Have you ever cooked a wonderful meal using bacon and then been a little confused about what to do with all of the greases that it created?
Have you ever wondered how to store the stuff or how long it can be stored?
Have you ever been confused about how to dispose of bacon grease?
How about having thoughts of possibly using that leftover bacon grease to flavor future dishes that you cook?
In this article, we are going to discuss answers to all three of those questions and give options for each one.
How To Store Bacon Grease
Bacon is the fatty part of the meat taken from the pork belly.
When you cook bacon the right way, at a lower temperature, some of that fat comes off in liquid form and creates that wonderful bacon grease that we just aren’t sure what to do with.
This section discusses how to store that leftover bacon grease.
First off, we are referring to the clear liquid that comes from cooking bacon slowly.
This grease doesn’t have any of the charred or burned bacon particles in it like the bacon grease that results from cooking in a frying pan.
If the grease does still have any bacon particles left in it, you can pour it through a cheesecloth into a clean, heatproof container that can be sealed.
To prevent burns, allow the grease to cool to room temperature before you strain and pour it.
Pro Tip:
Make sure that you don’t let any small pieces of bacon find their way into your container.
The more pieces that get in there, the shorter the shelf life of the grease.
If there are no small particles of bacon, you can store bacon in the fridge for up to six months.
Now you know how to properly store bacon grease and how long bacon grease will keep.
But what if you don’t want to store it and just want to dispose of the bacon grease.
Read on to find out how to dispose of bacon grease.
How To Dispose Of Bacon Grease
Disposing of bacon grease is a very simple process.
We have broken it down into two different options, both of which are very safe and effective.
Option #1
This first option requires you to wait a little longer to dispose of it.
The bacon will harden and become white as it cools.
Wait until this occurs and then just scrape the hardened fat straight into the trash can.
If you used a baking sheet or foil to bake the bacon on then you can simply pick it up off the baking pan and throw the whole sheet into the trash.
Option #2
If you are in a hurry and don’t want to wait for the grease to cool this is the option for you.
Still, you will need to allow the grease to cool a little so as to be able to pour it safely without the risk of burning yourself.
After it has cooled, pour the, (still liquid), grease into any kind of container that can be sealed and throw it into the trash.
Pro Tip:
As you can see from above, it is very easy to properly dispose of the unused bacon grease.
The pro tip for this section is just a few things that you NEVER want to do with the grease.
DO NOT pour it down your sink or toilet.
DO NOT add it to your septic tank. (It doesn’t have the same effect as buttermilk)
DO NOT pour the hot grease directly into the trash.
DO NOT try to compost either liquid or solid form.
Read on for tasty ideas on how to use it with other foods if you don’t want to dispose of it.
How To Use Bacon Grease To Flavor Food
There are so many wonderful ways to use bacon grease for extra flavor.
When using it to flavor other foods, think of using it either as a substitute for butter or even an addition to it.
I’ve listed my 10 favorites below.
- Brushing it onto your pizza crust before baking. This will give it that extra smoky flavor while adding a little extra crispness to your crust.
- When you make a BLT sandwich, spread some of the grease on the bread instead of butter. This will give the sandwich an even smokier flavor.
- It may sound weird but try drizzling a little over your popcorn. This is a great one, but make sure you eat the popcorn while it’s still warm so the grease doesn’t start to harden and turn to fat.
- Add it to any kind of dish with rice.
- Use it to saute vegetables instead of butter.
- One of my favorites is to use it to fry or scramble eggs in. Use it in addition to butter on this one to reduce sticking in the pan.
- Bacon grease and potatoes are a great combo! Stir some in with mashed potatoes or even use the grease to saute potatoes.
- Use the grease as part of the replacement of butter in your pie crusts.
- You can use bacon grease as a base for any type of gravy recipe. Think of how good that will be in a sausage and gravy recipe!
- Fry your grilled cheese in bacon grease instead of butter. This one is so good!
Conclusion
We hope you have enjoyed learning how to dispose of, store, and use bacon grease to flavor other foods.
Use these techniques and ideas in the future for all kinds of different successes in the kitchen using bacon.
Happy cooking!
