Bacon grease question

Horseyrider · #21 02/08/11, 05:38 PM

Unless you smoke your own meat, bacon has to be cured with nitrates. That's the law.

I know of one fine Amish smokehouse that darn near closed it's doors when the government mandated that back in the sixties.

I don't eat much bacon because of the nitrates. I do save the fat, but in the refrigerator. The dogs get some, the chickens get some (poured hot on a heel of bread and then cooled before delivery) and the cats get some.

ronron · #22 02/08/11, 06:40 PM

Martha Stewart had a recipe for chewy molasses cookies made with bacon grease they were sweet ,salty, bacony, goodness....needless to say I only made them once..

Harry Chickpea · #23 02/08/11, 11:17 PM

There is a fairly simple answer to the fat question.

UNsaturated fats can oxidize and go rancid.

SATURATED fats do not oxidize to any appreciable extent, and can last unrefrigerated for a long time, especially if sealed.

Olive oil and canola are generally a mix of monosaturated and unsaturated oils.

Coconut oil and bacon fat (lard) are saturated. A trait of these saturated oils is that they tend to be solid at room temperature. Peanut oil is primarily a monosaturated oil and can last without refrigeration for while.

Those are all generalities, so trust your nose if the oil or fat is pure. Rancid fats and oils smell and taste bad. They won't kill you, but they will deplete vitamins. The big caveat is that unrefrigerated oils and fats that contain other foods can harbor botulism because they exclude oxygen. Botulism CAN kill you. So you can have an old 50 lb can of coconut oil that is past date it is likely fine to use, but a relatively new bottle of herb infused oil that has some food in it and has been left unrefrigerated after opening may make you deathly sick.

Don't get me started on the evils of Canola. I won't allow it in the house.

PrettyPaisley · #24 02/09/11, 12:34 AM

We eat as much organic as possible and between 4 of us only go through a pound of bacon every couple of weeks. But I have this potato soup recipe that is *so* good with the celery and onion fried in bacon grease. That's what I save it for mainly. And since there is no smokehouse around here the local pigs farmers can use I buy Applegate organic bacon. It does have nitrates -- "thoughs occuring naturally in celery" whatever that means!

We don't do canola, either.

Spinner · #25 02/09/11, 12:56 AM

I keep it in a can on the counter next to the stove. I've done it that way my whole life and never had a problem with it going rancid. Mom did it that way too. I strain it before adding it to the can so it's clean and ready to use.

Our ancestors saved bacon grease and didn't have refrigerators. It makes since that if they could keep it on a shelf, we can too.

hippygirl · #26 02/09/11, 01:10 AM

Another freezer-keeper here. My GGM always left here out, though, and I don't recall any issues with it.

**Shrek** · #27 02/09/11, 01:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PrettyPaisley

Fridergate or not?

My mother always put it in the fridge but she was wonky about "food safety". Really, it was all consuming for her.

I freeze mine.

Rusty'sDog · #28 02/09/11, 01:29 AM

FYI there are several commercial brands of bacon that use no nitrates or nitrites.

FTG-05 · #29 02/09/11, 07:59 AM

Coffee can in the fridge. I make more bacon than the fat, so I always have plenty. My dog too enjoys her bacon fat on her food, especially in the cold (for Alabama anyway) winters.

Fried eggs get cooked in bacon grease, even if we don't have bacon - it's the American way!

suzyhomemaker09 · #30 02/09/11, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Horseyrider

Unless you smoke your own meat, bacon has to be cured with nitrates. That's the law.

I know of one fine Amish smokehouse that darn near closed it's doors when the government mandated that back in the sixties.

I don't eat much bacon because of the nitrates. I do save the fat, but in the refrigerator. The dogs get some, the chickens get some (poured hot on a heel of bread and then cooled before delivery) and the cats get some.

