Yes, on occasion. Great when cooking eggs in a skillet, or sauteeing veggies for soups. it seems to last for ages in the fridge.

Only for a spinach salad with hot dressing, eg

https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/spinach-salad-warm-bacon-dressing.html

No. But when I was taught to make schnitzel it was fried in rendered pork fat. Oh, but I do fry potatoes in goose or duck fat occasionally.

Now I'm craving fried potatoes with diced onion and a little flour thrown in for good measure, and a ton of ketchup.

I like to use it when I am making refried beans. Another tip when using refried beans from a can... add a good amount of butter, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper and salt to taste. I also sometimes use milk or half and half/whipping cream etc as well. Makes the refried beans taste super authentic!! I love Mexican food. I live in San Antonio and any little dive Mexican restaurant is pretty much hands down going to be fantastic! Texmex that is. 😉

We don’t fry bacon; I either bake it in the oven on a rack fitted inside a half sheet pan lined with parchment (for a crowd) or cook the very thin precooked bacon in the microwave between sheets of paper toweling (for DH and me). No bacon fat to save in either case

But— when I use pancetta in a dish I usually cook that first and use the rendered fat to saute the soffritto or mirepoix for the rest of that dish. I don’t save it; if it’s not needed to fry fennel seeds or brown cannellini beans or the aromatics / base I mix it with liquid dish soap and pour it in a zip lock bag when cool and toss it.

I dont' fry bacon either. I microwave in my special dish or bake. Always get all the fat collected and saved in the freezer. Love to add a bit to fresh green beans when cooking them.

Always!! I add a tablespoon or so to anything I cook in olive oil. I usse a bit of it on the cast iron comal when I cook steaks. I do not refrigerate it, either. It collects in a french canning jar next to the stove.

Once recently on public transportation I was privy to a long repetitive story about a family fight that ensued when the matriarch died, over which sibling got her can of bacon grease.

I bake my bacon on a large sheet pan with slotted drip pan vs frying. I don’t save the rendered fat. Growing up my mom did save the bacon grease in a coffee can. I don’t recall if she used it to cook with.

Yes! My hub eats bacon or sausage and scrambled eggs most mornings-and I've had a bacon grease ceramic jar/strainer sitting by my range forever. I grew up to keep bacon grease handy for various food items. My husband is from California and when we met, he'd never even had fried okra or fried squash-we only eat that a couple of times in the summer now. For years, we've worked out and tend to eat low carb most of the time, and use the bacon grease for green beans and collards greens each time. I fry a small piece of pork belly with our scrambled eggs also. Yep, we love our pork! LOL

eta: I'd say once a year, I empty out the whole storage container and start fresh. Never refrigerated, but I do clean the strainer part of the container about once a week, since we use it so much.

This brings back good memories of my Mema’s cooking — she always kept bacon drippings in the kitchen for green beans, collard greens, fried potatoes, black-eyed peas, boiled cabbage, white gravy, big pots of pinto beans, cornbread, and so many other things. Good eating, I miss it.

I used to do the same, but as we’ve gotten older we don’t eat bacon often. When we do, I save the drippings in the ’fridge, usually to simmer with wide green beans or black-eyed peas.

ETA: Amy, thanks for those tips! I’ll try them.

No. I don’t eat beef or pork. I keep the microwavable precooked bacon on hand for those who like it.

No. Growing up my mom and grandmother used bacon grease in green beans, etc. They never fried veggies in it. I do like the taste of a bit of the bacon grease in green beans, but do not cook mine that way. We try to eat healthy and only eat bacon/sausage occasionally. I actually do not like greasy foods, so the thoughts of using bacon grease is not very appealing. I've never used any type of grease/oil, etc. to scramble eggs. My mom must have kept bacon grease in the fridge, as I don't recall seeing it; but my grandmother had a jar beside the stove : )

Just made bacon this morning and I usually save a bit of the grease to put in our dog's food. My mom always did that with our Boston Terriers and said that's why they had shiny coats! No idea if that's true and our Daisy Mae only gets it on occasion so can't confirm. But no, I generally do not cook with bacon grease except on rare occasions.

