# How do you dispose of cooking fat? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 23, 2011, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dispose-of-cooking-fat/575670 "2011-03-23T01:08:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dispose-of-cooking-fat/575670/21 "2011-03-23T09:12:47Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Let it cool to room temp, strain it, and put it back into the oil container and into the pantry. If you deep fry more than once a year, there’s really no sense in dumping all that oil out. You could deep fry many times in that oil before it gets rancid, providing you strain it well. In fact, I think oil that’s been used a couple times tastes better than new oil. Professional fry cooks keep some of their old oil to prime a new batch. Oil that’s been used at least once fries better. You have to realize that all the oil in deep frying is doing is conducting heat to the food. Sure, it gets somewhat damaged in that process, and isn’t good for other types of cooking where it accomplishes more, but it’s still perfectly usable for another batch. You can repeat this until it gets cloudy or smoky. Still, you do eventually have to dispose of the oil. I personally would just put it in a container and throw it away, after maybe giving some to the dogs. But I know one famous cook who donates it to be used to make biodiesel. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dispose-of-cooking-fat/575670/22 "2011-03-23T09:57:17Z")
I don’t deep fry anything, but: Solid fats from duck, goose, pork and sometimes beef get saved for use in roasting potatoes later. Other leftover solid fats (lamb, which is too waxy) are cooled in a dish and scraped into my food waste recycling bin, which is collected weekly and carted off to a facility that makes methane, biodiesel and fertiliser. (A very small amount of leftover solid fat is reserved for use with my [Lard Lamp](http://www.atomicshrimp.com/st/content/lard_lamp/) - but I probably won’t use this in earnest until the zombie apocalypse) I seldom have any significant amounts of leftover liquid fats/oils - I either re-use them or wait until something absorbent (stale bread, etc) is in the food waste bin, then soak it into that. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dispose-of-cooking-fat/575670/23 "2011-03-23T13:15:35Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > I dump it down the drain. I don’t deep fry so really the only grease I ever have is bacon drippings and the fat poured off of browned ground beef. I know this is a no-no, but I live in an apartment with city sewers so it’s not really something I sweat. I figure running some screaming hot water down with it gets it clear of the trap just fine. > [@TravisFromOR](#): > > Nope, that doesn’t work. It might clear the trap, but it won’t get much further. When the plumber comes to clean the mess up, you’ll probably be left with a hefty bill. (If you sock it to your apartment’s owner, then that’s a different issue.) Wrong. I think this is all a big sham. I’ve been doing the exact same thing **Omniscient** does my whole life. At forty, I have yet to see this clogging you speak of. And I’m a home owner if that makes a difference. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dispose-of-cooking-fat/575670/24 "2011-03-23T16:51:50Z")
I don’t really cook at home and I wouldn’t fry stuff if I did. I’m more of a noodle boiling or microwaving type. But when I was growing up we put hot grease down the drain with a lot of soap and extremely hot water, and we never had to call a plumber that I can recall. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dispose-of-cooking-fat/575670/25 "2011-03-23T16:58:17Z")
My brother-in-law dumped a can of grease down our drain a couple of years ago, and it instantly clogged the garbage disposal. Just to throw that out there. Mostly though I just wanted to point out for the benefit of any home soapmakers reading this who might have been intrigued by **PSXer** ’s suggestion up-thread: Do not turn leftover cooking oils into soap unless you are really into the idea of meat-scented soap. Which maybe could be fun as a novelty, but is really not what you want to smell like when you step out of the shower most days. At least, I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dispose-of-cooking-fat/575670/26 "2011-03-23T17:28:24Z")
About three or four times a year we like to fondu and I’ve always just put the oil back in the container it came in (after it’s cooled) and throw it in the garbage. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dispose-of-cooking-fat/575670/27 "2011-03-23T17:45:20Z")
I put it in a shake. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dispose-of-cooking-fat/575670/28 "2011-03-23T17:51:36Z")
I don’t deep-fry, but the oil from other things, I mostly end up eating somehow or another. Usually whatever I was frying for in the first place needs the fat, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dispose-of-cooking-fat/575670/29 "2011-03-23T18:26:57Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > I put it in a shake. And then when some smartass asks “you got fries to go with that shake?” you can say “why, yes I do.” ---
