Bacon Grease Is the Secret to Upgrading Any Dish: Here’s How to Collect, Store and Use It

No food should ever be wasted — and this especially applies to the grease left in a pan after you cook rashers of bacon. 

Yes, bacon grease is quite literally ‘liquid gold’, because it’s the key to giving any dish a huge flavour boost without the need for extra salt, pepper, oil or other seasonings you’d douse over an average meal. Mum’s steamed broccoli? Add some bacon grease. Plain popcorn? Bacon grease. A boring salad? Bacon grease. A simple soup base? Bacon grease. 

You get the gist.

So, here’s everything you need to know about making, storing and using this secret ingredient to elevate any dish. 

How to collect bacon grease

Cook it

The process starts with making bacon, whether that’s on the stovetop or in the oven. Chef-instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education Stephen Chavez, told the Martha Stewart team that the key to stovetop cooking lies in using a cast iron pan over medium-low heat. You want to avoid burning your bacon because even a few burned solids will carry through in the flavour, resulting in dark-coloured grease. For the oven, Chavez recommended baking the bacon at 180 degrees Celcius (fan-forced oven) for 18 to 20 minutes on a baking rack over a sheet pan. 

Cool it

Once you have your grease, let it cool briefly to the point where it’s not boiling hot but still in liquid form and easy to work with (it will solidify when left at room temperature). 

Strain it

Pour your grease over a fine mesh strainer into a heat-safe bowl. Simply Recipes says this step is essential as it will ensure there are no bacon bits left behind, which will allow the grease to stay fresher for longer. 

“If you don’t filter out the solid bits, the fat can last a couple of months in the refrigerator before it starts to go rancid. If you do filter out the solid bits, the fat can last up to a year in the refrigerator. You can also freeze bacon fat if you want to store it even longer.”

The Washington Post also recommends using a coffee filter to strain your grease if you’re after an even cleaner fat.

Store it

Transfer the strained grease into a heat-safe food storage container, like a glass jar or metal container, with a tight-fitting lid. Try to avoid plastic containers as these may impart unwanted flavours and odours through your grease. Store it in the fridge or freezer. 

A genius tip from Martha Stewart: You can also transfer the grease into small silicone moulds and place them in the freezer. Once they’re frozen, pop them out and store them in a freezer bag for individual portions to use. 

How long does bacon grease last?

Given you’ve rendered the bacon fat properly, strained it and correctly stored it, you can expect your bacon grease to last around three to six months in the refrigerator and six to 12 months in the freezer. 

How to use it

From fried eggs to roasted vegetables, salad dressings and even baked goods, there are a plethora of ways to use bacon fat. Basically, you’ll want to think of it as a substitute for butter, oils and other fats in recipes. It’s worth noting that it does have a low smoke point, so it’s not the greatest for high-heat cooking. However, it’s perfect for roasting, moderate sauteing and baking. 

When cooking with bacon grease, use a clean spoon to scoop some out from your container (generally speaking, half a teaspoon is all that’s needed to give a flavour boost to any dish). To get you started, here are some of our favourite ways to use it:

• Roasted vegetables: Add a few dollops of bacon grease to your pan of vegetables before popping them in the oven. Stir through halfway to ensure all vegetables are evenly coated. 
• Popcorn: Substitute bacon grease for butter or oil when making stovetop popcorn. 
• Biscuits and other baked goods: Replace half of the butter in your favourite baking recipes with bacon grease. 
• Pizza crust: Brush melted grease on your pizza crust for an extra layer of flavour. 
• Fried eggs and omelettes: Add a bit of this liquid gold to a small amount of oil when making your favourite Sunday brunch. 
• Soup base: Build a flavour-rich soup by firstly sauteeing onion and vegetables in bacon grease. 
• Hash browns: Fried potato and bacon? Say no more.