Saving rendered beef fat?

Cooking Discussions Cooking, Cookbooks, Ingredients
1

So I used to (and sometimes still do) save all sorts of rendered fat - from bacon, duck, pancetta, etc - I don’t do it as much unless I know I have a purpose for it in the near future, and I am trying to create less purposes for it to cut down on this for the new year.

But, with the snow this weekend on the East Coast, I decided to make chili. After browning the beef I drained off the fat and left it out to solidify. And then I realized, I never really kept the rendered fat from ground beef like I would from other meats.

Does anyone keep the rendered fat from ground beef? What do you use it for or does it just get mixed in with all the other fats?

2

I can’t think of anything I’d use it for. ??? Hmm, maybe for making gravy for a very lean cut of beef.

3

I don’t know about saving fat from ground beef but whenever possible I render down any trimmings from beef and use them in the rest of the recipe to deepen the flavor. For example to sear seasoned sliced beef and veg for a variety of stir-fry/noodle/rice dishes.
I also render other animal fat trimmings (can freeze them until there’s enough) and keep them in mason jars in the refrigerator… cleanly rendered (not scorched/browned) bacon fat is treated as it’s own animal lol.

4

You could fry french fries in it.

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5

I save the fat skimmed from braised beef brisket. It makes home fries that are as stupendously delicious as they are unhealthy!

6

or any kind of potato.

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7

Right.

8

Potatoes it will be - but do you all normally save beef fat? (Or maybe most people aren’t “fat savers” these days).

9

I usually save duck fat, rarely from beef. There aren’t a lot of fat to begin with. Also the fat get burnt very easily with high temperature, and it can’t be kept very long time. If there is animal fat, I usually use it to stir fry vegetables.

10

I don’t know about beef fat, but I find pork and duck fat last almost forever.