**Author:** ![TheBori](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ee7513/32.png) [@TheBori](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBori)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dispose-of-cooking-fat/575670/30 "2011-03-23T18:28:00Z")
> [@pbbth](#): > > I’ve never deep fried anything, but whenever I’ve pan fried something and had fat left over I take an empty vegetable can/coffee can/other sturdy metal can and pour it inside. Then I put that can in the refrigerator until the fat solidifies and then I throw it away. Same thing…except I put the can in the freezer. Once full it goes inthe trash. Our city incinerates trash, so I figure it helps. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dispose-of-cooking-fat/575670/31 "2011-03-23T19:00:54Z")
I learned last season on _Weeds_ that you trade it to hippies for their bud scraps. They use it to power their car and you use the scraps to make hash in the dryer. Duh. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dispose-of-cooking-fat/575670/32 "2011-03-24T01:31:06Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > I put it in a shake. :eek: 🙂 > [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I learned last season on _Weeds_ that you trade it to hippies for their bud scraps. They use it to power their car and you use the scraps to make hash in the dryer. > > Duh. 😃 I’ve never deep-fried at home. If I have leftover oil from a saute I just sop it up with a bunch of folded-up paper towels and toss in the trash. Other family I know well enough to know what’s in their cabinets, they pour into old jars until the jar is full then throw that in the trash. I suppose I could do the same, but unless I use little jars I’ll have that around for a while, and find it a bit gross to have a jar of used oil under the sink when I can just as well throw it out after it’s soaked into paper towels. I stay away from anything fried any more, anyway. I had fries yesterday for the first time in a few months and I felt sick until this afternoon from them. I’m a little sad about it, but it’s better in the long run, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dispose-of-cooking-fat/575670/33 "2011-03-24T01:42:05Z")
[Grease Bomb](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtj1ONn32EY) ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dispose-of-cooking-fat/575670/34 "2011-03-24T01:53:35Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > I do all the time. But I only have one dog, and deep frying equals a lot of fat. You need a bigger dog. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dispose-of-cooking-fat/575670/35 "2011-03-24T02:07:43Z")
I put it back in the original container. Then eventually it goes in the trash, the back corner of the lot, down the drain (small amounts), or occasionally in the grease dumpster of a friend who has a restaurant. I have a couple of large oil buckets currently filled with old oil waiting for a convenient time to dump them. If you take it to a renderer they might take it off your hands for free. There’s also people home-brewing their bio-fuel now, they’d love to take it off your hands. ---
**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dispose-of-cooking-fat/575670/36 "2011-03-24T06:30:57Z")
True about older oil making for better frying, at least in part. I thought it was an old wives tale until I started frying potatoes regularly, but it’s not. Some of you are making me feel bad about (a) not drinking it and (b) throwing it away with the trash. But I get a lot of use out of each few quarts of old oil, even though it is probably not the best for one’s health, so I don’t dispose of it much, since I don’t deep-fry all that often anymore. My mother had a tip (dubious!) which was that one pour it on the English Ivy growing outside. I guess that can’t be worse than trashing it. Never tried lighting it on fire for arson or otherwise repurposing it, which could be an option for those inclined. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dispose-of-cooking-fat/575670/37 "2011-03-24T14:14:40Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > I stay away from anything fried any more, anyway. I had fries yesterday for the first time in a few months and I felt sick until this afternoon from them. I’m a little sad about it, but it’s better in the long run, I guess. I have fond memories of my aunt’s fries from when I was a kid. She would bake them on a cookie sheet in the oven instead of frying them. Maybe that kind of preparation might be a better idea? Less mess and they were very delicious. ---
**Author:** ![Khendrask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@Khendrask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khendrask)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dispose-of-cooking-fat/575670/38 "2011-03-24T14:15:30Z")
Fat that will solidify (except bacon fat): Mix it with bird seed and keep it frozen for winter food blocks for birds. Bacon fat: Keep it in a tin in the freezer for later cooking. More then a tin in reserve gets treated as above. Cooking Oils that just stay liquid: Pour it over the Saturday night bonfire before lighting and let it soak into the wood and whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dispose-of-cooking-fat/575670/39 "2011-03-24T15:21:59Z")
Moving from IMHO to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Barking\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Barking\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barking_Dog)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dispose-of-cooking-fat/575670/40 "2011-03-24T15:41:34Z")
After filling up an old coffee can, I usually dump it in the grease dumpster at the local McWhataKing when nobody’s looking. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dispose-of-cooking-fat/575670.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-dispose-of-cooking-fat/575670.md?page=3)