My sister likes to bake, and last year she made ginger snaps with bacon fat, and another batch with lard. I prefer butter, personally, but they were good and I imagine some people would prefer the bacon fat.
“leftover bacon” ? Wha?! The words you write are in English, but I do not understand.
Yeah, I know. But I do try! Also, not all bacon is a pound package–we sometimes get the “Ends and Pieces” which are several pounds and have lots of interesting bits for various usage.
What if I add some to a crock pot of home made beans? Sounds good, right?
And it will be 4 weeks old now sealed in the fridge. Still good, right?
How long does schmaltz keep? Because I’ve been keeping it by the stove.
Wrong post to edit.
As far as I know, bacon drippings are one of those things that you can judge by smell whether it’s still edible or not. So take a sniff.
And yes, it would be good with beans. I assume you are going to fry up some aromatics as a base, no? Onions, celery, carrot, bell pepper? Then use bacon fat for that, and put it into your bean pot without draining.
Something like that, yes.
Bacon grease stored in the fridge (a cold fridge) keeps for a long time.
Yes, but this is rare, What is common is steaks which are too lean. Put some bacon grease in there and let it get hot, then fry.
Bacon grease is also perfect for the last step in cleaning seasoned cast iron.
- Pour boiling water in pan. Let soak.
- Scrub with soft brush.
- wipe clean with paper towel.
- Heat on stove to finish dry, then add a teaspoon of bacon grease. When fully melted, spread around with paper towel.
That’s how I judge all the fats and oils. Usually, the first sign of deterioration is a slight odor of rancidity. I’ve ditched bottles of canola oil and a tub of goose fat because I could smell they had begun to turn rancid.
I guess someone upthread said that bacon grease can mold if it’s contaminated with stuff other than fat. But you’d be able to see that.
My mom had (has?) a set of salt and pepper shakers like these with a matching grease canister that says ‘Grease’ on it…
Greens, yes, definitely. I would list spinach at the back of the pack, through, behind mustard greens, kale, turnip greens, swiss chard, and broccoli rabe.
Other vegetables to put bacon grease in: beans in particular: pinto beans, black beans, lima beans, green beans; yellow summer squash or zucchini squash or spanish grey squash; rutabagas; regular white turnip roots; blackeyed peas and similar (crowder, bigboy, purple hull, spring, etc peas); also good for frying potatoes in, and you can grease your cornbread pan with the stuff for a nice dark crispy edge on your cornbread.
A friend of mine puts some sort of pomade(?) in his hair. I’ve told a number of our mutual friends that if you are ever really close to him you can smell bacon, because he uses bacon grease in his hair.
The amazing thing is that everyone believed me and the story has spread to other friends.
“I don’t want FOP goddammit! I"m a bacon grease man!”
A gumbo recipe I’m looking at calls for 3/4 cup of bacon grease. I’ve got me some bacon to cook.
Or, skip the tedious part, and just make bacon-scented soap.
Until it doesn’t smell good, taste right. That’s all I got to go on. In the fridge, I don’t think I’ve ever had it spoil on me, and I’ve occasionally forgotten about it for several months.
Mold grows on schmaltz. Use the good parts and throw the rest out.
Once it solidifies, I typically cut it up into cubes and freeze them. It’ll last maybe up to eight months in the freezer if you keep a tight lid on it. I use it when I’m sweating onions that’ll go with beef. I love to use it to make the ground beef in lasagna. I use it when frying veggies for soups or for big frittatas. I’ll sometimes “chop” in the fat/lard when I’m making bread though, and it ends up being really tasty. Works well if you melt a few cubes of the stuff into oil when you make french fries. Sometimes I’ll use it in place of butter for mashed potatoes.