Sub-topic - in reading a few of the different cooking methods above, I'm wondering if anyone else does the cold oven start method for bacon. I tried it a few years ago and never cook it any other way now. On a foil lined baking sheet (I don't even bother with a rack anymore) place the bacon into a cold oven, set temp to 425 or 450 (depending on oven and how quickly it pre-heats) and when it reaches temp the bacon is done. No flipping, no watching. I cook it outside because even with a great exhaust the house smells like bacon when I cook it indoors.

Yes!

Hmm...maybe I'll scrape it into a container and keep it in the for a while and see if I find something to use it for. @Sherry8aNorthAL - what do you make with it? I don't fry mine either - bake on a sheet pan lined with foil - and there's plenty of grease left behind. I always put it in the fridge to harden for easier handling. I don't make it often but use it for broccoli salad and BLTs in the summer and German potato salad which I've only made a couple times.

I'm not sure what benefit the cold method would have as it sounds just like the preheat method. It seems like it would take longer and I usually just want to get it done. Takes about 20 minutes I think at 425 depending on thickness of bacon.

We cook our bacon on racks placed inside cookie sheets and I do collect the rendered fat. Hubby makes refried beans from scratch and he uses the bacon fat to flavor the beans. The bacon grease is kept in a small container in the freezer and he just uses a spoon to scoop out what he needs for the making beans.

That cold bake method sounds very interesting. I am going to try that next time I make bacon!

We used to save the grease in a can and use it to feed the birds in the winter. I don't recall cooking with bacon fat, but I do remember making pie crusts using lard.

@Annie Deighnaugh Yes! My mom had lard on hand for making pie crusts.

We use lard to sear our steaks in the pan before going into the oven when we cook indoors. Then take out of oven and throw some butter in the pan and spoon over the steaks. We grill steaks outdoors in this time of year, most of the time. But, I actually like them seared inside better.

My grandma also cooked with bacon grease but usually only for green beans or bacon gravy. She would cook the bacon and use the drippings immediatly. She did keep the typical can of grease, but I never saw her use any of that grease. Not sure if it was used for cooking or to throw out.

jill, we do the exact same way on gravy-but rarely ever have it anymore. I mean, if you want biscuits and gravy-you have to use the bacon grease in your gravy!

I usually save it and then I keep it for a long time. The refrigerator then throw it out. I usually can't bring myself to cook with it.

I'm from the South. I live in the South.

Of course I save & occasionally cook w/bacon grease.

My mom always saved bacon fat in a jar in the fridge and I continue with that tradition. It's especially good if you include the little browned bits left behind. Occasionally I throw it out and start over. It can bring a lovely smoky bacon flavor if used sparingly. A little goes a long way.

I do on occasion. There are just certain things that are better with bacon grease than anything else. I always use it when making a roux for gumbo for example. I don’t make gumbo that often anymore for just the two of us but still it is so good. A tablespoon or 2 mixed with regular oil adds the best flavor for fried okra, squash, green beans, or hot salad dressing. I grill okra or squash more than I fry it, but now and then I still need to make a pan of the fried stuff.

Amy, that is a great tip for refried beans. Thanks!

Never have I ever.

Same for my mother.

My grandmother was raised with different traditions that did not include cooking with bacon grease.

I regret to say that I had to google 'cooking green beans with bacon grease'.

Yes. For baked beans, along withn the bacon. Not the sme without.

I dont use any kind of oil in baked beans.

No, but my mom and both of my grandmothers did. None of them ever refrigerated it. I’m southern y'all. A little does add incredible flavor to many foods.

Kswl, I love pre-cooked bacon for a quick BLT sandwich. It has to be thin though.

