Favorite uses of bacon fat/grease

[juliejulez]

So I have a container of bacon fat/grease/whatever you want to call it that I've collected. There's not a lot, maybe 1/2 or 3/4 of a cup. Other than making potatoes or eggs, what are some of your favorite uses of bacon fat?

Like for example, can I use it for cooking a steak in a cast iron pan? I also have a spice cake recipe that calls for bacon fat but I can't have a cake sitting around my house, there's only 2 of us.

[laserbeams]

OMG we make these gingerbread cookies with the bacon fat that are simply amazing!!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

[tcamp]

Throw some in the pan whenever you are preparing to sautee onions.

Fried rice.

Warm bacon dressing for spinach or kale salad.

[gansu girl]

I grew up eating lots of things cooked in bacon grease - my parents were cheap (ahem, "frugal"). All the suggestions for greens are great, but the number one thing I used to love as a kid, and still crave, is popcorn popped in bacon grease. It is just so flippin' good. But really, in my mind, there is not much that a lil' kiss of bacon won't improve!

GG
http://www.semisweetonline.com

[Chef_Ben]

New England clam chowder is one, add some in that, it will make it loads better. Also use it in red sauce. To make a simple red sauce in minutes, get a 24 oz can of tomato sauce, a tiny can of tomato paste, dried oregano, basil, garlic powder and onion powder. Heat up the sauce, add about 1tsp basil, a dash of oregano, 1T onion powder, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 to 2 T bacon fat, and drizzle a little olive oil in it for good measure. Let it all simmer a few hours, then add the tomatoe paste to thicken if desired. Just add, then whisk till it breaks up, keep doing that until its thick enough for you.

Bacon fat coats the mouth, that's why it's so good, same with butter. Use it in gravies, soups, and sauces. It's hard to go wrong.

Just remember, health food nuts that preach how horrible it is, are simply nuts. No food will kill you, just eat if in moderation. Steak, bacon, pork chops, bread, it's all health food just don't gorge yourself. You could eat 4 or 5 pieces of crisp bacon a day every day of your life and live well into your 80's or 90's. eat 2 or 3 pounds of bacon a day and you'll have a heart attack before your 40th bday lol. A trick to getting full with less food, use smaller plates. The food on the plates, even if it's a smaller serving will seem like it's a lot more than it is. Before you know it, you'll be eating less and won't be able to come close to eating large servings of anything.

[Antilope]

Bacon gravy over biscuits or potatoes or even toast. Made just like you would make sausage gravy (hot drippings, flour, milk, salt & pepper and even a pat of butter as a finishing touch). Crumble some bacon into the gravy.

[Berheenia]

I would never think of making chili or beef stew without having bacon fat to saute the meat and onions in. I keep it in pyrex custard dishes in the freezer.

[Lady_Tenar]

Another excellent use that I forgot to mention! Although if I don't have bacon fat on hand for chili, I will just use lard. Pork fat is a necessity, though.

[hotoynoodle]

you can use it to grease the pan for scallops, shrimp or salmon too.

it keeps in the freezer for about forever too.

[Lady_Tenar]

Ooh, I forgot about scallops! You can use it to make a warm bacon vinaigrette for the scallops served over greens too.

[jmcarthur8]

Hominy cooked in bacon fat is one of my morning comfort foods.

[sandylc]

I drizzle it over washed/torn kale pieces before toasting them into chips.

[Lady_Tenar]

ooh! What a brilliant idea! The oven is not too hot for the drippings? I tend to make kale chips at a pretty high temp so they get nice and crispy but I'm worried the drippings would smoke and/or give the kale a nasty taste if the oven is too high. What's your method?

[sandylc]

425 for about 10 minutes. I only use a little bit of bacon fat. Keeps well in a glass container in the fridge. Really light and crisp! And I love the irony of bacon and kale, healthwise....!

[JonParker]

A couple of weeks ago I posted this recipe that specifically calls for a roux of flour and bacon drippings: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/874080

[gordeaux]

Add a good spoonful of it to your normal oil just before throwing veggies into the wok for a stir fry.

[kseiverd]

After a use cast iron, and if I have to rinse it out rather than just a paper towel wipe, will get the pan HOT on burner (to dry it completely) and then a dab of bacon grease rubbed around to recoat.

My Grandmother always used bacon grease to shallow fry crab cakes... only way I do them.

Try making REAL popcorn with BG instead of oil.

Actually had "breakfast for dinner" tonight... pancakes. Recipe called for 2 T oil... I subbed melted BG.

Fry diced up potatoes/onions/carrots in BG... I call that "hash browns".

Remember "old" lady nextdoor when I was a kid. She'd make fried cabbage. She'd start with a few strips of bacon... cooked till crispy, pulled outta pan and crumbed to be tossed over top. Then lots of chunked up cabbage (onion can be added) in sam big HOT cast iron skillet till "done" and a bit browned. Crumbled bacon tossed back in and a liberal splash of cider vinegar.

[thymetobake]

Flour tortillas. Either use in the dough for home made, or grease the skillet when heating up store bought. Makes a lot of difference.

[mariacarmen]

did anyone see this: http://www.chow.com/recipes/30155-bac...

you'd probably need more bacon fat, tho...

[biondanonima]

I've made it before - I didn't love it as much as I thought I would. Because bacon grease is solid at fridge temp, it made the mayo weirdly hard out of the fridge and it had a very heavy, greasy mouthfeel. And this is coming from someone who enjoys eating butter straight up.

[mariacarmen]

oh, that's not good!

i had no idea, kindred spirit.... i'm a straight butter-eater too.

[mwhitmore]

I would think this is more like a Hollandaise than a Mayonnaise. Good warm when you make it (fat cooled only a few minutes, so still warm) but no good to save and refridgerate. I haven't tried it but it is now on my to-do list.

