Keeping a container of remaining bacon grease on hand to use as cooking oil for vegetables, beans, dressings, and eggs is a time-honored chef’s technique gave by generations of grannies. There’s a good chance your granny wasn’t following modern-day food security standards with her collection and storage process.

Copy her outcomes– however not her procedure– with these ideas for cooking, collecting, and storing bacon grease from Stephen Chavez, chef-instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education, and Meredith Abbott, chef with Sur La Table.

How to Collect Bacon Grease

Use this basic procedure to collect the leftover grease from your Sunday morning brunch bacon or your weekday BLTs.

Action 1: Cook

Whether you prepare your bacon on the stovetop or in the oven, you can conserve the grease for future use. “Pan-frying offers little room for error with gathering bacon grease, since even a couple of scorched solids will impart a burnt flavor and dark color to the grease,” says Chavez.

Step 2: Cool

Let the grease cool briefly prior to you begin dealing with it, so you won’t get burned by splatters or spills. If the grease cools to lower than 100 degrees, states Chavez, it will become a solid– in that case, you can reheat it carefully until it returns to its liquid state.

Step 3: Strain

Keeping bacon bits out of your grease permits the grease to remain fresh for longer and improves the taste of your future meals, so straining is essential. “To strain the bacon grease, set a great mesh strainer over a heat safe bowl or vessel,” like a spouted glass measuring cup, says Abbott.

Step 4: Transfer

Transfer the strained grease to a heat-safe food storage container. Both professionals suggest glass or metal containers, which will avoid the grease from getting flavors and smells left behind on plastic.

” An useful suggestion is to freeze the bacon grease in little silicone molds, then pop them out into a zip top freezer bag so you have easy private portions to utilize,” states Abbott.

How to Store Bacon Grease

Though previous generations of home chefs kept bacon grease on the counter, professionals recommend saving yours in the fridge or the freezer. “It’s finest to not keep the bacon grease at space temperature because any microparticles of the bacon can trigger the grease to go rancid,” states Abbott.

Shop your grease in a glass or metal container with a tight-fitting cover.

While using cling wrap directly on top of the grease obstructs it from the air in the container, that additional action isn’t needed. “If it is cooled, only the really top layer is exposed to air,” Chavez says. “If you scrape that off, the strong grease below stays fresh for a long time.”

For How Long Bacon Grease Lasts

Expect the solid grease to last three to six months in the fridge and 6 to 12 months in the freezer.

How to Keep Bacon Grease Fresher for Longer

If you wish to assist your grease last as long as possible, utilize a brand-new container for each collection– do not include brand-new grease on top of strong grease.” [When] the brand-new grease is constantly on top, the grease on the bottom will ultimately go rancid and consider that flavor to the entire batch,” states Chavez. “If you do this, make certain to date the container, and keep in mind to discard it about every 2 to 3 months and begin a brand-new jar.”

For finest outcomes, the chefs stress the significance of straining the grease prior to storing it to remove any bacon particles. “You need to always strain it before storing,” states Chavez. ” This will get rid of the dark bits from producing a bitter charred taste, and will leave a very clean white fat once it strengthens.”

How to Use Bacon Grease

Adding a little bacon grease to your preferred recipes provides an abundant, smoky depth. “Bacon fat is a hydrogenated fat like butter, coconut oils, and other animal derived fats, so it can be alternatived to any of those,” says Abbott. Chavez points out that, like other fats that are strong when cooled, bacon grease “tends to have a clinging mouthfeel,” he states. “To compensate for this, I suggest using primarily a neutral oil, such as canola, and using simply a little bacon fat for included flavor.”

The chefs recommend using bacon fat for a variety of meals, including fried eggs, refried beans, roasted and sauteed veggies, and vinaigrettes. “I particularly like using it for a warm salad dressing on top of a classic bistro frisee salad, that includes bacon lardons and a poached egg on top,” says Chavez. “The egg combined with the bacon fat and red wine vinegar makes an exceptionally delicious dressing.”