Mothering › Mothering Discussion Forums › Health › Nutrition and Good Eating › Traditional Foods › What to do with bacon grease?
New Posts  All Forums:
 

What to do with bacon grease?

post #1 of 33
9/13/10 at 4:11pm
Thread Starter 
Is this lard or another beast? I just poured my first batch into a glass jar after frying up some bacon. What do you use it for?

I kinda want to make Depression cake, but I have to stay gluten-free. *sigh*
Sponsored Links
post #2 of 33
9/13/10 at 4:50pm
Well I'm one of those cooks that is picky about the right tool and product for the job. So it's not a substitute for lard all the time. I would not use it in biscuits for example. But it's great for adding flavor to almost any savory dish, to saute onions or pan fry pork chops and possibly fry eggs ( not my personal preference ).
post #3 of 33
9/13/10 at 4:54pm
We use it to cook hashbrowns and eggs.
post #4 of 33
9/13/10 at 7:36pm
I use it for liver and onions, for oven roasting veggies, and for sauteing onions and peppers and stuff. Also for browning meat in when it's being pan cooked.

I want to try making baconnaise
post #5 of 33
9/14/10 at 11:33am
We have great bacon which produces a marvelous white bacon grease with no funny aftertaste (I've had some that wasn't quite worth eating so make sure you enjoy the taste which shouldn't be overpowering at all before you use it liberally!)

We use it as our go-to oil for just about anything savory. A tiny bit for fried eggs and we don't even need salt (not that I'm afraid of a good sea salt!). Sauteing onions/garlic before use in soups/chilis, etc. We go through a LOT when sauteing dark greens. (onions/garlic/greens/sometimes tomatoes/bacon grease-delcious!) I've slathered it on top of a chicken before roasting. I big spoonful when cooking beans or when reheating old beans. Any savory roast veggie.
post #6 of 33
9/14/10 at 12:52pm
I use it to season legumes sometimes, it packs a powerful flavor into split pea soup!
post #7 of 33
9/14/10 at 1:14pm
Yeah, I use it to sautee anything. Stir fry is my favorite use for bacon grease. But I'll sautee onions for pizza, or cook an omelette, anything that goes in the pan.
post #8 of 33
9/14/10 at 2:15pm
Despite my otherwise low-fat ways before going TF, I still kept a jar of bacon grease at hand. In the South, the basis of most veggie recipes is: Cut up an onion, saute in bacon grease, add greens and water (maybe a ham hock). Cook. Same goes for blackeye peas, beans, okra & tomatoes, etc. We also use bacon grease for eggs - more savory and salty - especially for the bacon-less days. I've added some when making mayo. Good stuff.
post #9 of 33
9/14/10 at 5:17pm
My favorite use for bacon grease is roasting a chicken or turkey. I put about 1/2 Tbsp under the skin on each side of the chicken breast, and then liberally grease up the rest of the skin on the chicken. A little salt and pepper over the top, and into the oven. It's so easy, and I get perfect crispy golden brown skin and juicy breast meat every time.
post #10 of 33
9/14/10 at 5:25pm
I don't save the bacon grease more than a day, but we don't eat bacon often. When we do, I cook potato slices and green bell peppers in the bacon grease, then add scrambled eggs. This is one of my favorite dinners.
post #11 of 33
9/14/10 at 6:40pm
My local bacon still comes with nitrites. I'm wondering if the bacon grease is OK to use, given how it was preserved with nitrites?
post #12 of 33
9/15/10 at 3:00pm
Well I'm from the south and we use bacon grease here for LOTS of stuff. To make fried eggs, sautee potatoes and onions together, or to brown any meat. Oh and just about any greens here is sauteed in bacon grease, onions and salt/pepper. You can also use it in making corn bread. Ok now I'm hungry
post #13 of 33
9/15/10 at 10:04pm
i love to use bacon grease to oil my cast iron pan for corn bread. i also fry potatoes and onions in bacon grease. you can use it to fry eggs, pancakes, make refried beans, grease the pans for homemade bread or biscuits... just about anything that you don't mind having a slight bacon-y flavour.
post #14 of 33
9/15/10 at 10:09pm
my favorite thing to do with bacon grease: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/a...ipe/index.html

we also cook eggs with it or toss it in when it's a good opportunity to add that smokey flavor to something...

ETA... I just realized that recipe calls for olive oil instead of bacon grease... which is NOT how he did it on the show. I highly recommend the bacon grease... we tried it with olive oil once (b/c we were out of bacon grease) and it wasn't even close to as good...
post #15 of 33
9/16/10 at 12:11am
I like to use it to sautee cabbage.

The roasted chicken idea is a good one!
post #16 of 33
9/17/10 at 11:11pm
I find that nothing makes crispier, yummier hashbrowns than bacon grease.
post #17 of 33
9/18/10 at 5:42pm
Hmmm. Tamara's post makes me think: how long does bacon grease last? Where do you store it? Fridge or jar on the counter?
post #18 of 33
9/18/10 at 9:33pm
I keep it in the fridge... but I keep it more than a day. More like a couple weeks.
post #19 of 33
9/21/10 at 3:07pm
I'd like to start using the bacon grease also, but my DH throws it out. "It's unhealthy and full of cholesterol and saturated fat!" But, sometimes I manage to save it and "sneak" it into foods for yummy flavor.
post #20 of 33
9/21/10 at 3:18pm
I don't know how long it's supposed to last, but I've put it in the fridge for weeks and used it with no ill effects. I can't detect any spoilage or anything - weeks later it's just like the day after I put it in the fridge.
New Posts  All Forums:
 
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Traditional Foods
Mothering › Mothering Discussion Forums › Health › Nutrition and Good Eating › Traditional Foods › What to do with bacon grease?