Posted on 08/25/2021 2:41:34 PM PDT by mylife
A few weeks ago, I joined my good friend Cara for an evening of bacon, eggs, and Night Mimosas (mimosas consumed, perhaps trashily, after 7 p.m.). We were celebrating a bit of good news the way all distinguished ladies do: by eating breakfast for dinner.
After Cara fried up the bacon and sloshed out a few Night Mimosas, I volunteered for egg-frying duty. I sidled up to her skillet, which was, to my delight, full of rapidly hardening bacon grease. Cara apologized and offered to wash out the skillet. I looked her dead in the eye, shook my head slowly, and cracked five eggs directly into the pan. She watched wide-eyed as I spent the next five minutes slugging a Night Mimosa and flinging grease over the tops of the eggs. The result: five perfect eggs with runny yolks, lacy edges, little crispy brown bits up top, and perfectly pillowy whites.
Cara was stunned. She had never seen anyone baste an egg in bacon grease. This concerned me, as I had always assumed bacon-basting was a common practice. It’s my preferred egg variation; my mom does it, and her mom did it before her. But I realize now that not all families engage in reckless full-fat cooking for three meals a day, seven days a week. If, like Cara, you grew up in a low-to-moderate-fat household, this is my plea: start frying up your eggs in bacon fat. You won’t regret it.
(Excerpt) Read more at thetakeout.com ...
I 1st had Wilted Salad at the Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas.
Thought I had died and gone to heaven, so yummy.
Sounds YUM!
Great idea! I like that ‘carve off what you need’/throw rest back in freezer’ part :-)
Wilted Salad (w/bacon grease) sounds divine!!! 😍
...ut 15 lbs of chicken thighs. Came to about 2 lbs of chicken skin. Rendered the fat for just over a cup of pure fat. Further crisped up the skins with onions to make gribenes.
How much would it cost me to go live with you for a month?
I’ll bring my homemade bread recipe (with the recipe and all)? Or what about no-knead frypan focaccia? I bet bacon grease could easily take the place of extra-virgin olive oil! What about making venison—I have to admit beef AS venison smells very very yummy too.
Furthermore I have to admit fried salmon skin until crisp makes me want more...I bet we’d have fun cooking for all kinds of reasons!!
What is ‘gribenes”? Frankly, I don’t know and would like to!!
Nemaste!
I grew up on a farm in TN. Many of our neighbors were in there late 70’s and 80’s and some older. We had our own cows and chickens and pigs and gardens. They fried everything in bacon grease. Our meat was freshly slaughtered and stuffed in freezers in white butchers paper. We all shared things and helped each other. I was young and was a great shot with a 22. Would go squirrel hunting with the older guys and get them a bunch of squirrel. I ate it a few times was dark meat and to damn greasy for me. Lol. Was a great way to grow up. But farming is some hard work. Would rather eat bacon every weekend and save the grease. Gonna grow a small garden this year. The veggies taste better when you grow them.
I save the bacon grease remaining after frying bacon in a skillet.
I drain it through a screen to remove burned bacon remnants and pour the liquid in a glass jar.
It is the best frying material, better than butter, olive oil, canola oil etc. Lasts in fridge for many weeks. Melts faster than butter in hot skillet and gives bacon flavor to everything fried in it.
My FAVORITE way to prepare green beans, learned from my Farmwife Aunt Alice:
Fry up 4-6 strips of bacon, remove the bacon to a plate to cool, but leave the grease in the pan. Add your pound or so of cleaned green beans (whole) and a little water, maybe 1/4 cup? Turn the heat back on, cover and bacon/steam the beans. Pay attention; you don’t want to burn your beans!
When the water is gone and beans are tender but not mushy, add the crumbled fried bacon back in. Serve hot or warm.
If you’re feeling adventurous, add a splash of good Balsamic Vinegar before serving.
Heaven on a plate! :)
Hey, Liz! This would probably work with sturdy Kale, too. I’m making Lemony Kale Pesto tomorrow or Friday. :)
Bfl
There are lots of things I can’t get away with as far as bacon grease goes. My wife, who is a wonderful woman, seems to think all things bacon will clog every artery in my body. Yet she will grab two eclairs for breakfast and act like its a healthy meal. I love her deeply but gee whiz!
The church ladies used to rave about Grandma’s beautiful yellow homemade cake. She never told them, but it was yellow from chicken fat. Back in the day.
The bouquet of bacon grease tames even the most aggressive dog
and allows you to make friends with them.
Okay!
I’ll give them another try!
Just don’t try talkin’ me
into eating Brussell Sprouts!
*GACK*
I save bacon grease to make suet for the birds in the winter months.
In the summer I’m too busy with gardening and ‘stuff’ so I cheat and buy it. The homemade suet is GONE in a day. They eat the purchased suet at a much slower rate.
I’d guarantee it’s the bacon grease that makes the difference. :)
Mine too. It’s just the way they all cooked, and didn’t waste the fat.
amen, shallots too and white wine instead of water
great with asparagus too, sometimes I put in a pinch of red pepper flake
You use bacon fat for BIRDS?!
How much do you have that you can afford to, forgive me, squander it like that???
I don’t know why anyone would eat Brussel Sprouts....
Yay!
A kindred spirit!
I have never eaten a skunk..
but I bet if I did, it would
taste exactly like Brussel Sprouts!
ROFL....
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