A nice jar of Bacon Fat
Many dishes (especially beans) benefit from a tablespoon or two of Bacon Fat, aka Bacon Grease. But, like pita, bacon fat is one of those ubiquitous ingredients it’s hard to find a recipe for. Problem solved. Makes 4 T, which is just about the right amount to add to a pot of Snow’s style beans.
Ingredients:
4 strips pork bacon (cured or “uncured” but not turkey or other fake bacon, please)
Makin’ bacon fat
Method: arrange bacon strips in COLD skillet so each strip has maximum contact with the surface. You might need to cut them in half in the middle to make them fit. Cook over LOW HEAT until fat begins to render then flip to expose the other side to heat. Once a good amount of fat has rendered, turn up the heat slightly. Continue to cook, turning occasionally, until the bacon has a uniformly crispy surface.
If you’re not going to serve the bacon as bacon, ends and pieces can be had for half the price.
When most of the fat has rendered out and the bacon strips have been reduced by about 75%, transfer them to a paper towel to drain. Cool the fat slightly then pour into a jar you’ve reserved for bacon fat. As a rule of thumb, 1 strip of bacon will produce about 1 T bacon grease. Refrigerate between uses.
Never thought it necessary to have a “recipe” for bacon grease. Seems like a fairly obvious byproduct of cooking bacon.
Aha. But what are best practices for getting the maximum amount of high quality bacon fat? That’s what we have here.