Saving bacon fat, etc.

During World War II the US instituted a domestic program whereby households saved bacon grease and other fats from cooking in coffee cans. These were collected and used in explosives manufacture (fats are triglycerides and a source of glycerin for nitroglycerin). My mother's family did this and continued the habit of collecting grease in a can well after the wartime program stopped. If nothing else, disposing of bacon fat by the canful is less messy that dealing with it piecemeal.

My mother continued the habit of collecting bacon grease while I was growing up and I started doing it when I was cooking for myself. I find that the bacon grease makes a yummy medium for frying potatoes and other things. I also collect the chicken fat skimmed from Chinese red-cooked chicken. Red-cooked chicken is chicken stewed in soy sauce with onions and ginger and so the skimmed chicken fat is a sort of mildly ginger-flavored schmaltz. I use it instead of peanut oil to sweat the onions and scald the chicken for the next batch of red-cooked chicken.

I know it's not uncommon to save the fat from roasting a duck or goose. Does anyone else save bacon fat or other cooking fats? Also, does anyone make their own lard? I used to but the supermarkets trim the fat from their pork these days and it's hard to get the raw material.

-Paul W.

I save bacon fat in an old coffee cup in the fridge - I use it for frying where flavour matters, and it never seems to go stale - the top layers seal off the lower levels and no matter how deeply you dig it remains good to use - give it a sniff to be sure, but you can tell if it ever went rancid. I also use it to saute shallots and anything else where it will enhance flavour, even if in a subtle way. It is especially good for frying potatoes.

Is it for everyone? Probably not, but it is easy to test - fry an egg in butter, clean the pan (or use a different one) and fry an egg in bacon fat, then do a taste-off.

My mother and my grandmothers saved bacon grease for reuse. So I do, too. It's great for frying potatoes and putting into green beans. I was a small boy during WW2, and I don't remember even thinking about what they did with it.
BTW, bacon was a lot greasier 70 years ago when I was a teenager.

Another place where bacon fat excels is in pastry for savoury pies! You can also use it in place of melted butter when making popcorn (we use a microwave popper that uses no fat when popping, so you can add whatever you like - we always go for melted butter and salt but also sometimes add some dill or dried basil or oregano or a hint of garlic powder. Time we did some bacon fat again!

[Jenise]

I save roast chicken fat and always cook off the skin and fat from ducks to make potatoes with later. But nothing else, and certainly not bacon fat. It's a thing in the South, though, as bacon fat is the ideal fat medium for fried green tomatoes.

My grandmother put all her fat (and she produced a lot of it) in a coffee can and then dumped that in holes in the garden that grandpa dug for this purpose. They were on an acre of land with very sandy soil that was easy to dig in. When a hole finally filled up he'd scoop dirt over it and start another. As kids we'd play all over and every now and then our foot would go right through the top layer and into some old grease. Pretty disgusting! Some day an archeologist is going to dig all that up and draw the wrong conclusions.

I do not collect used fats. I am very happy to use duck or goose fat, or render some bacon in the moment, to grease up my pans.

I used to save bacon fat all the time, it never goes bad and is delicious with fried potatoes and more. I am eating differently now, so do not save bacon fat. I love BLT sandwiches during tomato season, but now I microwave the bacon on the bacon rack lined with paper towels. I have it down to a science, and I love how it comes out without all that fat.