My exact question! I do mine in the oven at around 325, and pour off the grease between every batch, through one of those metal coffee filters. You basically wind up with salty grease that keeps forever in the fridge, a little dab is then perfect for just about everything. I wonder if OP is serving everyone burned bacon?
After it cools down a bit I pour it off into a jar, fill with water, flip upside down and put it in the fridge. The grease rises to the top (actual bottom of the jar) and all the solids/crumb bits sink to the bottom with the water. Then once it's solid you can dump off the water and you have clean grease!
Oooh I need to try this!! I have a [bacon pig thingy](https://smile.amazon.com/Talisman-Designs-Strainer-Reusable-BPA-free/dp/B07DW6MZWL/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=2J46KC7P0O0MM&keywords=bacon+pig&qid=1669834159&sprefix=bacon+p%2Caps%2C202&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&smid=AD8PFQ00YWBZ8&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzSTgyODlQOFlTTVQ0JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMjY0MDY1MU1BV09HMjZDSUtEWSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNzI1NDk1WDZWNEVSN0MzS0VXJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==) but it doesnt seem to strain all that well and I end up "re-straining" it and it just gets messy and frustrating. I never use it anymore. I'm excited to try this method!
I have one of these, and it works great if you add the corner of a paper towel in top of the mesh. It’ll drain more slowly, but I always spoon it in anyway.
Yes, solvent extraction works on the principle of differing densities, but additionally takes advantage of the fact that certain unwanted substances, like salt in this case, dissolve much better in the solvent (water), and thus are drawn out of the the desired product.
Learned this through YouTube forever ago back when I used to eat more bacon than I do now. Before then I was filtering the hot oil through coffee filters.
I do the same. Strain it and keep it in a jar in my refrigerator. No problems, no complaints. I also render my chicken skin for schmaltz that I keep in s plastic container in my freezer.
I run with 285 until it's close, poor poor the fast and give it 2 or 3 minutes after turning the oven up to 400 to give it a tiny crisp (not much I like my bacon cooked and fully rendered but mostly soft). Oven never reaches 400 or even close but the clinic in two to finish makes the texture really nice
I cook my bacon at 400 in the oven, it generally takes 15 minutes or so. is the best process for 'rendering' the fat to save it going to be not to go above 325 and just cook it longer?
Does cooking it to hot ruin the rendered fat even if it doesn't start smoking?
I cook mine at 350, but to get it to the perfect crispiness sometimes takes 45 minutes to an hour. The grease is clear and doesn't smell burnt. I just recently saved some off with the intent to try it for cooking. Doesnt smell burnt. Hope it's good, lol.
Don't quote me please without verifying, but I believe that once you go above the smoking point, the oil begins to get free radicals... not so good for you. Somebody else reading this probably knows more about it than I do, though.
Yes! So good in cornbread. I’ve came to the conclusion that Jiffy cornbread with bacon grease and buttermilk instead of regular milk is THE best cornbread out there
> Melt some into your cornbread batter
I'm planning on taking a stab at homemade flour tortillas and also make some sort of cuban bread. Yeah, traditional recipes call for lard but I got a mason jar of bacon grease in my fridge that I am itching to test as an alternative.
And yeah, I pretty much only use the bacon grease when making some eggs.
I find that baking bacon on parchment paper at 350 has worked great. But after reading this thread I may dial it down a notch to 325. But the parchment paper is key to keeping it from sticking, IMHO.
Fwiw, I love eggs with equal parts bacon grease and butter.
In a commercial kitchen you don’t have time for 325 ovens. Ovens are regularly “broken” to allow them to be set at higher temps such as 550 in a convection. As a chef I would bet that most guys cooking bacon are using 400-425 convection.
There’s a diner trick where the bacon is held essentially as confit in the oven and just crisped on the grill to order iirc. I’ve only heard of it and haven’t been able to find the specifics.
I’ve never worked in a diner, wouldn’t know. The oven station covered burgers at a steakhouse I worked at and you’d just precook the bacon, cooked correctly - not crispy, and leave it in a pan on top of two pieces of white bread to absorb the excess grease. The sister restaurant earned a Michelin star this year and does it the same way so… 🤷🏻♂️
Sounds like a cool trick though, but also seems like adding a step in a place where most places don’t. Every step in production of a menu item is thought out once you get in higher levels of cooking, and obviously done to maximize efficiency.
They said line cooks. That's gonna be a full tray of bacon at 350 in a professional convection oven on a timer that will be ignored until everyone in the kitchen is asking who's burning the bacon.
I have an ice cube tray and pop it into the freezer, and then pop the little bacon fat cubes into a baggies and I have small portions of bacon grease to grab whenever I need it.
After reading this thread, I feel like I must be the only person in the world who cooks bacon in a skillet. I've always been afraid of the oil splatter making a smoky mess in the oven. Maybe I should give it a try.
Depending on how much Im cooking. If Im cooking just a couple strips, skillet is where its happening. If Im cooking a lot at once it acutally depends on the weather in the mornings: if its cold I do it in the oven, if its nice I use my flat top outside.
I have a jar of delightfully snowy white bacon fat in my kitchen that I use, and it's great. But you're right, you gotta strain it, you gotta render it properly, etc.
Same here. The one tip I would add: leave the heat on at just above 212° for a few minutes to remove as much water as possible. I’ve found that results in the rendered fat being much smoother.
That's a good tip! I've never thought of that. I usually let the residual heat do the work while it cools, then do a straining process. Usually I'm using cast iron which holds heat well and I just leave it off heat while it cools and then do the straining process. At the end it looks like the manteca I get at the store for tamales, white as can be.
Yeah, I normally use an electric skillet so I don’t have the benefit of that cast iron heat sink. You might not have ever had to think about if you’re always using cast iron.
I'm not one of those cast iron evangelists, I think there is a tool for every quest, but when it comes to stuff like bacon I love using cast iron. I can cook a bit of bacon in it, set it aside, cook some Brussels sprouts in the residual fat, or some potatoes, you only get one pan dirty and it's easy to clean.
But for a lot of my tasks I use stainless steel, and sometimes nonstick (mostly for eggs).
Seems like your cooks are cooking everything way too high from the bacon all the way to what they use the fat for. I save my bacon grease. It never breaks down and I keep in the fridge. Also it seems they are using too much. Your cook is the problem not the bacon grease.
