Cooking with bacon fat

[obgyn65]

With so many references to bacon in our forums, I thought I should add mine...

Cooking With Bacon Fat (PHOTOS)

 

[BigNick]

Every savvy French homemaker has a can or jar of confit de canard in the cupboard for when people have to be fed in a hurry. It's packed in duck fat - getting on for half the weight (certainly half the volume) of the container. You open the can, drain the fat into a pan to make the world's best sauté potatoes, and just warm the duck pieces through. Add a sharp green salad and you have a fabulous meal in 10 minutes.

 

[freebird5825]

I keep 1 small jar of bacon fat in my freezer for those rare times I use it.

Homemade peirogies just HAVE to be sauteed in bacon fat and onions. Mmmmmmmm...mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
I also add a little to homemade baked beans and green pea soup for some extra flavor.

 

[pb4uski]

I drain bacon fat into a metal coffee can that I store in a cabinet and then use periodically in lieu of oil for cooking/frying.

 

[audreyh1]

I can buy fresh rendered roasted lard here in the Valley. Keeps in the fridge. It's not white like baking lard, it's brown. Not quite the same as bacon fat (no smoke or salt), but it sure is key to beans.

If I want bacon fat, I render it from bacon (we don't eat bacon for breakfast - I only add it to some dishes). This also goes in beans if I'm making Frijoles Charros (savory whole beans). Chorizo too! The Valley Mexicans seem to require at least 3 kinds of pork in their beans, and they'll add chicharones (pork cracklings), and/or several other pork cuts - regular, pickled, or smoked - if they can.

 

[NW-Bound]

Though I use bacon fat, occasionally the smokey flavor does not go right with the dish. Pure lard, I have not used, though I can get fatty cut and render it myself.

I love duck confit. Do not know how to make it, but often go to a French restaurant for it.

Speaking of that, it's about time for me to get a fix of confit de canard.

 

[photoguy]

Once while camping, we cooked the scrambled eggs in the left over bacon fat and it soaked it all up. At any other time this would have been totally repulsive but spending the whole day canoeing / portaging meant that pretty much anything tasted good.

 

[audreyh1]

I haven't tried duck confit myself. I have a friend that says it's great. I noticed that Costco sometimes has a duck package available for order "6 Magret Duck Breasts & 6 Duck Confit Legs", but I have to wait until I have a neighbor to share such an order with.

I see you can order directly on line from their supplier: Duck Leg Confit, Buy Duck Confit Online

 

[easysurfer]

What am I missing something? Isn't the bacon grease/fat unhealthy for you?

Bacon grease: The fountain of youth? – Eatocracy - CNN.com Blogs

Or is it a case of if it won't kill you, it'll make you stronger?

 

[FIREd]

Every savvy French homemaker has a can or jar of confit de canard in the cupboard for when people have to be fed in a hurry. It's packed in duck fat - getting on for half the weight (certainly half the volume) of the container. You open the can, drain the fat into a pan to make the world's best sauté potatoes, and just warm the duck pieces through. Add a sharp green salad and you have a fabulous meal in 10 minutes.

Yum, potatoes fried in duck fat... I buy duck breasts and remove the skin and fat which are cut into small cubes. I place the cubes in a pan to render the fat and fry the skin. The rendered fat goes into a mason jar for later use, and the bits of fried skin are delicious as salad toppers. I use the breast to make this delicious recipe:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/03/d...cumber-radishes-and-peanuts-recipes.html?_r=1

 

[easysurfer]

This sounds delicious:

How To Make Bacon Fat Popcorn | The Kitchn

 

[rodi]

My mom used to keep a jar of bacon grease in the fridge - and use it for eggs, etc.

We don't buy bacon that often - but when we do, we use the same pan (grease and all) to cook up the eggs that go with the bacon... and sometimes to cook up other stuff (add it to soup or beans.)

If we bought/ate more bacon - we'd definitely be cooking with the bacon fat more. So tasty for savory foods.

 

[audreyh1]

What am I missing something? Isn't the bacon grease/fat unhealthy for you?

Bacon grease: The fountain of youth? – Eatocracy - CNN.com Blogs

Or is it a case of if it won't kill you, it'll make you stronger?

Well, lard (pork fat) is lower in cholesterol than butter.

 

[NW-Bound]

Once while camping, we cooked the scrambled eggs in the left over bacon fat and it soaked it all up. At any other time this would have been totally repulsive but spending the whole day canoeing / portaging meant that pretty much anything tasted good.

One would surely want to load up on high-caloric stuff such as bacon fat for activities like that. It will all come out through one's pores as sweat.

 

[freebird5825]

Once while camping, we cooked the scrambled eggs in the left over bacon fat and it soaked it all up. At any other time this would have been totally repulsive but spending the whole day canoeing / portaging meant that pretty much anything tasted good.

Mr B's version of this idea is to cook eggs in the fat from fried linguica (Portuguese spicy sausage). WOW!

for the curious...http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-linguica.htm

 

[haha]

# 1 illustration, caramel baconfat french toast, may be the royal road to morbid obesity.

Ha

 

[NW-Bound]

Preparing my own duck confit. That's it. That's my quest. It is not that tough. And I will make it for immediate consumption, not as a preserve.

More than 10 years ago, one Xmas or Thanksgiving I do not remember, on the spur of the moment, I decided to make duck à l'orange for 20 people. I was able to pull it off, and my guests (all family) loved it. Have not made it since. I will give them duck confit next time.

 

[audreyh1]

My neighbor who likes duck confirms that it's not difficult to make duck confit. She also makes cassoulet.

I've never used it, so I have no idea what I'm missing.

We do love duck however, but roasting a whole duck is a messy pain. Better to go to the oriental restaurant and eat their duck .

 

[NW-Bound]

Umm... I enjoy both roasted Peking duck and duck confit. The ducks may walk the same and look the same (when still live of course), but the dishes of course have different tastes.

PS. I never thought of making Peking duck at home. Seems to require some exotic techniques to get the crispy skin. I am curious now.