Homemade Baconnaise is Only 1 Smart Way to Use

Leftover Bacon Grease!

Bacon—little strips of heaven that always makes everything better, doesn’t it? We love our bacon, but what about the leftover bacon grease? This happens to be one of the most thrown away food items, which is such a shame because it can serve so many purposes.

It’s just smart to save it and learn how to use it. Fats are one of the four main food sources that should be in your food pantry. They play a crucial role in maintaining health, especially during times of emergencies.

1. Fats are an essential for proper vitamin absorption. Specifically, Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble, meaning they can only be digested, absorbed, and transported in conjunction with fats.

2. Fats play a vital role in maintaining healthy skin and hair, insulating body organs against shock, maintaining body temperature, and promoting healthy cell function.

3. Fats serve as energy stores for the body.

4. Fats are sources of essential fatty acids, an important dietary requirement that serves as a useful buffer towards a host of diseases.

5. Fats are one of the 4 things you must eat to avoid malnutrition.

My dad was a farm-raised Swede, so bacon in the fridge was a priority, and our house always smelled of bacon. My mother would strain it and pour the fat into the grease collector she inherited from her mother, and refrigerate it.

Your mom probably did this as well. And I’m guessing you’re experienced at cooking with bacon grease, so rather than elaborate on that, I thought you might find these ideas from a great site, Ready Nutrition (www.readynutrition.com) helpful as well as interesting. Take a look at these practical applications for using bacon grease. First though, let’s discuss how to properly store it.

To know: 2 pounds of bacon will create 3/4 cup-1 cup of bacon grease.

Reserve an old coffee tin or bacon grease crock and pour over a paper towel or strainer while it is hot to get out the little bacon bits. Lard will keep longer if you strain it because the meat bits are the first thing that will go rancid.

If you’re using a glass container to store bacon grease, allow the grease to cool before pouring it into the container so the glass will not to break  from the extreme temperature change. Some people have used coffee mugs to avoid this problem.

When the grease is cool it will be an off white to brown color depending on how the bacon was cooked and at what temperature.

Cover your container with a lid or plastic wrap to keep outside smells from flavoring your grease.  Many people claim that it can be kept indefinitely on the countertop but I keep mine in the fridge just to be sure. You can also freeze it for longer storage. Bacon grease will last 6-9 months in your refrigerator or freezer.

Now, great uses for bacon grease:

Make cookies just like grandma did.

Reward your dog with homemade bacon flavored dog biscuits. Along those lines, you can also drizzle a little bacon grease in your dog’s food bowl and this will encourage Fido to eat his food.

Season your skillet or your cast iron cookware.

Make bacon gravy. Did you mom ever make cream gravy? All you need is some milk, flour and bacon grease and this will make your meal sing!

Make a candle – Pour the bacon grease in a cup or can, and place a wick inside. Give the grease a few minutes to soak into the wick, and then place it in the fridge until it solidifies. Viola! You now have the best smelling candle that money didn’t buy (at least if you like the smell of breakfast).

Bacon grease is a great substitution for butter. 1 tablespoon of bacon grease can be used in place of butter or oil in just about any recipe; and don’t even get me started on how delicious bacon grease is with sauteing potatoes!

Make some handy firestarters for your next camping trip by dipping a cotton ball or a piece of tinder in the fat and storing it in an unused Altoids tin can. Voila! You could even use bacon grease that has accidentally been left out and gone rancid, to make the most of what you have.

How about some tasty pemmican? This Native American superfood is made of fat (typically deer fat but any will do), jerky made from lean meat, and dried fruits and/or berries. You just ball up the ingredients in equal parts and tuck it away.

If you’ve run out of your leather boot protectant and need a quick alternative, animal fat is the way to go! In fact, one of the secrets that backpackers have used to waterproof boots is with animal fats.

Make a bird feeder! The Girl Scouts taught me this one. Take a pine cone and cover it with bacon grease and then sprinkle wild bird seed over it. This is a great craft you can do with your kids!

Fix those squeaky hinges! Add a dollop of bacon grease to a rag and grease hinges. They should quiet down without a problem. This will also work on squeaky wheels!

Trap bugs. You can trap annoying bugs by placing a plastic container of bacon grease and a bit of vegetable oil in a common bug area. The oil will be too thick for bugs to fly out of, trapping them for life.

Moisturize your hands and heels. Cracked hands and heels can be very painful. Instead of Vaseline, rub some bacon grease on your heels. Apply a bit before bedtime, put on your socks and get cozy. In the morning, your feet will be brand new again and soft as ever. This is because animal fat contains vitamins A, D, K, and E.

Grease your muffin, pie or cake pans. This will no doubt add just a touch of bacon flavor to your baked goods, but who wouldn’t want that?

Stop boiling pots from overflowing. I just learned this handy little trick. By dropping a bit of oil or bacon grease into the pan when boiling pasta will help it not boil over.

Take your sandwiches to the next level with baconnaise. You could even add a spoonful of bacon grease to condiments like ketchup or barbecue sauce to give it a little extra flavor. I’ll close with the recipe. Meanwhile, hats off to eating more bacon and doing more with its wonderful fat!

HOMEMADE BACONNAISE

3/4 cup rendered bacon fat, melted

3/4 cup canola oil

2 egg yolks

1 tablespoon mustard

2 tablespoons mayonnaise (optional)

1 tablespoon water, plus more to correct consistency

Lemon juice to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

4 strips crisp bacon, crumbled

2 scallions, white and green parts, finely sliced (optional)

Combine bacon fat and canola oil in 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Whisk to combine. Add egg yolks, mustard, mayonnaise, and water to bowl of food processor. Run processor for 5 seconds to combine. Scrape down sides of processor bowl with rubber spatula. With processor running, slowly drizzle fat into bowl in a thin, steady stream, stopping and scraping down sides as necessary. Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste, and adjust consistency with water until thick, smooth, and creamy, but not mouth-coatingly waxy. Stir in crumbled bacon bits and sliced scallions, if using. Store in refrigerator in air-tight container for up to two weeks.

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