sprinkle of fleur de sel. HEAVEN.

[monopod]

Put it in a saline drip bag and inject directly into your veins. Ahhhh, that's the stuff.

[ChefJune]

Fry liver in it, potatoes, anything pretty much that you would fry. (not a good idea on an everyday basis, but once in a while... probably better for you than Crisco or some of the well-lnown "vegetable" oils -- which are hydrogenated.

[LauraGrace]

Good as a replacement for part of the fat in a cornbread recipe and to put in the bottom of the skillet.

Clean it (boil in lots of water, let cool and peel the solid fat off the now-bacony water) and use it in place of shortening, lard, etc. Cleaned, it's great in homemade tortillas, and if you can get it clean enough, it's fantastic in pie crust!

[ChiliDude]

That depends on your cholesterol levels...you know...total, HDL and LDL. If you have very low levels, make gravy with fresh grease, not stuff that has sat around in a jar for several days. Eggs can also be fried in it.

If your cholesterol levels are critically high, discard the stuff unless you have a bird feeder in your backyard. Then you can make a birdseed suet treat for the birds that winter over in your area if it is cold there now.