One of your kitchen’s best assets, flavor-wise and health-wise (yes, it’s true!), is going to be bacon fat, also known as bacon grease. It’s ideal for frying eggs, sautéing veggies, and makes every biscuit better. I use it as the fat in my favorite homemade salad dressing! In fact, I might just try it the next time I bake cookies…

 

We buy all our meat at Sprouts Farmers Market. I love this place! Since we recently relocated, it is the first time I have ever lived near one. For me, it’s the meat market that seals the deal. They do all of their own processing and their bacon, as far as grocery chains are concerned, is the best I’ve tasted.

Now, nothing compares to the home-butchered bacon we made a few Christmases ago, but for right now this is our option.

Bacon Grease is Free!

You see, another great thing about bacon fat is, after purchasing the bacon itself to eat, it’s freeeee! How frugal is that? So don’t let that precious nourishment go to waste! All you have to do, after cooking your bacon using your preferred method, is strain the leftover meat particles out of the fat so it’ll remain stable for longer. It’s super easy, and it is something you can set up and then forget about for an hour or so. So, let’s do this!

First, gather the things you need:

• One coffee filter
• Your strainer, medium-sized works best
• A glass jar or ceramic mug/ramekin to collect the fat ~ I use and prefer a wide-mouth canning jar, since the bacon fat will be hot and you don’t want the container to crack from the temperature adjustment
• A lid for the jar ~ as much as I love wide-mouth canning jars, I get annoyed with the two-lid concept. So I just used one of my wide-mouth plastic caps instead.
• If your strainer has a long handle, which most do, you’ll need some sort of prop for the strainer handle, to keep it from falling over.
• Hot bacon grease, still in the pan or baking sheet.

Take your coffee filter and bring the center to a point, like I have demonstrated in the picture. This little adjustment will help the bacon grease to pool and collect in the middle of the filter, which results in fewer spills.

Center it in your strainer. Pour the hot grease into the center of the filter. The grease needs to be hot so it will pass through the paper easily. Once the fat cools and solidifies, it will not strain anymore.

Leave this little setup to filter and strain for at least fifteen minutes.

 When it’s done, make sure and appreciate the bits of meat that were filtered from your bacon grease, and toss the filter in the trash. (Remember, don’t compost it! It’s drenched with fat and meat and might attract unpleasant pests.)

It is recommended to use your grease pretty quickly or keep it in the fridge. I like to keep mine on the counter right next to my stove, ready to add all its amazingness to whatever meal awaits. Enjoy your fat!

with much love,

dandy

 

Posted at Simple Lives Thursday

This post has been shared at Thank Goodness It’s Monday at Nourishing Joy.