# Bacon grease



## Oregon1986 (Apr 25, 2017)

Do you refrigerate or put in jar?shelf life?


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## greenTgoats (Jul 1, 2017)

We put it in a jar on the counter. Longest we've had some was a few months, and it was fine.


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## Oregon1986 (Apr 25, 2017)

greenTgoats said:


> We put it in a jar on the counter. Longest we've had some was a few months, and it was fine.


Ok thank you. I just had always added it to our dogs food but got to thinking about using it in better ways


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## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

I leave it on the stove as long as I can get away with it; my wife has a 7 day rule and exercises her authority when I'm not around.


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## Oregon1986 (Apr 25, 2017)

GTX63 said:


> I leave it on the stove as long as I can get away with it; my wife has a 7 day rule and exercises her authority when I'm not around.


Lol why only 7 days?


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## cfuhrer (Jun 11, 2013)

One pound coffee can in the fridge.

When the can gets full (which is very rare) it goes in the freezer and we start another.


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## Oregon1986 (Apr 25, 2017)

cfuhrer said:


> One pound coffee can in the fridge.
> 
> When the can gets full (which is very rare) it goes in the freezer and we start another.


What do you use the grease for?


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## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

Oregon1986 said:


> Lol why only 7 days?


She has a 3 day rule regarding all leftovers, refrigerated or not they go to the critters after that. I get 7 days because I'm the only one who uses it, that she is aware of. My stomach is much more resistant to food gone sour than hers; I can eat some really bad stuff without effects which somewhat concerns her. Throwing out my bacon grease draws the same expression from me as my dogs when they see us throwing a pile of chicken bones into the trash can.
As far as what it is used for- it's semi liquid flavor for anything that needs a boost.


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## MELQ (Feb 27, 2011)

mine goes straight to the freezer in small hard plastic container. only use it when i make green beans


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## Oregon1986 (Apr 25, 2017)

MELQ said:


> mine goes straight to the freezer in small hard plastic container. only use it when i make green beans


Mmm love green beans in bacon. Brussel sprouts are good too


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## no really (Aug 7, 2013)

Use it when I make cornbread, pinto beans and part of the oil used to fry potatoes. I keep mine in the refrigerator


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

There are very few things that aren't made better by the addition of bacon grease.


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## cfuhrer (Jun 11, 2013)

Oregon1986 said:


> What do you use the grease for?


Frying eggs, greasing baked potatoes, sauteeing veggies, anything that needs a little grease and a little flavor.


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## alida (Feb 8, 2015)

I strain bacon grease into a glass jar and keep it in the fridge. I use it when cooking eggs, or making cheese muffins, and it's great for browning meat for the slow cooker, or basting a roast or chicken. Where I live bacon is about $5/lb so I don't like to throw away any part of it.


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

There was a woman when I was a kid, who put all her cooking grease into a can on the stove and used right back out of it. Made her food rancid tasting, I wouldn't eat over there after the one time, but I guess the family was used to it. Nobody got sick that I recall, but ewwww.

I keep 2 jars of bacon grease. One that I am using out of, the other one I am putting grease into. FIFO concept. Both are kept in the frig.

Best use is for fried potatoes or hash in the cast iron skillet. But any time you would put oil in a pan, the bacon grease could substitute. I sauteed veggies in it last night, a combo of red bell pepper strips, Vidalia onion strips and sugar snap peas. Just a hint of extra flavor because I used bacon fat instead of cooking oil. Also use it to grease a casserole dish, instead of butter or oil. Cook an over easy egg, you name it. Bacon grease especially enhances the flavor of beef. Put a dab in the skillet when you go to fry burgers or pan sear steaks.


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## cfuhrer (Jun 11, 2013)

MO_cows said:


> There was a woman when I was a kid, who put all her cooking grease into a can on the stove and used right back out of it.


Nooooooooooo, no, no, no, no. No.
I am picky about (a lot of things) making sure that *only* bacon grease goes in the can and that it stays refrigerated.


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

Strainer container right on the stove. We use it everyday in our cooking. If we get an abundance then I start adding it to the chickens food. I get better egg production when I add it to their feed.


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## alida (Feb 8, 2015)

MO_cows said: ↑
There was a woman when I was a kid, who put all her cooking grease into a can on the stove and used right back out of it.



cfuhrer said:


> Nooooooooooo, no, no, no, no. No.
> I am picky about (a lot of things) making sure that *only* bacon grease goes in the can and that it stays refrigerated.


I had to smile at this. Growing up my mother put ALL meat drippings in what we called the gravy pot. Ham, beef, chicken, sausage etc. Not bacon though. It was heated up every night with water added as needed, then back into the fridge. The flavour was usually pretty good, unless we'd had ham or cottage roll, which have pretty salty juices.


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## cfuhrer (Jun 11, 2013)

I ran across this channel on YouTube (the great time suck) and have been spending waaaaay more time than is prudent watching their videos - my excuse is triple digit temps this week.

Anyway - they have a great video on handling meat drippings.


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## secuono (Sep 28, 2011)

My mother kept it uncovered in the fridge. Stayed there until used up.


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## bmhughes89 (May 31, 2017)

Bacterias best friends are broken down by an acronym. FATTOM. food, low acidity, time, temperature, oxygen and moisture. Keeping fat in a freezer is your best bet for longevity, but in all reality fat doesn't pertain to most of what bacteria thrives on. You can keep it at room temperature for months without a problem.


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## Tyler520 (Aug 12, 2011)

Freeze it - will lost much,much longer - has the consistency of hard butter.

I use it to fry eggs, veggies, etc when greasing a pan - anything you think the taste of bacon will amplify or compliment.

I also like to get pure rendered lard (NEVER hydrogenated!) for things that need more neutral flavor (also good for savory pastry crusts)


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