On the one hand I’m a big bacon lover. I mean – it’s B-A-C-O-N. What’s not to love? It’s beyond delicious. It’s smoky, it’s salty, it’s savory, it’s crispy and golden brown. If you are lucky it’s still warm. (OK all of a sudden I’m hungry and need some bacon! ha ) Bacon has been around since long before my Grandma (Nana) was alive – so on the eat healthy like your Grandma diet – it’s fully legal. But I know there’s been research and indications it’s not the best food for you… (being super polite) so let’s just agree that either 1) we don’t talk about how much bacon or bacon fat we consume or 2) we try not to eat bacon with Breakfast, Lunch AND Dinner on the same day. OK? Deal?
Ok – glad we got that outta the way. Now let’s talk.
When a recipe calls for a small amount of Bacon – what to do?
So – you’ve come upon a recipe that calls for some small amount of bacon. Say 3 strips or maybe 6 oz or something similar and you think to yourself. I’m going to go to the store and buy a LB of bacon and then what? I’ll cook the whole batch up and eat it ? All because I need 3 strips or 6 oz or so? While that isn’t an entirely bad strategy (crispy / crunchy / savory / salty / warm bacon….) – sometimes my jeans are just too tight and I shouldn’t be eating a LB of bacon – even if I am sharing with the hubster.
My solution is super simple. I get my thick cut bacon at Costco – and I cut the two packages in half and put them into the freezer. When I need a few slices for a soup or a salad or even breakfast for myself I grab one of the packages and my biggest toughest serrated knife and I CAREFULLY cut off a hunk at the end. (It takes a bit of patience and sawing motion with the SHARP knife). What you end up with is pre cut bacon Lardons ready for your recipe. Say what ? How about a few pics to help visualize? You cut the bacon perpendicular to the strips – resulting in pre-cut pieces of bacon.
Frozen hunks of bacon into a large fry pan on lowish – until you can separate the lardons. Then turn up to medium and fry to preferred doneness. So there you go. No need to share a LB of bacon with the hubster – just enough for the recipe you are working on !
BTW – how much bacon is left after cooking 6.45 Oz? Per the picture to the left and my scientific analysis I came up with 2 Oz. Wow. Kinda hard to believe, right ? The way I look at it – if we are just eating the bacon today – in say a soup or a salad – we have just saved a ton of fat grams as they have fallen away from the meat and have been left behind in the pan.
Lastly – FYI – according to google – there are about 300 calories in 2 oz of cooked bacon and it contains 20g of Fat and 18g of protein and about 1/3 of your daily recommended sodium.
Speaking of all that fat left in the pan…
What to do with the left over Bacon Fat ?
We are going back to Nana. She didn’t waste anything. She was alive and well and feeding a family when the great depression hit. She didn’t throw away perfectly good lard… and lard that no less includes a smoky flavor ?! Yes, she had a coffee tin or something else on the stove that she used to save the lard and reuse it when and as needed.
While I don’t know for sure – I imagine she used for all kinds of things – like – making eggs to go with that bacon? Searing roasts before stewing or braising? How about when frying up potatoes? (now that sounds yummy!)
What about using bacon fat instead of butter when making buttermilk biscuits ? Bet that’s extra yummy? (Have to keep the fat in the fridge and have it be very cold – or maybe even the freezer!)
Pancakes require melted butter you know… wow – what about putting some bacon AND bacon fat into the pancake batter? Hmmmm better go get your fat pants…
Spinach salad routinely calls for warm bacon vinaigrette! Or what about German Potato Salad ?
You know chefs add butter to sauces before serving to provide more silky texture and enhance the flavors … yep – could use bacon fat… Gravies all start with juices from the meat – and always include a bit of fat…
Roasting veg in the oven? You could use butter…or bacon fat.
Making soup? You could saute the vegetables you are starting with in a lil bacon fat instead of butter.
Cornbread in a cast iron skillet – yeah – must start with bacon fat !
Sautéing green beans on the stove to serve with dinner? Bacon fat will start you on your way!
You get the idea… And…these days an LB of butter is not cheap…and you were going to throw away that fat ?
Ok – you’re ready to store your fat – but how ?
Strain the bacon grease while warm – into a glass container and put in the FRIDGE
We are not going to use an open coffee tin and keep it on the back of the stove. I’m not sure how healthy that is – and to be frank – we probably shouldn’t be using that much lard in our diets… But – grab yourself a jar. I like to use a wide mouth jar – think salsa container or small condiment container with a wide mouth. Next time you are thinking of recycling a glass container with a wide mouth – consider this post. Save that jar !
I use a coffee filter to strain out the bits of bacon that remain in the fat. This way the bacon grease is kept clear of bits of food that could speed up spoiling or the lard becoming rancid. Always use a clean utensil when getting bacon fat out of the jar and you should be able to store your bacon fat a long time –> In the FRIDGE.
Reminder: Butter Contains Water
Most butters contain somewhere between 16 – 18% Water…and salt (typically) and milk solids etc. So when you are using butter you have about 80% fat. Why do I bring this up?
If you are substituting bacon lard / bacon fat for butter fat – you should use about 20% less bacon fat to have the equivalent amount of butter. Calorie for calorie lard is lard is lard… basically. The difference is in cholesterol (Bacon has LESS) and saturated fat (Bacon has MORE). But it’s only a couple of grams here and there…
Lastly – some people can’t eat dairy
So – in those instances – bacon lard may be a good alternative to help those individuals consume your foods.
Ok – hope this was helpful to you all. I have to go now. It’s Sunday, and I’m hungry. Wondering if I whip up some eggs with bacon fat? Whose taking odds here? 😀