Do: save bacon fat
Want to give your potatoes, fried egg or vinaigrette some extra flavor? From now on, save your bacon fat.
Bacon contains a lot of fat, and not just any fat. The meat is cured and smoked, which gives it lots of flavor. Such a waste to throw away all the fat that comes out when frying, right? In the past, it was perfectly normal to have a jar on the counter to collect all the drippings; your grandma probably always did this too.
What can you do with it?
Everything, of course. Fry potatoes in it or caramelize onions. It is solid at room temperature, so for some preparations you will need to melt it first. Then drizzle it over vegetables or rub it onto a chicken before putting it in the oven. Fry an egg in it—in fact, do anything you would normally do with butter or oil. A few drops in your vinaigrette certainly won’t hurt either.
How do you store it?
In the refrigerator, you can keep it for at least a month. We have also used bacon fat that was a few months old. If it has gone bad, you will notice immediately from the smell. You can also store it in the freezer; because it contains so much fat, it remains somewhat soft and you can easily scoop or cut off portions.
Tip: make sure you use less salt than usual, because the fat is saltier than your average cooking fat.
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