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


Kim Shook

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25 minutes ago, Kim Shook said:

I store my bacon grease in Mason jars in the fridge.  I never strain it.  But I remember my grandmother having one of these on the stove at all times.  It had a built in strainer.  Am I doing something unhealthy by not straining the bits out of my bacon grease?

Oh my gosh!  Wonderful.  My Mother had one of those on the stove.  What a treat to go back today.

 

We don't.  And we don't strain the bacon fat either.  But then I have to add, that  most of it goes to our two huge Rotties.  Not always...but mostly.

 

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If I intend to reuse it, I strain. I don't like those nasty bits in other stuff I make.

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Strain bacon grease? Yes, I do. But, what I'd really like to know is how long is it safe to keep it in the fridge? A few days? A month? A year? I know what you're going to say. Yours would never last that long.  😃

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3 hours ago, SusieQ said:

Strain bacon grease? Yes, I do. But, what I'd really like to know is how long is it safe to keep it in the fridge? A few days? A month? A year? I know what you're going to say. Yours would never last that long.  😃

I store it in the smaller jars and put the date started on the jar.  I'm guessing I toss them within 6 months, if they aren't used up.  And I do toss sometimes.  Benton's bacon grease is strong.  I only use it when I want a serious punch of smokey bacon goodness.  It is the sine qua non for cornbread.  Its presence elevates Jiffy to Granny status.  

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I don't strain. I let the particulates settle in the pan, then (sort of carefully) pour it into the jar we keep in the fridge. I let the jar come up to more or less room temperature before pouring.

 

There was enough bits to be seen that recently, with a pretty full jar, I warmed it in the microwave to get it to be a liquid, poured it off into another vessel. I cleaned the jar and then carefully poured to bacon grease back into the jar so that it would be pretty much free of bits. I used some this  morning to fry up a couple of cubed potatoes to be part of breakfast. What a sublime pleasure to eat over-easy eggs and dip the potatoes into the yolk.

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Porthos Potwatcher
The Once and Future Cook

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7 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

I don't save bacon grease.   Where am I going wrong?    I don't love its inclusion in the usual suspects like corn bread.   Else?

Have you ever made German potato pancakes cooked in bacon fat?

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Porthos Potwatcher
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I use bacon fat for frying eggs, potatoes, pancakes and searing meat plus some other stuff I can't remember just now.  Oh yes, very lightly greased English muffins so I can "toast" them in the frying pan.  Hamburger/hot dog buns get the same treatment.  I do not use it on delicate items such as fish.  I do not use supermarket bacon unless I'm desperate.  I buy it from a local smokehouse and the bacon fat is fairly strong.

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1 hour ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

I don't save bacon grease.   Where am I going wrong?    I don't love its inclusion in the usual suspects like corn bread.   Else?

 

Added to sauteed vegetables...incorporated in salad dressing...

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7 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

I store my bacon grease in Mason jars in the fridge.  I never strain it.  But I remember my grandmother having one of these on the stove at all times.  It had a built in strainer.  Am I doing something unhealthy by not straining the bits out of my bacon grease?


We had a similar container on our stove when I was growing up ~ Avocado Green! I don’t think we ever used the grease; it was just used to store the grease before disposing it in the trash, so as not to clog up the kitchen sink drain/pipes. These days, I do keep a bit of bacon grease in the fridge (not strained), but I mostly use duck and goose fat now.

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Me neither. After all, it's bacon grease. But I admit that I don't eat much bacon, except for a BLT once in a while, and even then I end up tossing the grease after a few days unless I have some fresh greens and a compulsion.

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I have never strained mine. I will note that I don't have near enough of it now that I limit my bacon cooking to when the kid is gone, since the smell is a migraine trigger for her. I'm thinking the Paragon on the back porch may be the answer to that.

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my mother had that same thin aluminum bacon grease container 

 

next to the stove.

 

I dont cook bacon conventionally  , ie in a pan for breakfast etc

 

I use it in and on top of meat loaf and the drippings in the baking pan 

 

go into the gravy.

 

recently , when i could get the items 

 

I finely chop brown mushrooms , and slowly sauce w finely sliced bacon , from Bentons

 

or ' seasoning pieces '  from Broadbent , also finely cho9pped , but then de-salted 

 

in ice water  to remove some of the salt.   smoky bacon flavor reamins

 

then Id add the bacon to the mushroom mixture and slowly saute until reduced

 

and almost crispy.  Id cool 

 

and vac bag and freeze.

 

Id open the bag directly from the freezer , and use a T or two for what ever I was making

 

vegetables , soup , pan sauce.     it has a wonderful flavor , and you have to like mushrooms of course 

 

but its quite a pronounced flavor , so not for everything.   

Edited by rotuts (log)
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5 hours ago, jedovaty said:

Okay, I'll be the guy that says it (and has done it): swap out a tablespoon of butter for bacon grease or duck/goose fat in cookies, pastries, desserts, etc... Don't do too much, just a hint  🤤

 

I think at least  in LA and NYC it is a "thing" No hiding required. 

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36 minutes ago, heidih said:

 

I think at least  in LA and NYC it is a "thing" No hiding required. 

 

But keep social distance.

 

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

 

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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.

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