The brand of bacon I regularly buy ( Farmland ) has in their line nitrate nitrite free bacon...

http://www.farmlandfoods.com/product...red-bacon.html

Charly · #31 02/09/11, 09:43 AM

I keep mine in a wide-mouth pint canning jar with a screw on lid in the refrigerator. I use it nearly every day; eggs, potatoes, breaded-fried meats, greasing pan for cornbread, frying onions, peppers, mushrooms. Last night I used it to fry up some breaded pork cutlets and then I put a bit more in the pan and put two drained cans of green beans in the pan with a little lemon pepper and garlic powder and fresh chopped onion. For canned green beans, they sure were yummy. DD's boyfriend had eggs here the other morning and kept saying how they were the best eggs ever. Well... they are free-range eggs from my sweet girls, but I'm sure it was the bacon grease he was enjoying

ronbre · #32 02/09/11, 11:27 AM

frig, extra in the freezer until I get quite a bunch ahead then i mix with sunflower seeds in a sandwich plasitc container lined with non stick alum foil, then pop it out and put in my suet feeder when frozen solid..the birds totally love it.

Harry Chickpea · #33 02/09/11, 12:18 PM

FWIW, nitrates are not bad for everyone. There is a very distinct subset of people who need to limit nitrates, but the average healthy adult has little to fear from them. Hunter's salt IS nitrates.

marinemomtatt · #34 02/09/11, 02:08 PM

We seldom eat Bacon, so what little grease we keep in the fridge is for Cornbread cooked in a cast iron pan. Love how bacon grease makes the bottom and sides of the bread crispy!
When camping we'll cook up bacon for the dogs and save the grease for frying chicken, Oh My Gosh, that's tasty!!!! (I'm a vegetarian now so I just sniff up the absolute goodness...~lol~...)

Beowulf · #35 02/09/11, 03:39 PM

If it isn't cured, I'm pretty sure it can't be called "bacon." (hence the "uncured bacon" label)

Growing up, we had bacon, smoked side, and fresh side - the smoked and fresh side were not cured. I'm sure that's probably one of those things that varies by location.

springvalley · #36 02/09/11, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Horseyrider

Unless you smoke your own meat, bacon has to be cured with nitrates. That's the law.

I know of one fine Amish smokehouse that darn near closed it's doors when the government mandated that back in the sixties.

I don't eat much bacon because of the nitrates. I do save the fat, but in the refrigerator. The dogs get some, the chickens get some (poured hot on a heel of bread and then cooled before delivery) and the cats get some.

Our processer does not use nitrates, I have asked several times, and they say NO each time. They probly think I`m a little on the forgetfull side. > Marc

Pam6 · #37 02/09/11, 04:15 PM

My mom and grandma always kept it in the fridge. I use turkey bacon so I don't have the grease leftover.

Pony · #38 02/09/11, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harry Chickpea

There is a fairly simple answer to the fat question.

UNsaturated fats can oxidize and go rancid.

SATURATED fats do not oxidize to any appreciable extent, and can last unrefrigerated for a long time, especially if sealed.

Olive oil and canola are generally a mix of monosaturated and unsaturated oils.

Coconut oil and bacon fat (lard) are saturated. A trait of these saturated oils is that they tend to be solid at room temperature. Peanut oil is primarily a monosaturated oil and can last without refrigeration for while.

Those are all generalities, so trust your nose if the oil or fat is pure. Rancid fats and oils smell and taste bad. They won't kill you, but they will deplete vitamins. The big caveat is that unrefrigerated oils and fats that contain other foods can harbor botulism because they exclude oxygen. Botulism CAN kill you. So you can have an old 50 lb can of coconut oil that is past date it is likely fine to use, but a relatively new bottle of herb infused oil that has some food in it and has been left unrefrigerated after opening may make you deathly sick.

Don't get me started on the evils of Canola. I won't allow it in the house.

I've used organic coconut oil for years, and have never had an issue with rancidity. AAMOF, the label on the oil container says that it can be stored at room temp with no problem whatsoever.

And that's been my experience with it.

oneokie · #39 02/09/11, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by springvalley

Our processer does not use nitrates, I have asked several times, and they say NO each time. They probly think I`m a little on the forgetfull side. > Marc

Several years ago, bought half a hog from our packing house. Had some of the meat cured, some smoked, some not cured or smoked. The smoked pork went bad within 3 months. The fresh pork stayed good as long as the cured pork. Asked the packing house owner about the smoked meat going bad and was informed that that was the drawback to smoked meat.

An expensive lesson that will not be forgotten.

Kshobbit · #40 02/09/11, 06:01 PM

I keep it in a jelly jar by the stove. My mother did the same. I treasure every tiny bit of bacon grease there is little fat in the last bacon I had processed. I envy folks who need a coffee can to keep it in. As mentioned before it makes fried potatoes and green beans taste so good.