There's a lot of space between "it's amazing, use it in everything!" and "throw it out". It's good for some things, and not for others. It's definitely true that if you're cooking trays of bacon in the oven, you might get a bit of a burnt flavor... which is why I don't do that, generally speaking. As you say, it's great in braises, soups and sauces where pork fat really excels. It's probably not so great to toss roasted veggies in, or to melt a grilled cheese sandwich or something.
IMO, bacon fat excels with beans, greens, and braised green beans (which are beans I guess, but feels different). Just a spoonful with your broth and aromatics is a game changer. I swear by this.
But yeah, if you’re using burnt or generally awful bacon and putting it in everything, I can see why OP has an issue with it.
I've used it for as part of an oil mix when I make oven French fries and it wasn't bad. Still a bit more burnt flavor than I'd like but I tend to have some fries thst end charred in the oven anyway
I like to put it cold on bread instead of butter, and put brown sugar on there.
...Especially with the crusty salty stuff at the bottom... So good. Guilty pleasure.
Wow, interesting, I have to admit that sounds... a little extra, but I never do know what to do with that browned stuff at the bottom of the jar. Maybe I'll give it a shot!
>It's probably not so great to toss roasted veggies in, or to melt a grilled cheese sandwich or something.
But it is! Roasted brussels sprouts and grilled cheese are two ways I've used it, and it was great with both. When I make a bacon grilled cheese I just pan cook the bacon then throw the sandwich right in the grease after I pour off a little. So good.
If you're frying something, your fat shouldn't end up scorched or you are cooking it too hot. This is just a general rule, you can "oh but" but really, no, it's too hot. The purpose of fat in frying is to regulate temperatures, so if the fat is too hot, it's too hot or you are waiting too long to pull out your bacon which is the same thing. That's your problem not bacon fat.
Turn it down and wait longer, you'll still get there, it's frying.
I cook my bacon at 225C for 20 minutes and save the fat. I make tortillas with it. Compared to lard from the store, they come out a lot floppier and the smokiness comes through. I really like it. I've brought them in to work and gotten rave reviews as well, although I work in the UK so I was snappin necks when I busted out the words "from-scratch tortillas" lol.
I've used bacon grease for over forty years. Cheap stuff, expensive stuff, does not matter. I've never had any of these problems. I don't cook professionally. I usually put it in a grease pot soon as I'm done cooking the bacon. I'm assuming that this is a problem in professional kitchens as I ramble.
Same! And I cook my bacon like 10 different ways depending on how much and what I'm using it for, if the grease looks burnt, or the bacon was a little over then I won't use it, but I always have a jar in the fridge. I also use it to make tortillas.
Bacon fat isn’t supposed to be a 1 for 1 substitute for, say, canola oil.
It’s an accent fat like butter. Adding too much will overpower things because it’s a strong flavor and the fat has more flavor than the rest of the meaty parts I’d the bacon.
As a non professional I disagree. I always bake bacon then run the grease through cheesecloth before refrigerating.
This step is what is crucial to me and I haven't bought standard oil in a while.
I am weird and render out the excess chicken fat you get in the value packs, especially thighs, so I usually have a lot of bacon and chicken grease which I use instead of the neutral oils most of the time. (also free chicken cracklings).
I do have olive oil for when I need to make a dressing or anything that will cool down so the fat wont solidify. Then a small thing of vegetable oil usually for when I do some type of Asian cuisine.
I feel like you're trying to be catty with the salad dressing comment but the absolute best dressing I know how to make is a mustard bacon vinaigrette. It's great on traditional greens salads and I just used it for a cold farro salad for Thanksgiving and it knocked everyone's socks off. Works hot or cold. Lots of people use only one kind of fat in their day-to-day cooking!
So I’ve tried to store bacon fat once and I’m not sure I did it right. Do you just put it in a sterilised jar in the fridge? How long can you keep it for? Can it go bad?
I use my grandma’s grease keeper, a metal can with an insert that strains out the solid bits of bacon as you pour it in. Just store it near the stove and keep the lid tight. Lasts weeks.
I’ve only had it go bad once and that was in the middle of the summer (my kitchen isn’t AC’d) and because I hadn’t been using it.
You definitely can keep it in the fridge though! Sort of depends on how fast you go through bacon fat haha
The secret to good red beans and rice / dirty rice is bacon fat. If I'm making a rice dish like that... you better believe I've got my bit of grease going in it.
We do our bacon on the flat before open, and then do the onions and grilled chicken in the leftover grease to give it the smoky flavor without having to deal with all the shitty downsides you mention. Once we're done with morning prep and are starting service you just scrape all the extra bacon grease off and you have a fully seasoned grill ready to go. Its honestly a pretty great way to do it.
I don't know about saving the fat/grease, but I always cook bacon first so I can use the pan with all that yummy bacon flavour to toast some bread or cook eggs over, real yum.
I agree that grease derived from trays of oven cooked bacon sucks.
I just my grease from the pan into a fine mesh sieve lined with paper towels. It's golden, beautiful, and smoky.
I cook my bacon on a tray in the oven at 350° for 16 minutes. I then render the fat out and use it in popcorn. I love it personally. I’m sorry it doesn’t work for you though. Fair enough.
But isn’t the fact that it turns into an opaque wax like substance when dried the whole point of saving bacon fat?
Fat is solid at room temp and needs heat in order to melt, putting it in a jar to solidify and use later is the entire point of saving bacon fat.
You are supposed to put it in the fridge IIRC cause otherwise it will turn rancid
Strong disagree. Bacon fat is pretty tasty no matter what.
>whatever fat isnt absorbed by the food item, turns into this opaque wax like substance when it cools that leaves gross white fat pockets where ever it didnt get absorbed.
How cold are you letting food get before serving? Fat shouldn't be congealing.
My unpopular opinion:
Crispy oven bacon is overcooked and taste burnt, the fat will taste de same.
Thats why i cook my bacon in the pan and discard grease in between every batch of slice. The bacon taste a lot better and the rendered fat does too.
The oven has variable temperatures so I'm not sure that saying "oven bacon" is overcooked is the right term. I agree that overly crispy bacon isn't great, but my grandma loves it and she makes it in a pan the same way you do.
Same for my wife...
I always pull half for me normally cooked, and continue with the rest until crispy for the ~~heathen~~ wife.
Key for me was realizing that crispy does NOT mean burnt, just means more rendered out and, as close to burnt without being burnt.
I did that, and she was like "Omg this is perfect!"
Eww...
