What to do with Bacon Fat

By Laura @ the Greenhouse

So one lovely weekend morning, Justin and my daughter, Faith, surprised me with a big breakfast of delicious veggie omelets, toasted english muffins dripping with butter and crispy fried bacon.

We usually don't eat such big meals, but this was such a delightful treat! They even cleaned up the dishes, and started to dispose of the bacon fat by pouring it into a clean can. Since you can't pour it down your sink or you'll probably clog your drain, it sat on our counter until it was solid enough for disposal...

However, it's now been a couple of weeks that this can of bacon grease has been sitting on my counter. So I started thinking... "What on earth can I do with this?" My little family and I are big on re-using and recycling whatever we can so this is what I've found on re-using bacon grease.

1. A little bit of bacon grease can go a long way in flavoring foods. I plan on making baked potatoes with a bit of bacon grease, sour cream and chives. Yummy...

Christy Jordan's Southernplate has an extensive amount of information on how to use bacon fat for southern cooking and storage as well as some history.

2. Make lye soap. Little House in the Suburbs have some easy to read directions on how to make bacon soap.

3. Make an emergency candle from household items Tactical Intelligence shows you how.

I also like Willow Haven Outdoor with their instructions for a REALLY quick bacon candle.

So where do we start? Simply Recipes shows how to easily render and store bacon fat.

Next is the container. I've read it keeps the best in an airtight plastic container or a sealed mason jar in your fridge. You can also store it longer in your freezer.

Some other helpful sites that I have found:

1. Linda at The Tart Tart made some fabulous ginger snap cookies with bacon fat. Wow. They look good.

2. Republic of Bacon has several savory looking recipes like Bacon Cinnamon Rolls (omg).

TIP: When pouring bacon fat into a clean container put a paper towel on top of the container to catch the little bits of burnt bacon and such.

It's amazing what you can do with this stuff! So now that I have some new ideas, I guess I'll have to tell the family that they need to make more bacon this weekend! I would be interested in knowing if there is anything else you have used bacon grease for.

Thanks!

Updated post:

This is a simple, emergency candle and I actually made a bacon fat candle and it came out great. I was astonished. Just like a real candle!

Melt the bacon fat and put in a cotton string. Secure it with something like a toothpick or wooden skewer or pencil, etc. so that the wick stays up straight.

I cut the wick. Nice, huh?

There it is, glowing...

Hope you like my candle! I put it in the refrigerator so that the "candle" won't spoil! :) Linda

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16 comments

Unknown4/02/2013 11:08 PM
My mom always saved her bacon grease and used it. It's funny I know she used it for cooking, but I don't remember what else she used it for.
Christine Mann4/03/2013 1:46 AM
thanks for the great tips! I found you over at Rae Gun Ramblings link party :)
I use bacon grease to fry my eggs- makes them really yummy!! :)
And I have made lye soap with lard, and it makes a very creamy low-lather soap, it needs some coconut oil to make it lather well.
Have a blessed week <3
Jenny's Heart4/04/2013 9:39 AM
My pickle jar is on Christy's slideshow...lol
Use it! A lille bit goes a long way in greens, cabbage, beans etc...
Katherines Corner4/04/2013 11:09 PM
yummmmmmmm because everything is better with bacon! Thank you for sharing at the hop, your participation makes the hop extra special. Big Hugs P.S. the new giveaway will be posted tomorrow!
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Schulz Family4/06/2013 8:53 PM
visiting from Sunday Show off. This is fantastic. Will have to try to make candles rather than putting the fat in teh food.
Natasha in Oz4/07/2013 8:02 AM
What an interesting post. I've never seen such amazing uses for bacon fat.I'd love it if you could share this at my Say G'Day linky party-this is so clever!

Best wishes,
Natasha in Oz
With A Blast4/08/2013 6:04 AM
Who knew! So many uses for Bacon Fat :-) Thank you for sharing at our ALL MY BLOGGY FRIENDS party !
Unknown4/08/2013 11:09 PM
I was just having this conversation with someone the other day about Bacon fat. :) Thanks for these great ideas!

Thanks for joining the Link Up this week!
Unknown4/13/2013 1:25 AM
Wow, what amazing tips! Just pinned. :) Thank you so much for sharing at A Bouquet of Talent this week. So thrilled to have you share with us. Have a wonderful weekend. :)
hugs
Kathy