I don't strain my bacon grease. Should I?

[jedovaty]

7 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Bacon fat in baked goods appeals to me more than the thought of duck or goose fat.

 

I've brought a batch to work (no vegetarians in my office, I checked), and labelled them as "experiment #3782.5c" without listing any ingredients.  Well received, no one noticed anything different.  I could taste it, but then, I was looking for it.

 

Back to bacon, @Katie Meadow it actually doesn't take all that much bacon to make 3/4 cup, but holy cow the proportion is crazy, by weight more than 50%!  And then the sugar.. wow. This was a stupid year to give up beef and pork 😢

[Kim Shook]

10 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

There is a NYT recipe for Bacon Fat Gingersnaps that's been around for a while, easily found on line. It would take me six months  to get the amount of bacon fat called for, which is 3/4 cup. That's for two cups of flour. I expect I will never make them, but it would be fun to taste one....or two. The picture looks very appealing--a tall stack of very thin cookies. I'm guessing they are super crispy, or they certainly should be.

<Blush> I have that much in my fridge right now. <Blush>

[kayb]

10 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

There is a NYT recipe for Bacon Fat Gingersnaps that's been around for a while, easily found on line. It would take me six months  to get the amount of bacon fat called for, which is 3/4 cup. That's for two cups of flour. I expect I will never make them, but it would be fun to taste one....or two. The picture looks very appealing--a tall stack of very thin cookies. I'm guessing they are super crispy, or they certainly should be.

 

I made them one year. They're marvelous.

 

[rotuts]

I wonder if the type of bacon grease matters in baking

 

I think if might matter a lot.

 

commercial bacon  grease is one thing

 

but ' artisanal ' bacon grease another

 

Bentons , Broadbent etc are very very very smoky 

 

that might work or it might not.

[Kim Shook]

1 hour ago, rotuts said:

I wonder if the type of bacon grease matters in baking

 

I think if might matter a lot.

 

commercial bacon  grease is one thing

 

but ' artisanal ' bacon grease another

 

Bentons , Broadbent etc are very very very smoky 

 

that might work or it might not.

I was thinking the same thing.  I consider that very thing when deciding whether or not to use bacon grease.  Right now, I'm only saving Benton's, but I really should reconsider and save (separately and labeled) regular bacon grease, too.  

[rotuts]

Im not sure ' regular bacon grease '

 

is really worth saving

 

although we live in Intresting and challenging times

 

its unlikely those calories are what makes a difference for

 

most of us.

 

up to you

 

Id just keep the High End stuff 

 

and savor it.  along w EVOO and the like.

 

if you keep the ordinary stuff in your refrigerator or freeze it

 

that won't hurt    just in case

[Kim Shook]

58 minutes ago, rotuts said:

Im not sure ' regular bacon grease '

 

is really worth saving

 

although we live in Intresting and challenging times

 

its unlikely those calories are what makes a difference for

 

most of us.

 

up to you

 

Id just keep the High End stuff 

 

and savor it.  along w EVOO and the like.

 

if you keep the ordinary stuff in your refrigerator or freeze it

 

that won't hurt    just in case

Quite possibly.  It might be a good idea to mix the regular with the high-test, though.  That Benton's grease is powerful stuff!  😉

[rotuts]

@Kim Shook

 

very interesting Idea.

[kayb]

All my bacon grease goes in the same jar. My regular bacon is Wright's, a pretty good mass-produced bacon, but occasionally I'll buy the thin-sliced cheap stuff for a specific application (like wrapping things I'm going to bake, etc.) I don't cook a lot of Benton's, Father's, Broadbent's, etc., as I'm happy with Wright's, but when I do, I don't separate them.

 

Ordinary bacon grease is Just Fine for:

• Putting in cornbread
• Simmering with green beans 
• Frying home fries 
• Putting in gingersnaps

If I knew I were going to make baked beans soon, I MIGHT save some of the smokier, etc., grease separately for that purpose.

 

[Martin Fisher]

I strain it for one reason only.

I use it various ways and unstrained bits can go quite bitter in some applications.

 

My Grandfather Fisher and my uncle used to fry breakfast in a 3/4" to 1" of bacon fat! 

I don't use quite that much! 

 

As much as I love bacon fat I prefer my eggs fried in good schmaltz — it's a wonderful combination.

That's not to say that I never use bacon fat or butter.

 

Bacon Fat Gingersnaps are great!

I'm a lover of bacon and old-fashioned cookies!

[Madison Smith]

On 4/3/2020 at 8:18 PM, jedovaty said:

 

I've brought a batch to work (no vegetarians in my office, I checked), and labelled them as "experiment #3782.5c" without listing any ingredients.  Well received, no one noticed anything different.  I could taste it, but then, I was looking for it.

 

Back to bacon, @Katie Meadow it actually doesn't take all that much bacon to make 3/4 cup, but holy cow the proportion is crazy, by weight more than 50%!  And then the sugar.. wow. This was a stupid year to give up beef and pork 😢

 

A friend of mine swears by bacon grease in her baked goods! I've always wondered where the smoky taste came from....

[Porthos]

As I said up-thread I don't strain my bacon grease. Today after adding more from breakfast I did gently heat (50% power in my inverter microwave) my liquid gold just enough so that the accumulated "bits" could settle to the bottom. It's now back in the fridge.

 

I think I need to get some russets so I can make us some German potato pancakes. I only keep waxy potatoes in the house.

 

 

[dtremit]

I don't strain mine, though I tend to only save grease from bacon I cook for eating in slices. That is most often made in the oven, which produces a lot fewer "bits."

 

In terms of how long it keeps, I tend to have two jars in the fridge, one marked "fill" and one marked "use up." New grease goes into the "fill" jar. When the "use up" jar is depleted, its lid goes on the "fill" jar, and the "fill" lid goes on a clean, empty jar.

 

One use case not mentioned upthread -- certain stir fries. Fuchsia Dunlop mentions here and there that lard was very traditionally used for stir-frying in many Chinese recipes -- and given the difficulty in getting "wok hei" on my radiant electric stove, I find the smokiness of the bacon fat to be a nice reinforcement.

[Porthos]

Tonight was those German potato pancakes cooked in my "gold" and served with bratwurst and a fruit salad with coconut flakes.

Edited June 13, 2020 by Porthos (log)

[Kim Shook]

20 hours ago, dtremit said:

In terms of how long it keeps, I tend to have two jars in the fridge, one marked "fill" and one marked "use up." New grease goes into the "fill" jar. When the "use up" jar is depleted, its lid goes on the "fill" jar, and the "fill" lid goes on a clean, empty jar.

This is a genius idea!  I'm stealing it.  Thank you, @dtremit!

[gfweb]

21 hours ago, Porthos said:

Tonight was those German potato pancakes cooked in my "gold" and served with bratwurst and a fruit salad with coconut flakes.

 

Potatoes fried in bratwurst grease are tasty too

[kayb]

13 hours ago, gfweb said:

Potatoes fried in bratwurst grease are tasty too

 

Potatoes (and onions) fried in damn near anything are tasty. And leftover fried potatoes make the very best potato pancakes.