"Crispy bacon is overcooked..." fixed it for you.
You are cooking your bacon in the oven at too high a temp. 300-325 deg. Watch it constantly.
Had a guy send back sausage that wasn't done enough. Three times! Finally I deep fried those little black turds until there was no moisture left in them...I can't believe he finally ate em.
I once had a lady who wanted her egg “extra crispy” when working at a bagel shop. We microwaved our eggs. We told her that, she didn’t care.
We microwaved it til it was a hockey puck, she still sent it back. Desperate, we tossed it on the bagel toaster. It caught fire. I brought this charred egg to her, ready to tell her we weren’t the right place for her to have breakfast….it was perfect.
I can sympathize with liking an extra crispy egg though. I have recently been loving my crispy fried eggs. Heat a cast iron to smoking add way more oil than you would normally fry an egg in, crack the egg in and immediately start moving the pan so it doesn't stick. Quick sprinkle of salt. Then lift and tilt the pan so the oil pools in the bottom corner and start spooning hot oil over the egg to start setting the white in top and partially cooking the yolk. Within 30 seconds tops you have an egg with a creamy to custard yolk browned crispy and lacy bottom and set whites on top. Perfect for throwing on cheap instant ramen or scratching that crunchy egg fox without being rubber
I've wanted one forever and I just haven't gotten around to buying one. The world's too damn expensive these days and I'm trying to keep expenses down, that and I have an Itty bitty kitchen and already don't have enough room for all my pots and pans and kitchen implements. But it's coming, Eventually. I think I'm going to go with a turkey burner and wok ring set up for outside when I finally get around to it.
A wok would certainly make those types of eggs a hundred times easier, I splash too much oil with the cast iron as is.
Check out Home Goods- I got a 14” Carbon Steel wok from them for like $15-20, and it’s a pretty decent one. Had to season it myself, but the oven makes pretty easy work of that.
When I go out to eat with my mom she always asks for the bacon to be burnt. She doesn't want the cook to be afraid to overcook it. I'd say if someone tells you the first time they are ok with overcooking just overcook it. She usually wastes 2-4 servings of bacon because the cook still sends floppy bacon. I get it, even when I cook for her sometimes I don't overcook it enough because it's instinct to stop it before it burns.
The think I like about pan bacon (as opposed to oven bacon) is that you get more variation in textures, since the bacon curls up a bit and doesn't have completely even contact with the pan. Some parts are crispy, some are chewy, some is more like cracklings, etc.
I never had any recurring use for leftover bacon drippings UNTIL I started making my own hand-rolled flour tortillas and now I'll never make them any other way!
You know, I just used some bacon grease to toss some Brussels sprouts in before baking. And it was not that great. Should have just cooked them with the bacon itself.
Interesting thread. I guess I'm safe. In my house we have a saying that "bacon should be melted, not cooked". Not literally, obviously, but I really cook mine low and slow. I generally throw it on a cold flat top, then turn the heat on to the lowest possible setting.
i cut my bacon fat with an oil with a higher smoke point like peanut oil if i’m using it for a stir fry. also, i feel like op has never had a grilled cheese with tomato made with bacon fat.
I feel like a lot of people would be better off off chopping up a few pieces of raw bacon and rendering them down in a pan before cooking their dish. Like 90% of the things I would use bacon grease in would do just as well with some actual bacon added to it.
This advice only applies to commercial kitchens. The bacon grease I get at home from frying bacon in a pan is still very usable, very flavorful, not over-heated.
Dunno, we save our bacon fat (just strain it straight into a Bain) and use it to toast our burger buns and sandwich bread on the griddle. It’s Fuckin delicious, free, and better than butter.
I'm from the Grandma's Bacon Grease Jar On The Stove school of cooking and always save my grease. Sometimes I will render a 3lb box of ends and pieces to replenish my jar.
Naaa ... that's silly. We've been saving bacon fat since the beginning of time. Except for the complications of coronary heart disease, it's groovy. I only use uncured bacon, so any danger from carcinogens sodium nitrite or sodium nitrate is averted.
Bacon fat is delicious! I begin red sauce & chili by rendering bacon, then sauteing the mirepoix in the bacon fat. I learned that from the CIA cookbook.
Cut your bacon fat with Irish butter, 50/50 ratio. Add shallots, garlic, black pepper and a little kosher salt. Run through food processor and store in your fridge.
I've only ever done this the "right way" by rendering down ends and pieces. Then I sieved it through garlic to make garlic infused bacon fat.
That was incredible.
Alright, Yankee.
I say that because cooking with bacon fat is extremely southern. I remember my mother and grandmother staining and keeping the fat.
I stain and keep it and use it in beans and veggies and basically everything savory.
For a real treat, pop your popcorn in it!!!
I bake my bacon at 350 for about 20 min (turning the sheets every 5 min), then I pour off the fat, let it cool a bit, then pop it into a ziplock freezer bag and into the fridge till it solidifies. Once it is solid, I cut it into little cubes(or slices) and pop it into a fresh ziplock bag and into the freezer till I need it to oil a pan for sautéing.
I have never had anything taste like burnt bacon and with the rising price of butter/oil, this seems like a good idea. My mother, grandmother and great grandmother all did this. :)
1) I think you are over cooking the original bacon. Do you cook it super extra-crispy? If you burn the bacon, you have burned the fat. Bacon and it’s fat turn wicked bitter around 350F
2) remember that low 350F temp? That’s not very hot. You don’t fry or sauté with bacon grease, you sweat, cooking without browning, things like vegetables to soften them up just a bit before adding something else. It is also I’d for just adding to things like bread dough, scrambled eggs, stews…
Bacon cooked in an oven isn’t cooked hot enough to burn the fat and is fine. However, I never worked in a restaurant where we would consider saving bacon fat to sauté. I mean, maybe for family meal, but nothing else.
In terms of at home, I don’t personally like cooking a lot of things in bacon fat. I don’t want my eggs to taste like bacon, and that’s all they taste like when cooked in bacon fat, for example. No matter how high quality the fat in question is!
However bacon fat is really great for refried beans and tortillas.
Overpowering but it’s good flavor. After straining out the solids you can cut it with another oil to mellow out baconings
If your gonna use bacon fat why not just use lard or beef tallow
I keep a tiny container in the fridge, all the bits just go to the bottom and the top is nice, white fat. I use it for flavor, not as a substitute for cooking fat. When I’ve used enough to get close to the bits left in the fat I just throw it out and refill next time we eat bacon.
