# Tell me why I should save rendered bacon fat **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 15, 2010, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-save-rendered-bacon-fat/525048 "2010-01-15T05:03:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-save-rendered-bacon-fat/525048/21 "2010-01-15T22:31:54Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I make grilled cheese sandwiches in bacon fat, if I have bacon fat. I mean, it’s grilled cheese. Flavored with bacon. As long as you don’t tell your cardiologist, you’re in heaven. You know you can put actual strips of bacon in the sandwich, right? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-save-rendered-bacon-fat/525048/22 "2010-01-15T22:56:20Z")
Baked Ham!!!😉 ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-save-rendered-bacon-fat/525048/23 "2010-01-15T23:18:44Z")
Less filling. Tastes great. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-save-rendered-bacon-fat/525048/24 "2010-01-15T23:37:44Z")
> [@Chicken\_Fingers](#): > > When making clam chowdah, you must saute the onions in bacon fat. Or else! Or salt pork. (Some will say salt pork is the only acceptable fat for clam chowder. To me, it’s all good, but the smokiness of the bacon can overpower the clams.) I basically save any kind of grease. Beef, pork, chicken, bacon, etc. I use beef, pork, and chicken grease to fry my onions for a myriad of dishes. Or I spread over a thick slice of bread, top with onions and kosher salt. Bacon grease I use a little more discriminating, only in dishes where I want that cured, smoked bacon flavor (beans and certain stews, for instance.) ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-save-rendered-bacon-fat/525048/25 "2010-01-15T23:55:39Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I make grilled cheese sandwiches in bacon fat, if I have bacon fat. I mean, it’s grilled cheese. Flavored with bacon. As long as you don’t tell your cardiologist, you’re in heaven. > > I also flavor green beans and other veggies with bacon fat, if I have it. > [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > You know you can put actual strips of bacon in the sandwich, right? 🙂 Yes, I’ve done that. And it is incredible. > [@devilsknew](#): > > Lordy, it fries up the best homefry potatoes with onions. Yeah, sometimes I do this, too. Usually I use mostly vegetable oil, with just a little bacon fat in it. Also, try dicing up a little bell pepper in that dish. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2010, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-save-rendered-bacon-fat/525048/26 "2010-01-16T00:12:23Z")
Waffles. Replace the butter or oil with the equivalent amount of bacon fat. Yum! ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2010, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-save-rendered-bacon-fat/525048/27 "2010-01-16T00:20:14Z")
You’ll need a Real Coffee Can or Planter’s Peanuts Can- METAL not Aluminum nor plastic- and some cheese cloth and/or coffee filters… you have to strain out or clarfy your bacon fat. Keeps the burnt bits out and lightens the oil. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2010, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-save-rendered-bacon-fat/525048/28 "2010-01-16T00:41:02Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Also, try dicing up a little bell pepper in that dish. I like bell pepper in lots of things, but not my homefries. Just a personal preference- Garlic Yes. Greenbellpeppers and even Redbellpeppers are too green and acrid with the hickory, IMHO. But that’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![MitzeKatze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ad7895/32.png) [@MitzeKatze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MitzeKatze)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2010, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-save-rendered-bacon-fat/525048/29 "2010-01-16T01:42:09Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > You’ll need a Real Coffee Can or Planter’s Peanuts Can- METAL not Aluminum nor plastic. I’m surprised the discussion went this far before someone mentioned that. But yeah, hot fat in plastic would be very bad indeed. I keep mine in a (glass) Mason jar. Let it cool then store in the fridge. It has never been around long enough to go rancid so I can’t vouch for how long it can be stored in such a manner. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2010, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-save-rendered-bacon-fat/525048/30 "2010-01-16T01:52:26Z")
To help beat the Krauts? ---
**Author:** ![luv2draw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@luv2draw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luv2draw)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2010, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-save-rendered-bacon-fat/525048/31 "2010-01-16T05:13:50Z")
OMG! You guys are amazing. Why the heck did I ever give up using bacon fat? Or even buying bacom? We’ve given up so many things like this that our parents did under the guise of being healthy and we’re fatter than ever. What’s up with that? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2010, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-save-rendered-bacon-fat/525048/32 "2010-01-16T08:20:11Z")
I don’t bother to strain it. I let it cool off somewhat, and then pour all but the burnt stuff at the bottom into a plastic container and freeze or refrigerate, whatever I have more room for. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2010, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-save-rendered-bacon-fat/525048/33 "2010-01-16T08:27:41Z")
Greasing the fry pan! ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2010, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-save-rendered-bacon-fat/525048/34 "2010-01-16T09:08:30Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > The hotel that I stay at in Germany serves bread with a ball of _something_ made essentially of bacon fat with little bacon crisps in it (and something else; they told me once but I’ve forgotten). You just spread it on the bread and it melts as you spread the stuff. It’s delicious, but I always limit myself to one small piece of bread since I want to live past the age of 50. It’s called **Schmalz** in Germany and just looking at it made me sick to my stomach. The Germans _love it_, but you’re right - it is a heart attack on bread. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2010, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-save-rendered-bacon-fat/525048/35 "2010-01-16T12:41:58Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > It’s called **Schmalz** in Germany and just looking at it made me sick to my stomach. The Germans _love it_, but you’re right - it is a heart attack on bread. Schmalz is chicken fat, not bacon fat. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-save-rendered-bacon-fat/525048/36 "2010-01-16T16:08:09Z")
In fact, schmalz/schmaltz used to be used by Jews for a bread spread when they had meat, in order to avoid mixing meat and dairy. Nowadays, of course, all the observant Jews I know use margarine. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2010, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-save-rendered-bacon-fat/525048/37 "2010-01-16T16:45:54Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > Schmalz is chicken fat, not bacon fat. In Germany, schmalz is any rendered cooking fat. It basically means “lard.” The stuff I’ve seen in Germany and throughout Central Europe that is served on bread is pork fat or goose fat. I believe in Yiddish that schmaltz also is a general term for animal fat (including non-kashruth fats), but it’s come to mean chicken fat in most contexts. This is not true in German. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2010, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-save-rendered-bacon-fat/525048/38 "2010-01-16T16:56:35Z")
I should also add, I’ve never seen bacon specifically used as the cooking fat for the schmalz spread on bread. I’ve seen pork fat with some bits of crackling intact (which may look to a casual observer like bacon), but not bacon (meaning smoked and cured pork fat). That doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, but I’ve only come across the stuff made with unsmoked fat. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-save-rendered-bacon-fat/525048/39 "2010-01-19T07:20:37Z")
Rub it on white taters before baking. Yum! ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-save-rendered-bacon-fat/525048/40 "2010-01-19T08:17:00Z")
[THISISNOTSAFE] Save bacon grease in coffee can. Go on river trip. Make campfire. Place coffee can of grease in fire. Duct tape cup to handle of an oar. Oar! not paddle! Scoop up cup of river water. Pour into boiling oil. Take picture. [/THISISNOTSAFE] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-save-rendered-bacon-fat/525048.md?page=1)