The Versatile Uses of Leftover Bacon Grease
Whether you regularly cook bacon for weekend breakfasts or enjoy making BLTs, the leftover grease should never be thrown away. That shimmering pool of oil is packed with delicious pork fat that can be used in a variety of cooking, cocktail, and household projects.
Next time you pull strips from the frying pan or baking sheet, drain the beautiful bacon grease into a stylish, temperature-safe container. Not only will this help avoid dried, caked-up grease to deal with after eating, but it also gives you the key ingredient for bacon-washed bourbon or pork-laced cornbread, burgers, meatballs, or meatloaf.
Bacon grease is rich in salty, slightly smoky flavor that can add an umami burst to many dishes and recipes. A little goes a long way, and just a small amount of bacon fat can make your next stir-fry or skillet of scrambled eggs sing.
Proper Storage of Bacon Grease
First things first: You’ll want to store your bacon grease properly for future use. While it shouldn’t spoil, we still recommend keeping it in the fridge as it may have pieces of pork running throughout.
Keep it in a metal can and cover it because the pungent bacon smell can permeate other foods in the fridge. If you’re going to store it in a glass or plastic container, wait for the grease to cool completely before transferring it. A silicone bacon bin with a built-in strainer can help sift out the bacon bits, making storage easier.
9 Ways to Use Leftover Bacon Grease
Fold It Into Your Next Burger
If you want a seriously punched-up burger, fold a teaspoon of bacon fat into the ground beef or turkey before it hits the grates. This won’t require much to turn a basic burger into a pseudo bacon cheeseburger. Be aware that the burger will spit and sizzle more than a burger without pork fat, but it will be worth the danger for all that extra flavor.
Season a Cast-Iron Skillet
Seasoning your cast-iron pan is essential for keeping the surface nonstick. Doing this regularly, along with washing cast-iron cookware properly, will also build a base flavor that the pan imparts to certain foods such as steaks, burgers, chicken, and hash browns. To season with bacon grease, add a small amount of the fat to your favorite cast-iron seasoning wax and proceed as you normally would.
Add Smoky Pork Flavor to a Stir-Fry
The next time you’re whipping up a quick stir-fry for dinner, toss in a teaspoon of bacon grease to punch up the flavor. Don’t go overboard or you’ll end up with an overly greasy dish and a bacon flavor dominating all.
Add Depth to a Batch of Cornbread or Cookies
Bacon and cornbread are another magical combo. Because cornbread can easily dry out, adding a teaspoon of bacon fat to the mixture along with butter will ensure the bread is moist with a hint of delicious bacon flavor. You can also add some bacon grease to a batch of chocolate chip or peanut butter cookies. Bacon works with a lot of other flavors, like maple, chocolate, or vanilla, so don’t be shy about trying it with your favorite cookie recipe.
Make Bacon-Washed Bourbon
Fat-washing booze is simple: just add an ounce or two of liquified bacon fat to a bottle of bourbon. Shake and let it hang out in the fridge or freezer for a few days. Strain the solidified fat out of the bourbon with a mesh strainer and you’re left with seriously smoky brown booze to drink neat or use in cocktails.
Use a Smidge to Make Scrambled Eggs
Bacon and eggs make as good a duo as any other in the breakfast universe. Add a small bit of bacon grease to your pan with butter before dropping in the beaten eggs and stirring slowly.
Mix It With Another Cooking Oil to Sear Steaks or Chicken
You won’t want to use bacon grease alone to sauté foods, but consider adding a little to your cooking oil of choice, such as olive, flaxseed, or avocado oil.
Make Bacon Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts
Brussels sprouts are dense and make a good candidate to be air-fried. Toss them with a little bacon grease and then into the air fryer for 20 minutes. They’ll taste so good, you’ll forget you’re eating a vegetable at all.
Make a Bacon Fat Salad Dressing
Most salad dressings call for some oil component, so why not use delicious bacon grease? You won’t want to use bacon fat as the sole fat component, but mix a small dab in with olive oil in your favorite vinaigrette recipe and you won’t be sorry.
What You Can’t Do with Leftover Bacon Grease
Pour It Down the Drain
If you pour even one batch of bacon grease down the kitchen sink, you’ll likely be on the phone with a plumber before the week’s over. Grease solidifies when cool and can ruin your plumbing.
Compost It
Bacon grease and other super oily foods can’t be composted. Keep them out of your home compost pile or electronic countertop composter.
Pour It Into the Garbage While It’s Still Hot
Do this and you’ll burn a hole in the bottom of the garbage bag. It won’t be a pretty scene when you try to take the trash out next time. If you’re going to trash it, pour it into a metal can and let it cool before discarding it.