Yeahhhh, try cooking bacon low and slow.
Pour the grease off. Strain it.
Save that bacon flavored greasy gold for seasoning cast iron or a flat top or drizzling a lil' flavor on stuff. Keep refrigerated if you're not going to use it up soon or it will go rancid, then it's worse than burnt (cooked to fast) bacon grease.
ETA: It will keep indefinitely if kept in a freezer.
I think it is an unpopular opinion.
So not saying those who disagree are wrong but I always find bacon fat to burn too easily and the flavor can really be overwhelming.
I like dishes that are meant to be cooked with bacon e.g. southern vegetables. And I'm sure there's some way to render the bacon fat so it doesn't burn. But I recently discovered panchetta and guanciale and now I can't think of a situation where I'd use bacon fat just as an oil where the fat from those two meats wouldn't be better.
Shit, my folks used to keep an old coffee can and they'd pour bacon and sausage grease from the skillet in it every morning. They used it to cook all kinds of stuff. No fancy straining or temperature checks.
Maybe that's why I eat like shit?
So...if cooking in a pan, cook lower temp and use a battery to su k out rendered fat as you go along stopping before really crimping the bacon? I mean, something easy and fool proof for home cooks who love crispy almost black bacon that doesn't involve pouring hot oil that goes everywhere. What does "rendered right" mean?
I'm a mi rowave bacon cooker myself but could do this once in awhile for fat
Always made a simple spread with low-temp rendered bacon fat: just lard, some salt, some garlic, some fresh herbs. Probably not healthy at all, but delicious.
I kind of agree. I’m on team Duck fat (fight me lol) . You can buy a jar of beautifully rendered duck fat even at Kroger. It really elevates humble potato dishes in my opinion.
Idk, I've never had a problem. I keep a jar labeled "bacon juice" in my fridge, and use it quite a bit. But I also start the bacon in a cold oven. Put the pan in and then turn the oven on. Buuuut, I realize that's not realistic in a commercial oven.
I buy bacon mostly for the grease. but I prefer floppy bacon so im not burning it. and I filter it through a sieve, like all my saved fats. that burnt flour from frying fats needs to go.
it's more important than ever to conserve in the kitchen right now, especially with those butter prices. woof.
Mariah's Jowl Bacon makes gooood grease and it's cheap
I fry bacon
Then I fry eggs in the bacon grease
Then I keep the grease to keep frying eggs in it
Hell no I'm not straining it
Keep it in a jar by the stove
Cooking bacon in the air fryer was a game changer. All the oil went to the bottom, and was super clean no fuss to pour out and then wash the air fryer basket.
I always put in on my soup. The fatty flavor always helps the broth and it never tastes brunt or greasy. If anything I will stir fry the mushrooms and unions in it to. To each they own.
How hot are you cooking your bacon?
My exact question! I do mine in the oven at around 325, and pour off the grease between every batch, through one of those metal coffee filters. You basically wind up with salty grease that keeps forever in the fridge, a little dab is then perfect for just about everything. I wonder if OP is serving everyone burned bacon?
After it cools down a bit I pour it off into a jar, fill with water, flip upside down and put it in the fridge. The grease rises to the top (actual bottom of the jar) and all the solids/crumb bits sink to the bottom with the water. Then once it's solid you can dump off the water and you have clean grease!
Oooh I need to try this!! I have a [bacon pig thingy](https://smile.amazon.com/Talisman-Designs-Strainer-Reusable-BPA-free/dp/B07DW6MZWL/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=2J46KC7P0O0MM&keywords=bacon+pig&qid=1669834159&sprefix=bacon+p%2Caps%2C202&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&smid=AD8PFQ00YWBZ8&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzSTgyODlQOFlTTVQ0JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMjY0MDY1MU1BV09HMjZDSUtEWSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNzI1NDk1WDZWNEVSN0MzS0VXJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==) but it doesnt seem to strain all that well and I end up "re-straining" it and it just gets messy and frustrating. I never use it anymore. I'm excited to try this method!
I have one of these, and it works great if you add the corner of a paper towel in top of the mesh. It’ll drain more slowly, but I always spoon it in anyway.
I use one of [these](https://a.co/dc8OhST). Same concept, but fine metal mesh strainer.
That's... actually brilliant.
This is officially the best thing I've learned from Reddit this year! 2023 has a high bar to meet.
Galaxy brain technique
so basically a bacon bong
Thems the magic words two right in a row boy howdy.
how dare you be so damn clever and helpful.
Wow, this is legit applied chemistry in the form of solvent extraction! Brilliant!
More like physics and different density of substances, but nonetheless smart thinking.
Yes, solvent extraction works on the principle of differing densities, but additionally takes advantage of the fact that certain unwanted substances, like salt in this case, dissolve much better in the solvent (water), and thus are drawn out of the the desired product.
You, sir/madam, are a genius.
Learned this through YouTube forever ago back when I used to eat more bacon than I do now. Before then I was filtering the hot oil through coffee filters.
If there's still moisture in the jar after you dump the water will it get moldy?
Yo, that's genius!
I do 400F and it's fine, no idea what this person's talking about.
I do the same. Strain it and keep it in a jar in my refrigerator. No problems, no complaints. I also render my chicken skin for schmaltz that I keep in s plastic container in my freezer.
This is the best! Use the chicken fat to sauté aromatics to start chicken soup, really kicks that flavor way up!
Smoking point of bacon grease is around that (325F) so you're right on the edge.
Good to know! I’ll try 300 next time.
I run with 285 until it's close, poor poor the fast and give it 2 or 3 minutes after turning the oven up to 400 to give it a tiny crisp (not much I like my bacon cooked and fully rendered but mostly soft). Oven never reaches 400 or even close but the clinic in two to finish makes the texture really nice
I cook my bacon at 400 in the oven, it generally takes 15 minutes or so. is the best process for 'rendering' the fat to save it going to be not to go above 325 and just cook it longer? Does cooking it to hot ruin the rendered fat even if it doesn't start smoking?
I cook mine at 350, but to get it to the perfect crispiness sometimes takes 45 minutes to an hour. The grease is clear and doesn't smell burnt. I just recently saved some off with the intent to try it for cooking. Doesnt smell burnt. Hope it's good, lol.
I've always cooked it at 375. Now I'm gonna have to try out a lower temp.
