Bacon Grease
KBGirts
Posts: 882 Member
I just cooked a ton of bacon tonight for use in this weeks breakfast and other recipes. I have been told to cook with bacon fat, so I poured it into a mason jar. Can I keep this in the fridge so i don't use up my coconut oil as fast? How long does it keep? How do you do this????
0
Replies
-
I keep it pretty much forever and in my fridge. A lot of people just leave it out on their counter top or cupboard so I think it is pretty shelf stable
0 -
Ditto in the fridge in a jar.0
-
Great! Thanks!! I was thinking it could get moldy on the counter. I'll keep it in the fridge just in case.0
-
My mom always left a jar of bacon grease out on the counter by the stove, and it was just fine. Of course NOW she claims she never did such a thing, but I remember. So I keep a jar by my stove, and it's fine. I'm not sure, but I think it will keep better if you strain out the solids. But I don't have any evidence to back that up, it's just an assumption.0
-
You are indeed supposed to strain out the solids. But I must be honest: I never do. I just pour the whole skillet into the jar. The crunchy bits sink down to the bottom so I don't have to mess with them. I do keep my jar in the fridge, though, because it's warm where I live. I love using bacon grease! It's so delicious and I feel so thrifty when I have, like, a huge jar full of it on my shelf.0
-
We keep a jar (or jars, lol) in the fridge. I cooked zucchini and onions in it last night, mmm!0
-
Ditto on the fridge. While Mom might have gotten away with it 40 years ago, our overuse of disinfectants and antibiotics have killed off the weaker molds and bacteria, leaving stronger strains around for us. It's better not to tempt fate.
If you are saving actual bacon fat, then it has a lot of nitrates/nitrites in it, making it more stable for the countertop. If you are using the 'nitrate free' or uncured bacon, or pouring off pork fat after cooking chops - then the fat is more like to eventually go rancid.
Rather than a glass jar (which can break from the sudden exposure to hot grease), I went on ebay and found an aluminum grease cannister like the one my mom had when I was a kid. It came with a strainer, so I can pour the fat in and strain out the leftover crumblies.0 -
Ditto on the fridge. While Mom might have gotten away with it 40 years ago, our overuse of disinfectants and antibiotics have killed off the weaker molds and bacteria, leaving stronger strains around for us. It's better not to tempt fate.
If you are saving actual bacon fat, then it has a lot of nitrates/nitrites in it, making it more stable for the countertop. If you are using the 'nitrate free' or uncured bacon, or pouring off pork fat after cooking chops - then the fat is more like to eventually go rancid.
Rather than a glass jar (which can break from the sudden exposure to hot grease), I went on ebay and found an aluminum grease cannister like the one my mom had when I was a kid. It came with a strainer, so I can pour the fat in and strain out the leftover crumblies.
This is an awesome tip!! I always save my grease (from all cooked meat) and I was wondering what I should put it in besides glass!0 -
Laughing at the memory of Mom's bacon grease coffee can that spilled one day on the kitchen carpet. The dogs licked the floor for hours!
(I think they went to a tile floor soon after)0 -
I keep mine to use. It's so salty nothing will grow in it! Keeps forever.
I keep mine in a quart size Ball jar since it is tempered glass.
To strain I do this:
Take a cone-shaped coffee filter and fit it in the mouth of the jar, with the top edge of the filter folded over the mouth.
Screw on the ring for the ball jar (not the flat lid, just the ring) so that it's holding the filter in place.
Now you have a built-in strainer! Pour in the grease and leave it until it's totally filtered.
Throw away the filter, replace the lid on the jar (I use the plastic jar lids for this) and Voila!0