[chowser]

pan fry chicken nuggets
fried rice

[petek]

French toast fried/cooked in bacon fat is real good!!

[juliejulez]

I did this this morning as I already had french toast on the menu. It was delicious!

[pinehurst]

I use it when cooking beef liver sometimes when I don't have so much as a pat of butter in the house. It plays well with onions and....more bacon...for liver. Sigh.

[juliejulez]

Thanks all! So many great ideas! I'm trying to clear out my fridge/freezer/pantry to prep for thanksgiving foods, so there's definitely a lot here I can use. I have stewmeat in the freezer that I can make beanless chili with and serve it with cornbread, also have some frozen brussel sprouts I can saute with, and a couple bags of pork chops also. The grilled cheese and popcorn ideas are great too!

[Moggiesx2]

Fried bread just one side with a poached or fried eg on top Delish.

[ellabee]

My most frequent uses:

- A tiny smidge to grease the cast iron skillet that will sear pork chops.

- A couple of teaspoons to saute chopped onions and bell pepper for German potato salad.

- A couple of teaspoons for sweating chopped onions as the base for rot kohl (German red cabbage cooked with onions and thinly sliced tart apples, with balsamic vinegar as a finish).

And, as others have said, in the skillet in which cornbread is baked. Nothing leaves the skillet silkier than bacon fat.

[weezieduzzit]

Its great in dark leafy greens like kale and chard.

[Nastallion]

Agreed to the natural ideas of eggs, potatoes and vegetables. However, I am surprised no one mentioned that bacon fat makes those hard-to-love veggies fantastic.

Starting a pan of bacon fat for your Brussels Sprouts is a hands down winner in my kitchen. Everyone is always surprised that they love brussels sprouts when I make them this way.

The other thing that seems to work well is using it lightly on a skillet when you make pancakes. The aroma is just incredible. Essence of bacon without bacon.

[aching]

Ooh, Brussels sprouts - I think that's what I'm going to do this weekend!

[mwhitmore]

Is that it? Sauteed Brussels Sprouts in bacon grease? Slow or fast? Blanching, shredding, liquid, anything?

[Nastallion]

Just about it. First I quarter them and give them a rinse. The skillet should be hot with bacon fat when you toss the sprouts in. Let them go till they brown. Salt to taste. If you want to kick it up a notch just a sprinkle of red chile flake.

[pine time]

Also consider throwing in a handful of carmelized bacon itself (I use maple syrup). Even I like Bussels cooked this way.

[aching]

I did mine last night - I quartered them, sautéed them in the bacon fat until they started to brown, added a half cup of white wine and let them steam until tender, then added a splash of balsamic, S&P, and red chili flakes. I served them sprinkled with Parmesan. Delicious!

[Shadmin]

Asparagus is fantastic when sauteed in bacon fat, try it with some lemon pepper or paprika with it!

[pine time]

Intriguing. I'm guessing it would work just as well with roasted asparagus with bacon fat? I now use olive oil, but can see the bacon adding great flavor.

[Lady_Tenar]

Refried beans, Creole red beans, almost any kind of beans! Beans love pork fat. Also greasing pans for cornbread and corn muffins, making roux for gumbo, and chilling it and using it as the shortening for baking powder biscuits.

[letsindulge]

Pan-fried or roasted potatoes, sauteed greens, and making a roux for gumbo.

[jeanmarieok]

Cabbage and onion in bacon grease is delicious.

[scunge]

Corn bread .Bacon fat in the skillet and in the batter. With greens or beans .and hot sauce .Trout or any fish especially when camping.Fried tube biscuits or hush puppies.

[jeanmarieok]

Scunge - I'd eat that. I wish I had a plate full of all that right now!

[Betty]

Yes, corn bread. Melted in an otherwise empty cast iron skillet in the oven then pour in the batter. It will spit and sizzle and give the best crunchy crust ever.

A little bit when making mayo is good, and of course in cooked greens. I always have a jelly jar full in the fridge.

[Tripeler]

+1 on scunge's recommendation for bacon fat in corn bread. I also use corn meal to dust cut-up okra with and fry it in bacon fat. Not only does this cooking style cut the slime, it also results in a rich, flavorful crust.

[Bigley9]

Grilled cheese in bacon fat is good! Just about anything benefits from bacon!

[lynnlato]

Bacon fat grilled cheese sandwiches aren't just good - they're DAMNED GOOD!

I also fry potatoes, green beans, brussel sprouts, Hell.... just about anything that calls for oil or butter. Did I mention hot bacon dressing? ;-)

[shoo bee doo]

My toaster broke, so now I toast my bread in butter or bacon grease in a cast iron pan. Delicious. I don't think I'll buy another toaster.

[tcamp]

If you really want to make the cake, a dense, unfrosted cake cut into squares freezes nicely. Just thaw a square when you want a small sweet treat.

Bacon fat - fried eggs, potatoes, many other veggies, fried rice.

[pine time]

Only 2 of us, also, and I often make just 1/2 a cake recipe. Bake in an 8" pan. When cool, cut the layer in half (vertically!) and frost, then stack. Voila, 1/2 a cake. Even then, tho, sometimes I'll have to freeze the last couple of slices.

Bacon fat: required to put a spoonful into simmering green beans.

[jester99]

basically anything, i used it in bread before, roasted veggies or even just sauteeing veggies. I like cooking cabbage with a bit of bacon fat, because it gives it a bit of smokiness to it.

[biondanonima]

Yes you can use it for steak. I love it for roasting vegetables, general sauteing of anything that could use a little porky goodness, and most especially for making popcorn. There really isn't anything I don't love with a little bacon grease!