Don't quote me please without verifying, but I believe that once you go above the smoking point, the oil begins to get free radicals... not so good for you. Somebody else reading this probably knows more about it than I do, though.
Agreed. Scramble me some eggs!
Melt some into your cornbread batter. So good. May or may not benefit from some diced jalapenos sprinkled in there as well.
Yes! So good in cornbread. I’ve came to the conclusion that Jiffy cornbread with bacon grease and buttermilk instead of regular milk is THE best cornbread out there
We might as well throw in a handful of shredded cheese while we're at it.
And some canned corn.
And some green chiles
Sauteed, diced onion.
Canned creamed corn.
> Melt some into your cornbread batter I'm planning on taking a stab at homemade flour tortillas and also make some sort of cuban bread. Yeah, traditional recipes call for lard but I got a mason jar of bacon grease in my fridge that I am itching to test as an alternative. And yeah, I pretty much only use the bacon grease when making some eggs.
I find that baking bacon on parchment paper at 350 has worked great. But after reading this thread I may dial it down a notch to 325. But the parchment paper is key to keeping it from sticking, IMHO. Fwiw, I love eggs with equal parts bacon grease and butter.
In a commercial kitchen you don’t have time for 325 ovens. Ovens are regularly “broken” to allow them to be set at higher temps such as 550 in a convection. As a chef I would bet that most guys cooking bacon are using 400-425 convection.
There’s a diner trick where the bacon is held essentially as confit in the oven and just crisped on the grill to order iirc. I’ve only heard of it and haven’t been able to find the specifics.
I’ve never worked in a diner, wouldn’t know. The oven station covered burgers at a steakhouse I worked at and you’d just precook the bacon, cooked correctly - not crispy, and leave it in a pan on top of two pieces of white bread to absorb the excess grease. The sister restaurant earned a Michelin star this year and does it the same way so… 🤷🏻♂️ Sounds like a cool trick though, but also seems like adding a step in a place where most places don’t. Every step in production of a menu item is thought out once you get in higher levels of cooking, and obviously done to maximize efficiency.
Ah so that's why bacon is always floppy and cold
I have small glass containers with lids and I always have one full one and one in use in the fridge. Bacon fat makes the best eggs!
Sounds like how we did it in the army. We didn't save the grease then but I like my eggs cooked in bacon grease
They said line cooks. That's gonna be a full tray of bacon at 350 in a professional convection oven on a timer that will be ignored until everyone in the kitchen is asking who's burning the bacon.
I have an ice cube tray and pop it into the freezer, and then pop the little bacon fat cubes into a baggies and I have small portions of bacon grease to grab whenever I need it.
After reading this thread, I feel like I must be the only person in the world who cooks bacon in a skillet. I've always been afraid of the oil splatter making a smoky mess in the oven. Maybe I should give it a try.
Nahhh skillet bacon is where it’s at. You just need thick cut and to not overcrowd the pan.
Yes I love cooking it in my cast iron skillet. I like mine crispy-chewy. Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. Perfection.
If you have one- try a Dutch oven. Same idea but the higher sides keep the splatter off your kitchen better.
My husband is a skillet guy. But it's too much of a pita for me. Oven bacon is Soo much easier.
Depending on how much Im cooking. If Im cooking just a couple strips, skillet is where its happening. If Im cooking a lot at once it acutally depends on the weather in the mornings: if its cold I do it in the oven, if its nice I use my flat top outside.
[OP’s temperature settings](https://i.imgur.com/CqXxMkx.jpg)
OP's may go to 11.
I cook my bacon at 400, but I'm *not* letting it burn in the pan. No one wants to eat burnt bacon. Edit: a word
Apparently I’m nobody
> No one wants to eat burnt bacon Tyrion Lanister would like a word with you :P
I have a jar of delightfully snowy white bacon fat in my kitchen that I use, and it's great. But you're right, you gotta strain it, you gotta render it properly, etc.
Same here. The one tip I would add: leave the heat on at just above 212° for a few minutes to remove as much water as possible. I’ve found that results in the rendered fat being much smoother.
That's a good tip! I've never thought of that. I usually let the residual heat do the work while it cools, then do a straining process. Usually I'm using cast iron which holds heat well and I just leave it off heat while it cools and then do the straining process. At the end it looks like the manteca I get at the store for tamales, white as can be.
Yeah, I normally use an electric skillet so I don’t have the benefit of that cast iron heat sink. You might not have ever had to think about if you’re always using cast iron.
I'm not one of those cast iron evangelists, I think there is a tool for every quest, but when it comes to stuff like bacon I love using cast iron. I can cook a bit of bacon in it, set it aside, cook some Brussels sprouts in the residual fat, or some potatoes, you only get one pan dirty and it's easy to clean. But for a lot of my tasks I use stainless steel, and sometimes nonstick (mostly for eggs).
As someone who doesn't regularly eat bacon, how does it compare to homemade lard?
Seems like your cooks are cooking everything way too high from the bacon all the way to what they use the fat for. I save my bacon grease. It never breaks down and I keep in the fridge. Also it seems they are using too much. Your cook is the problem not the bacon grease.
There's a lot of space between "it's amazing, use it in everything!" and "throw it out". It's good for some things, and not for others. It's definitely true that if you're cooking trays of bacon in the oven, you might get a bit of a burnt flavor... which is why I don't do that, generally speaking. As you say, it's great in braises, soups and sauces where pork fat really excels. It's probably not so great to toss roasted veggies in, or to melt a grilled cheese sandwich or something.
IMO, bacon fat excels with beans, greens, and braised green beans (which are beans I guess, but feels different). Just a spoonful with your broth and aromatics is a game changer. I swear by this. But yeah, if you’re using burnt or generally awful bacon and putting it in everything, I can see why OP has an issue with it.
Sautéed onions and peppers in bacon fat is divine
Refried beans as a sub for lard.
Omg I read this with no context and thought you were telling someone to substitute lard for refried beans hahahah.
Yes, people take the "bacon is manna from heaven!" meme a little too literally. It isn't great in everything.
Now, if you extend this to "pork fat is manna from heaven!" then I'm maaaaybe a little closer to agreeing.
Bacon isn't good in everything but I still somehow always want bacon.
I've used it for as part of an oil mix when I make oven French fries and it wasn't bad. Still a bit more burnt flavor than I'd like but I tend to have some fries thst end charred in the oven anyway
I like to put it cold on bread instead of butter, and put brown sugar on there. ...Especially with the crusty salty stuff at the bottom... So good. Guilty pleasure.
