Who among us hasn’t kept a container at some point? I certainly did, albeit a small ramekin, covered, in the fridge. It was kind of like the bacon fat equivalent of a sourdough starter — fed occasionally, and basically immortal. Somewhere in the last few years, having blown through 3 refrigerators in very short order, my little receptacle disappeared. So what appears for purchase but this:
Despairing of replacing my former stash (I love bacon but alas it’s only an occasional treat) I purchased same. It’s very filtered and doesn’t have as strong a flavor as my home grown (I’m very picky about my bacon— dry cure only, and thick sliced) but it is, at the end of the day, bacon grease. I scrambled some eggs with it. Close to what I was hoping for. I’m thinking about making skillet corn bread. I’ll have to meditate …
I bake a sheet pan of bacon flat on the pan. A little over lap is okay if you don’t mind not having perfect individual rashers. Though I adore bacon, I can make a pound last at least 6 months. Lidded storage container, rear of fridge. The necessity of moving other contents to reach it helps my resolve. The grease is poured carefully into a jar, including using a rubber spatula to get every bit off the pan.
I have purchased jarred bacon grease from, IIRC, Vitacost.com. Not much flavor, though. THAT is in the brown bits!
Back in the day, most housewives kept cooking grease for re-use in an old coffee can or other tin. I keep mine in a stainless purpose-made pot from Amazon, about $11–bought if\t before I learned thatso much stuff is avbl from Temu at much lower prices. Apparently few people save grease today. Consumer Reports mag recently ran a stpory of hw to dispose of grease w/o once mentionng saving it. Further, the mag recommended 2 prodct thatare to be added to grease to make it solidy faster for speedy disposal. Re-using the grease was not even considered. What a waste. A spoonful in a skillet does wonders for scrambled eggs, etc.
I have the same. Been saving it since I can remember. Can’t waste the gold of fats.
CCE
(Keyrock the unfrozen caveman lawyer; your world frightens & confuses me)
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If I’m making bacon, I usually do 3 pounds at a go using a square griddle pan. I’ll keep the grease from the first 2 pounds, giving it a mild strain while still very hot using sieve and cheesecloth. I also often keep the browned bits separately in another small container along with a couple of tablespoons of grease (I do the same separate-and-keep-parts when making ghee). This grease plus browned bits is tasty in scrambled eggs and omelets, but it does make for a less appealing visual.
Then I let the grease from the 3rd pound solidify and toss, as its usually a bit too “cooked” tasting for me (and quite brown).
Weird. I thought everyone who cooked saved (good) greases. Any chance the CR article was talking about stuff like fat from browning hamburger? Just spitballing here.
I save too much, frankly. Bacon, duck (well, I can’t say I ever have “too much” of that), schmaltz, whole hard chunks of pork and beef fat for making sausages, plus rendered tallow and lard, and ghee. I think that’s all.
I did make turkey schmaltz (if that’s a thing) a couple of times but did not like it, so I gave that one up.
