Perfectly Practical #29 - Bacon Grease

Y'all know what this is?

Yep.  Bacon grease - incredible stuff.

I have heard that, like honey, it never goes bad.  Have you heard that too?  I keep a jar of bacon grease in my fridge all the time.  Many people don't even refrigerate theirs but I'm not that hard core.  *Update* I am that hardcore as it turns out.  Our breakfast crew at church collects the grease for me in a big jar and I leave it on my countertop. 

I season my cast iron with it and use it to cook my eggs. 

You can also use it to grease a pan - I don't know about it for baking sweet things but who knows?  It might be wonderful.  Bacon in desserts is all the rage you know.

You can use it when you cook your beans or peas to give them a little extra flavor if you don't actually have any bacon or ham on hand. 

We love steam-fried potatoes and if you cook those bad boys in bacon grease instead of regular oil...let's just pause a moment in reverence...I may have to modify my menu plan for the week to include those... 

Make some gravy with the grease to pour over biscuits.  I know that traditionally that would be sausage grease that you make the roux with but bacon grease is just as good.

What about a hot bacon dressing for spinach salad? 

Some people cook their popcorn in it.  Engineer would be in heaven if I made my popcorn that way. 

How about a pasta salad and substitute bacon grease for olive oil? 

You can fry anything in it to give it a little extra flavor. 

If you like feeding the birds, here is a recipe for making your own suet feeder.  I'd like to try this.

What about making a firestarter using dried corncobs and bacon grease?  Put some dried corn cobs in a coffee tin and pour over bacon grease.  Let them sit overnight and then put in the freezer until they solidify.  Then use them to quickly start your fire.  And who doesn't want a fire that smells like bacon?

I really liked this little video about how to make bacon soap.  I have a friend who is embarking on the making her own soap journey so I thought of her...although I'm pretty sure she doesn't sing like that.  :)

This is part of WfMW.