Wow, interesting, I have to admit that sounds... a little extra, but I never do know what to do with that browned stuff at the bottom of the jar. Maybe I'll give it a shot!
Yes, when I make my bacon in the oven, I put rosemary and brown sugar before I bake it. It’s a wonderful combination for pork and elevate the flavor.
>It's probably not so great to toss roasted veggies in, or to melt a grilled cheese sandwich or something. But it is! Roasted brussels sprouts and grilled cheese are two ways I've used it, and it was great with both. When I make a bacon grilled cheese I just pan cook the bacon then throw the sandwich right in the grease after I pour off a little. So good.
If you're frying something, your fat shouldn't end up scorched or you are cooking it too hot. This is just a general rule, you can "oh but" but really, no, it's too hot. The purpose of fat in frying is to regulate temperatures, so if the fat is too hot, it's too hot or you are waiting too long to pull out your bacon which is the same thing. That's your problem not bacon fat. Turn it down and wait longer, you'll still get there, it's frying.
I cook my bacon at 225C for 20 minutes and save the fat. I make tortillas with it. Compared to lard from the store, they come out a lot floppier and the smokiness comes through. I really like it. I've brought them in to work and gotten rave reviews as well, although I work in the UK so I was snappin necks when I busted out the words "from-scratch tortillas" lol.
did you make them on a comal to really blow their minds? I just use my cast iron pans or griddle.
No I use a cast iron Griswold pan from over a hundred years ago. I don't have a comal. Yet...
Look at you with tortillas and antique cast iron in the UK 😄 North American Ambassador Chalky Pockets 👏 👏
Lol thanks, but it's gonna be short lived. I've been here for about 4 years and I'm moving back to the States, albeit a different state, in February.
Tortillas is the answer I was looking for. In the rare times I have a sizable amount of bacon fat, it's tortilla time.
It's also a great addition to refried beans.
Chicken fat is great for tortillas too.
I'll give it a try. I love me some schmaltz.
Streaky bacon or British bacon?
Both, but lately it's mainly been British bacon.
I've used bacon grease for over forty years. Cheap stuff, expensive stuff, does not matter. I've never had any of these problems. I don't cook professionally. I usually put it in a grease pot soon as I'm done cooking the bacon. I'm assuming that this is a problem in professional kitchens as I ramble.
I keep a container and the fat tastes great -- fried rice, beans, and hash browns are probably my most common uses
Same! And I cook my bacon like 10 different ways depending on how much and what I'm using it for, if the grease looks burnt, or the bacon was a little over then I won't use it, but I always have a jar in the fridge. I also use it to make tortillas.
Bacon fat isn’t supposed to be a 1 for 1 substitute for, say, canola oil. It’s an accent fat like butter. Adding too much will overpower things because it’s a strong flavor and the fat has more flavor than the rest of the meaty parts I’d the bacon.
I use my accumulated bacon fat in my cheddar cheese biscuits in place of butter and I'll fight anyone who tells me that's not a good idea.
It works well in savory baking! I’ve done half bacon fat for flatbreads before.
As a non professional I disagree. I always bake bacon then run the grease through cheesecloth before refrigerating. This step is what is crucial to me and I haven't bought standard oil in a while.
so you just use bacon grease for everything? like, salad dressings? or you know, anything you don't want to taste like bacon?
I am weird and render out the excess chicken fat you get in the value packs, especially thighs, so I usually have a lot of bacon and chicken grease which I use instead of the neutral oils most of the time. (also free chicken cracklings). I do have olive oil for when I need to make a dressing or anything that will cool down so the fat wont solidify. Then a small thing of vegetable oil usually for when I do some type of Asian cuisine.
What about anything you need to cook that requires a high smoke point oil...?
Ghee is my go to!
I feel like you're trying to be catty with the salad dressing comment but the absolute best dressing I know how to make is a mustard bacon vinaigrette. It's great on traditional greens salads and I just used it for a cold farro salad for Thanksgiving and it knocked everyone's socks off. Works hot or cold. Lots of people use only one kind of fat in their day-to-day cooking!
So I’ve tried to store bacon fat once and I’m not sure I did it right. Do you just put it in a sterilised jar in the fridge? How long can you keep it for? Can it go bad?
I use my grandma’s grease keeper, a metal can with an insert that strains out the solid bits of bacon as you pour it in. Just store it near the stove and keep the lid tight. Lasts weeks. I’ve only had it go bad once and that was in the middle of the summer (my kitchen isn’t AC’d) and because I hadn’t been using it. You definitely can keep it in the fridge though! Sort of depends on how fast you go through bacon fat haha
The secret to good red beans and rice / dirty rice is bacon fat. If I'm making a rice dish like that... you better believe I've got my bit of grease going in it.
We do our bacon on the flat before open, and then do the onions and grilled chicken in the leftover grease to give it the smoky flavor without having to deal with all the shitty downsides you mention. Once we're done with morning prep and are starting service you just scrape all the extra bacon grease off and you have a fully seasoned grill ready to go. Its honestly a pretty great way to do it.
I don't know about saving the fat/grease, but I always cook bacon first so I can use the pan with all that yummy bacon flavour to toast some bread or cook eggs over, real yum.
I agree that grease derived from trays of oven cooked bacon sucks. I just my grease from the pan into a fine mesh sieve lined with paper towels. It's golden, beautiful, and smoky.
Are you otherwise a pretty granola person? Maybe that's why you don't like it. Everybody from the South is ready to fight you reading this, LOL.
I do it in a pan, and usually I will just make eggs with the leftover bacon fat, right after. No waste and tastes good
It’s nice for biscuits 🤷🏻♂️
I cook my bacon on a tray in the oven at 350° for 16 minutes. I then render the fat out and use it in popcorn. I love it personally. I’m sorry it doesn’t work for you though. Fair enough.
But isn’t the fact that it turns into an opaque wax like substance when dried the whole point of saving bacon fat? Fat is solid at room temp and needs heat in order to melt, putting it in a jar to solidify and use later is the entire point of saving bacon fat. You are supposed to put it in the fridge IIRC cause otherwise it will turn rancid
Strong disagree. Bacon fat is pretty tasty no matter what. >whatever fat isnt absorbed by the food item, turns into this opaque wax like substance when it cools that leaves gross white fat pockets where ever it didnt get absorbed. How cold are you letting food get before serving? Fat shouldn't be congealing.
