Bacon Grease- strain or love the chunks

Sometimes I wish they sold ready made bacon grease. I use it for my cast iron and cooking. I have found that I never have enough. The question I am wondering is, do you strain your bacon grease? Some insist that straining your bacon grease keeps it from going rancid and it will stay fresh in your refrigerator for 6 months. Though some declare that is a myth.

My mother never strained her bacon grease and I never did either. But after a conversation and some research, I am now a bacon grease strainer. All it takes is a funnel and coffee filter. I do not miss the bacon crumbs/bits.

 

i like the bacon bits. i DO NOT leave my bacon fat on the counter! i have got the scoots and grumbling stomach from food fixed with aged counter kept bacon fat. i see no problem with anyone straining the chunky pieces out. to each as pleases them. i date the lid, and toss after 6 months.

 

I have a really fine mesh strainer I use. (Also works for straining ghee) i dunno if it makes it last longer... its not like ive ever had it long enough to test if it will go off.. (dont put in the fridge either) I just start a new “bacon jar” every couple months so the older stuff gets used up instead of mixed in with newer stuff.

Then you obviously arnt cooking enough bacon!

 

(Raises hand)
Very fine mesh strainer.

If one peruses olde timey cook books, you will find a large number of recipies calling for - bacon grese or renderings.

I do have to say, my cast iron skillet, hash browns and some eggs is a very nice combo on a winter's day...

 

I took a look at the bacon/bacon fat links below and had some flash backs. First off i can't say diddly about grizzly bear, but black bears LOVE BACON / PEANUT PUTTER / HONEY. Now baiting ain't legal in most places, but carpet pads lashed to underside of your boots saturated with bacon grease might git you a bear or git you eaten.

 

Thats why you lash them to the boots of the city slicker you talked into going snipe hunting.....

 

My Mother always strained her bacon grease.

 

This is what is grew up with...strainer built in under the lid. We used nearly as much as was produced, so rarely had any issue with it going rancid.

Too warm down here to get away with that, so it goes thru a fine strainer and into the fridge.

 

My grandma used to use one of the old percolator coffee pots for her bacon grease .. It has the filter plate at the top where the coffee grounds would normally sit.

 

We strain ours but we use the bits and pieces with the fried eggs in the morning! One thing we do is add Bear renderings to ours and use it for all sorts of cooking and cast iron treatments! We make far more then we use, so it gets packed in tins and frozen!

 

We use it...bits and all

 

Sorry guys I pour the fluid grease in a tin to cook with it later and leave the bits on the plate ,when I'm done eating I give what's left to the dog.

 

I notice all the votes are for one of the first two positions. Go fig? Isn't bacon (and its constituent parts) one of the basic food groups?

 

Our cat likes it either way.

Every now and them we give him a tablespoon, straight up and let him eat as much of it as he wants. He usually laps up about 90% of it.

It sure seems to keep him from having to hork up a lot of hairballs.

Seems to work that way for me, too. Haven't horked one up in years.

We don't strain it or refrigerate it.

We keep in a Stainless bowl that holds about a cup, and use it almost as fast as we make it.

The bits sure add a nice touch to home made gravy...

DANG!! Now ya'll done gone and got me all hungry again.

 

Did not have a option fer "It don't last long enough to worry about straining it or not"

Bacon grease BTW makes the best pie crust fer apple pies

 

Mom and the rest always strained it, every few days it went into a crock in the basement and was used with Lewis Lye to make soap, along with the second rendering from the hog cracklings, the low grade lard made from the bad fat etc. Not much ever went to waste. Grand dad thought buying lye was a waste of money and had a wooden barrel, all wood, that he put the wood ashes into and poured rain water thru to make lye. Used to tan hides, make soap, bleach cloths, make lutafisk, etc. Would be a very handy thing to know about.

 

I never knew there were old fashion grease tins. I looked and you can buy one on Amazon but I really like the looks of the one @techsar posted.

Bacon grease in pie crust? @Thunder5Ranch that is a lot of bacon grease. I know using lard is the best. Bacon grease & lard are basically the same thing but I think using bacon grease would be a stronger taste.

 

I made B L T sandwiches for super, smeared bacon fat on the cloud buns, then chucked on a huge pile of crispy bacon... yummmmm

 

Hey I have been know to use strips of bacon as the top crust fer a apple pie