A little over a year ago we moved to a lower-carb, no-trans-fat, no-high-fructose-corn-syrup, gluten-free, don’t-eat-it-if-you-can’t-pronounce-it way of eating. While it makes eating more complicated, it’s been worth it and we’re both feeling a whole lot better.
Cleaning up our diet doesn’t mean we don’t have a few guilty pleasures – bacon grease being one of them. We keep a jar of greasy goodness in our fridge and use it to enhance the flavor of a whole range of foods:
- Fry eggs – just adding a teaspoon or so to the olive oil we usually use really bumps up the flavor of the eggs and helps get those brown, crispy edges.
- Use it in place of butter in corn bread recipes.
- Saute greens in it – spinach and garlic wilted in a little bacon grease with a touch of sugar and vinegar makes a quick side salad.
- Sawmill gravy – bacon grease (or sausage drippings) + flour = milk = heaven.
- Umami – looking for that chichi foodie “5th taste?” Bacon grease is the mother of umami – adding a savory depth to a recipe.
- Beans – I doubt that there is a bean dish out there that wouldn’t benefit from a touch of bacon grease.
- Barding – turkey breast too dry? Slip a little bacon grease (or strips of bacon) under the skin before roasting.
- Sandwiches – my father fondly remembers eating brown bread, bacon grease, and molasses sandwiches as a child.
We have a “bacon fat” jar in our fridge too. Gratuitous food has a place in every diet in moderation, right;)
1/3 cup to the cornbread! Don’t forget the cornbread. I don’t use flour or sugar in my recipe, gluten-free.
xo, Biggles
I’d love the cornbread recipe if you’d like to share!
Okay question – do you add hot bacon grease directly to a cold glass jar with cold bacon grease in it or do you let it come to temperature?
My husband makes bacon a lot but we find it inconvenient to take the jar out and let it come to temperature first. My instincts tell me that the jar is liable to explode if we put hot bacon grease into it when cold but maybe you have experience otherwise…
I just add the hot grease on top after letting it cool for a couple of minutes. Use something sturdy like a Mason jar and you’ll be fine. Every so often I’ll put the jar in a warm water bath to melt it all and let the crunchy bits settle to the bottom.
Was going to copy over the recipe, but figured I’d just send the link:
http://www.cyberbilly.com/meathenge/archives/000968.html
In that recipe I didn’t preheat the skillet, I do today. And, I use 1/3 cup bacon grease instead of the 1/4 listed. So perfect.
xo, Biggles
Wow, that looks so good. I think my cast iron skillet is a 15-incher, so a might have to double to recipe. Darn 😉