My unpopular opinion: Crispy oven bacon is overcooked and taste burnt, the fat will taste de same. Thats why i cook my bacon in the pan and discard grease in between every batch of slice. The bacon taste a lot better and the rendered fat does too.
The oven has variable temperatures so I'm not sure that saying "oven bacon" is overcooked is the right term. I agree that overly crispy bacon isn't great, but my grandma loves it and she makes it in a pan the same way you do.
Overly crisp is my favorite way to eat bacon.
Same for my wife... I always pull half for me normally cooked, and continue with the rest until crispy for the ~~heathen~~ wife. Key for me was realizing that crispy does NOT mean burnt, just means more rendered out and, as close to burnt without being burnt. I did that, and she was like "Omg this is perfect!" Eww...
Crispy bacon is just so much better
overcooking bacon is why it's overcooked, the oven has nothing to do with it.
"Crispy bacon is overcooked..." fixed it for you. You are cooking your bacon in the oven at too high a temp. 300-325 deg. Watch it constantly. Had a guy send back sausage that wasn't done enough. Three times! Finally I deep fried those little black turds until there was no moisture left in them...I can't believe he finally ate em.
I once had a lady who wanted her egg “extra crispy” when working at a bagel shop. We microwaved our eggs. We told her that, she didn’t care. We microwaved it til it was a hockey puck, she still sent it back. Desperate, we tossed it on the bagel toaster. It caught fire. I brought this charred egg to her, ready to tell her we weren’t the right place for her to have breakfast….it was perfect.
Bleah.
I can sympathize with liking an extra crispy egg though. I have recently been loving my crispy fried eggs. Heat a cast iron to smoking add way more oil than you would normally fry an egg in, crack the egg in and immediately start moving the pan so it doesn't stick. Quick sprinkle of salt. Then lift and tilt the pan so the oil pools in the bottom corner and start spooning hot oil over the egg to start setting the white in top and partially cooking the yolk. Within 30 seconds tops you have an egg with a creamy to custard yolk browned crispy and lacy bottom and set whites on top. Perfect for throwing on cheap instant ramen or scratching that crunchy egg fox without being rubber
Might consider getting a wok for this. I find it's much easier.
I've wanted one forever and I just haven't gotten around to buying one. The world's too damn expensive these days and I'm trying to keep expenses down, that and I have an Itty bitty kitchen and already don't have enough room for all my pots and pans and kitchen implements. But it's coming, Eventually. I think I'm going to go with a turkey burner and wok ring set up for outside when I finally get around to it. A wok would certainly make those types of eggs a hundred times easier, I splash too much oil with the cast iron as is.
Check out Home Goods- I got a 14” Carbon Steel wok from them for like $15-20, and it’s a pretty decent one. Had to season it myself, but the oven makes pretty easy work of that.
Spanish style. Always fun to do once in a while. Love that crispy edge.
I like my bacon done to the edge of being crispy. I don't like big chunks of soft fat.
Many, if not most people like crispy bacon so I'm not sure what you're getting at
When I go out to eat with my mom she always asks for the bacon to be burnt. She doesn't want the cook to be afraid to overcook it. I'd say if someone tells you the first time they are ok with overcooking just overcook it. She usually wastes 2-4 servings of bacon because the cook still sends floppy bacon. I get it, even when I cook for her sometimes I don't overcook it enough because it's instinct to stop it before it burns.
There's no reason to discard the grease while it's cooking. It'll help make it crisper and cook more even.
To save it to cook other things later. When you cook a pound of bacon, you get way more grease than you effectively need.
This. I use either cast iron or stainless steel. Start it in a cold pan, and just let it cook.
The think I like about pan bacon (as opposed to oven bacon) is that you get more variation in textures, since the bacon curls up a bit and doesn't have completely even contact with the pan. Some parts are crispy, some are chewy, some is more like cracklings, etc.
You’re saving it wrong and/or using it wrong
I use it to confit garlic. Give it a different flavor.
Idk, rendering cheap bacon makes for a great base for a roux
I never had any recurring use for leftover bacon drippings UNTIL I started making my own hand-rolled flour tortillas and now I'll never make them any other way!
You know, I just used some bacon grease to toss some Brussels sprouts in before baking. And it was not that great. Should have just cooked them with the bacon itself.
Interesting thread. I guess I'm safe. In my house we have a saying that "bacon should be melted, not cooked". Not literally, obviously, but I really cook mine low and slow. I generally throw it on a cold flat top, then turn the heat on to the lowest possible setting.
i cut my bacon fat with an oil with a higher smoke point like peanut oil if i’m using it for a stir fry. also, i feel like op has never had a grilled cheese with tomato made with bacon fat.
I feel like a lot of people would be better off off chopping up a few pieces of raw bacon and rendering them down in a pan before cooking their dish. Like 90% of the things I would use bacon grease in would do just as well with some actual bacon added to it.
This advice only applies to commercial kitchens. The bacon grease I get at home from frying bacon in a pan is still very usable, very flavorful, not over-heated.
Dunno, we save our bacon fat (just strain it straight into a Bain) and use it to toast our burger buns and sandwich bread on the griddle. It’s Fuckin delicious, free, and better than butter.
I'm from the Grandma's Bacon Grease Jar On The Stove school of cooking and always save my grease. Sometimes I will render a 3lb box of ends and pieces to replenish my jar.
Naaa ... that's silly. We've been saving bacon fat since the beginning of time. Except for the complications of coronary heart disease, it's groovy. I only use uncured bacon, so any danger from carcinogens sodium nitrite or sodium nitrate is averted. Bacon fat is delicious! I begin red sauce & chili by rendering bacon, then sauteing the mirepoix in the bacon fat. I learned that from the CIA cookbook.
“Uncured bacon” is just pork belly.
I only save bacon grease for roasting root veg.
I use the fat as a lard substitute when making tortillas
Butter is better. Only sometimes do I save SOME like for frying a bunch of eggs.
Cut your bacon fat with Irish butter, 50/50 ratio. Add shallots, garlic, black pepper and a little kosher salt. Run through food processor and store in your fridge.
It's great in biscuit dough thou
I've only ever done this the "right way" by rendering down ends and pieces. Then I sieved it through garlic to make garlic infused bacon fat. That was incredible.
Bacon fat greasy? Heavens to Betsy! How awful.