If you're in a hurry and use home or store bought canned green beans and don't have bacon grease, someone told me to squirt ketchup while they're heating to a boil, then turning off. The taste is amazing.

Of course we cooked with bacon fat when we made sutni szalonna (SHUT-ni SUL-ah-nah)...with fresh garden veggies, just a little bit of heaven on earth!

https://www.familycookbookproject.com/recipe/2837829/sutni-szalonna--hungarian-for-bacon.html

I never knew about using bacon grease until a year or two ago when my friend shared with me to use it when cooking eggs. So I tried it and it was better than olive oil, I guess. I only buy bacon once or twice a year coz my hubby will cook it every time he sees it.

Last time we had bacon, I used the air fryer and it turned out really good! And so easy to pour the grease into a jar.

If I cooked/ate bacon, I'd save the fat because it's delicious. It's really good for making crispy cornbread and fried green tomatoes - fried okra too 😃

You just don't want to save it for too long because like other oils, it can go rancid, and rancid oils aren't good for you nor do they taste good.

I had to laugh at Pal's comment about overhearing the argument over who got the matriarch's can of grease. My mother always kept a small container of grease on top of her range and used it when cooking eggs or beans. My siblings and I had to empty her apartment after she died and there was a discussion as to whether anyone wanted the pitted, dented aluminum container. None of us did but I did feel rather sad when I discarded it.

The only time I cook with bacon fat is when making bacon and sunny side up eggs. I use 2 separate skillets and add a little of the bacon grease to the eggs, the rest goes into an empty can which is stored in the freezer until full and then throw out.

I store mine in the fridge.

Last night I was watching Chef Jamie Oliver. He made a hot salad dressing with bacon grease. My mother kept a jar of it in the frig, even put it on the dogs food. She was told by a breeder it makes the dogs coat shiny. Don't know if that's an old wives tale or not...

I think fats in general are supposed to give furry pets a shinier coat.

And no leaving grease out on the counter here, where the ambient temps in our house this time of year hover around 78/79F - maybe a bit higher in the kitchen.

I rarely eat bacon, but I do keep a few slices in the freezer to have for certain dishes. One is when I crave green beans the way my grandmother made them - cooked with onions and bacon until they were melt in the mouth tender. She had a canister pretty much the same as the one maire_cate showed ^^

OK, @raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio. Everyone else on this thread knows what you are talking about, I bet, but not me. Could you provide a quick how-to cook of those green beans? Thanks much.

Yes - yum - on the outside of grilled cheese

I think I may have added bacon grease to dishes in the past, but I have never saved bacon grease for cooking. Nor did my mother or grandmothers. So I assume their mothers did not either. But I don't doubt it adds amazing flavor to may dishes! I'm from New England, if that matters. Salt pork, on the other hand, was used in several of my grandmother's dishes.

I remember the day, pretty much, that my mother made fried potatoes with 100% new oil only, with no bacon grease added, and saying "These don't really taste like anything". It was a short lived adjustment really (and probably when I was in grade school) , but the difference was striking, the first couple of times.

barncatz, there is no real secret to it. Fresh green beans (my grandmother and mother always went to a particular farm stand to get the variety called ' Greasy' (really, that's the name!)

Bacon - cooked a little to release some of the fat, but not crisp, and then diced. A large yellow onion, diced and cooked in the bacon fat and a little butter until just starting to caramelize. Salt and black pepper to taste - put all in a heavy covered pot (or slow cooker) and cook at a really slow simmer for an hour or two, until the fat is rendered from the bacon bits, and the onions and beans are super soft.

Not dietician approved!

When I was young, my dad used bacon grease to pop popcorn.

I enjoy bacon but only cook it a few times a year, in the oven. I save a bit of the grease, keep it in the refrigerator, forget to use it, and end up throwing it away. But this thread has me craving fried okra now!

DH makes German potato salad a few times a year and it just wouldn't be the same without bacon and the drippings.