Bacon Grease Uses
Oh the wonders of Bacon Grease!!!Southerners are known for our love of bacon grease and the zeal with which we save this “Liquid gold” but I’ve found that a lot of folks are saving bacon grease without really knowing what to do with it so I decided to write this post in hopes of giving you some ideas and letting you know how it was used in days gone by – and can still be used today.
I’d love for you to chime in on
the comments thread if you have other uses not listed here and I’ll come
back and add them in with credit to you of course!
Interesting facts about Bacon Grease
*Bacon grease is one of the most flavorful oils.*Bacon grease is used as an all purpose flavoring as well as a base for many recipes.
*One teaspoon has 38 calories.
*It’s Green! By reusing Bacon Grease, you save money, avoid waste by not using store bought oil when you don’t need it, and have more flavorful results than by using other cooking oils.
*I did a series of posts entitled “Oh My Bacon Grease!” when my husband threw an ENTIRE jar of bacon grease away. I posted recipes using bacon and replenished my stash by week’s end.
How To Use Bacon Grease
Substitution For Oils In Recipes And In Frying – Bacon Grease can be used in place of oils in recipes and in frying.
Greasing Muffin Tins or Cast Iron Skillets for breads - Before you put your cornbread or hoe cake batter in that skillet, grease it with a little solidified bacon grease. To make this mess free, fold a paper towel in fourths and cover your index and middle finger with it. Dip your covered fingers into the bacon grease and wipe the inside of your skillet. Toss paper towel away when done.
Make Milk Gravy - Milk gravy begins with a base of two tablespoons bacon grease. Heat them in a large skillet, add two or three tablespoons of flour and cook until flour is browned. Slowly add milk while stirring constantly and continue cooking until gravy is thickened over medium heat. For photos on making gravy, click here.
Cornbread - Many cornbread recipes call for a tablespoon or so of melted bacon grease added to the batter for extra flavor. This makes such a big difference that it’s worth it to save your baking grease for cornbread alone! Click here for my recipe.
Seasoning Dried Beans - Traditional beans are seasoned with a ham bone or bits of ham to add flavor. If you find yourself without any of these, just add two or three tablespoons of bacon grease to the cooking water and they’ll taste just as good. Click here for my recipe.
Fried Corn- Fried corn is often called Creamed Corn. No matter what you call it, adding a tablespoon of bacon grease makes it better than ever! Click here for my recipe.
Green Beans - Whether they’re from the can, garden, or freezer, green beans taste just like Grandma’s when you add a tablespoon of bacon grease! Click here for my recipe.
Any Other Vegetable You Can Think Of! - Just about any type of vegetable can be made better with 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of bacon grease added while cooking. Try it with cabbage, greens, I’ve even seen folks fry green tomatoes in it!
Wilted Greens - Fry up some bacon and set it aside. Pour a little bit of the hot grease over fresh dark greens and then top with crumbled bacon for a wilted lettuce salad like we had in the old days.
Frying Eggs – I really and truly will not make fried eggs without bacon grease. I place a tablespoon or so in my skillet and let it melt, then fry my eggs in it.
Delicious oven fries - Spread some bacon grease into the bottom of a jelly roll pan. Cut potatoes into long wedges with the skin still on them and sprinkle with kosher salt. Place on top of the bacon grease and put in a 400 degree oven until browned, about 45 minutes to an hour. Turn every fifteen minutes to get evenly browned and allow the bottoms to oven fry in that delicious grease.
These are just SOME of the countless uses for bacon grease and I’d love to hear more ideas fro you in the comments section at the bottom of this post!
How to store bacon grease:
Allow to cool slightly and then pour into a container. It is important to have one specific container for just bacon grease and make sure not to put any other type of grease in it. Many people strain theirs but my mother and I don’t. I enjoy all those little yummy bits of bacon and since I store mine in the fridge or freezer, they’re fine in there.
My grandmother always kept a metal soup can on the back of her stove with her grease in it.
Counter Top or Refrigerator?
Bacon grease is traditionally stored on the stovetop or next to the stove, but nowadays we don’t use it nearly as often as folks used to so it is best to store it in the refrigerator. If left on the counter indefinitely, bacon grease will go rancid. This used to not be a problem because it was used and replenished so often back in the old days. If bacon grease goes rancid, you WILL know it and you will Not want to use it. The refrigerator guards against this and your bacon grease will last for months and months and months!
Having said that - If you prefer to keep your bacon grease on the counter, more power to ya! Your kitchen = your rules.
Another bonus to storing bacon grease in the fridge: Room temp bacon grease remains a little on the liquid side. Refrigerated bacon grease solidifies and becomes the consistency of shortening, making it super easy to measure and scoop out whatever you need for recipes.
Did you know that you can freeze bacon grease?
Every now and then a jar will fill up and I just seal it and put it in the freezer. Then, I start another jar in the fridge. It never hurts to have extra
Bacon Grease can last indefinitely in the freezer if sealed well.Interesting Bacon Grease History
During WWII, Housewives were encouraged to
save their bacon grease and turn it in to help with the war effort.
Disney even got on board with a propaganda movie to help promote this.
You’ll notice Minnie about to pour the bacon grease over the dog food –
many people still swear by this. I wouldn’t reccommend a whole skiletful
but a tablespoon or so is said to help give them a shiny coat. It is
also neat to note that in the film the government suggested keeping
bacon grease in the refrigerator to keep it from going rancid, as we
discussed above. This wouldn’t have been a problem if it was being used
every day, but since it was being stored up for a longer period of time,
it was needed, much like we store it today.
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