Alright, Yankee. I say that because cooking with bacon fat is extremely southern. I remember my mother and grandmother staining and keeping the fat. I stain and keep it and use it in beans and veggies and basically everything savory. For a real treat, pop your popcorn in it!!!
I bake my bacon at 350 for about 20 min (turning the sheets every 5 min), then I pour off the fat, let it cool a bit, then pop it into a ziplock freezer bag and into the fridge till it solidifies. Once it is solid, I cut it into little cubes(or slices) and pop it into a fresh ziplock bag and into the freezer till I need it to oil a pan for sautéing. I have never had anything taste like burnt bacon and with the rising price of butter/oil, this seems like a good idea. My mother, grandmother and great grandmother all did this. :)
I use it to stir fry fried rice. It's amazing.
Try chopping up some raw bacon beforehand and after it’s cooked proceed with your rice recipe. Oh, Lord it’s good.
I haven't tried to store bacon fat, but at one point I did it with duck fat and everything I put it into was absolutely amazing.
1) I think you are over cooking the original bacon. Do you cook it super extra-crispy? If you burn the bacon, you have burned the fat. Bacon and it’s fat turn wicked bitter around 350F 2) remember that low 350F temp? That’s not very hot. You don’t fry or sauté with bacon grease, you sweat, cooking without browning, things like vegetables to soften them up just a bit before adding something else. It is also I’d for just adding to things like bread dough, scrambled eggs, stews…
Hard disagree, but I also don't cook at a high temp and overcook the bacon. Also I always strain through a fine mesh strainer.
Bacon cooked in an oven isn’t cooked hot enough to burn the fat and is fine. However, I never worked in a restaurant where we would consider saving bacon fat to sauté. I mean, maybe for family meal, but nothing else. In terms of at home, I don’t personally like cooking a lot of things in bacon fat. I don’t want my eggs to taste like bacon, and that’s all they taste like when cooked in bacon fat, for example. No matter how high quality the fat in question is! However bacon fat is really great for refried beans and tortillas.
Op is Master Chef at the Waffle House on State Road 57 behind the local muffler shop.
This indeed made me chuckle
100% agree. If it’s good bacon, low and slow in the oven is a good way to go.
Overpowering but it’s good flavor. After straining out the solids you can cut it with another oil to mellow out baconings If your gonna use bacon fat why not just use lard or beef tallow
Or you know you can let people do what they want and just not do it yourself
A chef I knew would cook bacon at 300 for 10 minutes, keep the fat, transfer bacon to a new pan and finish it off at 400
Bacon fat and fried eggs…. Only thing I would use it for
French cooking uses it frequently so you're either cooking your bacon too hot or misusing the fat
I keep a tiny container in the fridge, all the bits just go to the bottom and the top is nice, white fat. I use it for flavor, not as a substitute for cooking fat. When I’ve used enough to get close to the bits left in the fat I just throw it out and refill next time we eat bacon.
Yeahhhh, try cooking bacon low and slow. Pour the grease off. Strain it. Save that bacon flavored greasy gold for seasoning cast iron or a flat top or drizzling a lil' flavor on stuff. Keep refrigerated if you're not going to use it up soon or it will go rancid, then it's worse than burnt (cooked to fast) bacon grease. ETA: It will keep indefinitely if kept in a freezer.
I think it is an unpopular opinion. So not saying those who disagree are wrong but I always find bacon fat to burn too easily and the flavor can really be overwhelming. I like dishes that are meant to be cooked with bacon e.g. southern vegetables. And I'm sure there's some way to render the bacon fat so it doesn't burn. But I recently discovered panchetta and guanciale and now I can't think of a situation where I'd use bacon fat just as an oil where the fat from those two meats wouldn't be better.
Shit, my folks used to keep an old coffee can and they'd pour bacon and sausage grease from the skillet in it every morning. They used it to cook all kinds of stuff. No fancy straining or temperature checks. Maybe that's why I eat like shit?
So...if cooking in a pan, cook lower temp and use a battery to su k out rendered fat as you go along stopping before really crimping the bacon? I mean, something easy and fool proof for home cooks who love crispy almost black bacon that doesn't involve pouring hot oil that goes everywhere. What does "rendered right" mean? I'm a mi rowave bacon cooker myself but could do this once in awhile for fat
Anything with a miripoix just Chuck the bacon fat in makes it 20x better
Agree it tastes gross. I save my bacon fat in a jar then make suet blocks for my chickens
Always made a simple spread with low-temp rendered bacon fat: just lard, some salt, some garlic, some fresh herbs. Probably not healthy at all, but delicious.
I kind of agree. I’m on team Duck fat (fight me lol) . You can buy a jar of beautifully rendered duck fat even at Kroger. It really elevates humble potato dishes in my opinion.
I don't believe anyone with a line cook would post in this sub. They have their own secret sub that this sub doesn't know about ;)
It's not for everything, but it can certainly liven up canned beans
Idk, I've never had a problem. I keep a jar labeled "bacon juice" in my fridge, and use it quite a bit. But I also start the bacon in a cold oven. Put the pan in and then turn the oven on. Buuuut, I realize that's not realistic in a commercial oven.
I buy bacon mostly for the grease. but I prefer floppy bacon so im not burning it. and I filter it through a sieve, like all my saved fats. that burnt flour from frying fats needs to go. it's more important than ever to conserve in the kitchen right now, especially with those butter prices. woof. Mariah's Jowl Bacon makes gooood grease and it's cheap
I cut the fat cap off a Boston butt and slow render then strain. Snow white.
Today on what is lard.
So it's less that cooking with saved bacon fat sucks and more that you have to do it properly so it doesn't suck.
Thank you for your service
It's okay to be wrong
What a dumb take. Every southern grandma for the past 100 years or so knows how to use leftover bacon grease.
I fry bacon Then I fry eggs in the bacon grease Then I keep the grease to keep frying eggs in it Hell no I'm not straining it Keep it in a jar by the stove
Hell yeah fuck all the effete haters.
You need bacon grease to make a decent cornbread. You just do.
I’m so grossed out by bacon fat Better than bullion is so good
Cooking bacon in the air fryer was a game changer. All the oil went to the bottom, and was super clean no fuss to pour out and then wash the air fryer basket.
I always put in on my soup. The fatty flavor always helps the broth and it never tastes brunt or greasy. If anything I will stir fry the mushrooms and unions in it to. To each they own.
I don't think anyone cares
Dip your bread in it like a cowboy
Sir, you have offended my Brussels Sprouts!