How to Dispose of Bacon Grease? 

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How to Dispose of Bacon Grease 

What’s better than having eggs with nicely cooked bacon for breakfast? As delectable as bacon is, its grease can be problematic if disposed of incorrectly.

As a responsible homeowner, refrain from throwing bacon grease down the drain. Bacon grease hardens when cold and can wreak havoc if poured into the pipe.

Hardened bacon grease can clog your plumbing, thus resulting in sewage backup.

So, after you are done cooking your yummy juicy bacon, it’s better to throw the grease in the trash. You can also store it for future use or bake your bacon to avoid any hassle.

Disposing of Bacon Grease

If you are planning to throw away the used bacon grease in the trash, the following tips will help you on the way.

Let It Cool Before Handling It

Before you dispose of bacon grease, make sure it has cooled down. Exposing naked skin to hot bacon grease is dangerous and can cause severe burns.

Here are a few things you must remember.

  • Hot bacon grease is so hot that it can cause severe burns and bruises to the skin. Also, it can burn its way through the trash-bag or dustbin it is disposed of in.
  • Before going near it, allow it some time to cool. The cooling time for bacon grease depends upon its volume. Usually, bacon grease takes at least two hours to fully cool, but that is tentative, depending upon the amount.
  • If it’s high time, and you want to dispose of bacon grease, don’t pour it steaming into the trashcan. Instead, take an empty cup and line it with high-quality aluminum foil. Very slowly, pour the hot bacon grease into the bowl lined with aluminum foil. Allow it some time to cool and harden. Carefully remove the foil containing solidified bacon grease and throw it into the trash.

Bacon Grease Removal From the Pan

If you want to clean the pan containing bacon grease, your cleaning method will depend on the amount of fat.

If there is a minimal amount of bacon grease in the pan, a tissue paper or paper towel will do. If the volume of fat is high, pour it into a sealable container and disposal.

The following tips will help you on the way.

  • The grease container will eventually end up in the trash. Therefore, make sure that use a disposable container, rather than a recyclable one.
  • In case you don’t have a disposable container, you can get away with some clean dishes. Pour bacon grease from the pan into the bowl and place it in the refrigerator. Allow it to sit in the fridge until the grease cools off, and solidifies. Now take a rubber spatula and scrape the hardened grease into the trashcan. Once you are done washing scraping the fat, wash the dish with a mild detergent.
  • If you eat a lot of bacon, think ahead. In your store, keep some non-recyclable containers that will serve as grease disposal vessels. So, the next time you cook bacon, you won’t have much issue with bacon grease disposal.

Throw It Into the Trash

A paper towel soaked in bacon grease can easily be dumped into the trash can.

The same goes for the disposable container containing bacon grease. On the equal measure, hardened fat can be scraped off its vessel, and placed in the trash.

Also read: Are Egg Shells Biodegradable?

Storing Bacon Grease for Future Use

Used bacon grease doesn’t always need to be disposed of. Sometimes, it is better to save it, for you don’t know when you might need it.

Package It For the Future

If you plan to reuse your existing bacon grease, pour it into the sealable containers that we just discussed. But before you do, make sure it is well strained. Remove leftover bits and particles of food from the grease.

Doing so, cheesecloth or sieve can come in handy. After successfully pouring the fat into the container, mark it with a tag that says “bacon grease”.

As discussed in the previous paragraphs, before you handle grease, make sure it is perfectly solidified. If you need to move it urgently, make sure you are wearing kitchen gloves. A single droplet of hot bacon grease can damage your skin.

By labeling the bacon grease container, you will be able to identify it correctly. As a result, you won’t mistake it for something else, and not pour it into the wrong pan or bowl.

Storing Packed Bacon Grease

If you are to use bacon grease shortly, you can leave it in a container on your kitchen counter or in the pantry. If you plan to store it for an extended period, it is better to refrigerate it or freeze it.

Frozen grease can last for an extended period and not get contaminated. You can also add new fat to the existing fat without any problem.

Refrigerating bacon grease helps, but in the fridge, it can catch other scents. Therefore, make sure to use refrigerated bacon grease first.

Frozen or refrigerated grease is safe, but before reusing it, give it a sniff. If kept in cold storage for too long, bacon grease gets stale and rotten.

Cooking in Bacon Grease

You may not know, but you can cook some of the most delicious cuisines in bacon grease.

Cooling in bacon grease is much safer and better than using other kinds of fat such as lard, shortening, butter, and oil. It can give you food a taste and flavor of bacon.

Here are some of the most common things to be cooked in bacon grease.

  • Bacon caramel peanut corn
  • Chicken Alfredo
  • Pancakes
  • Gingersnaps
  • Potato soup
  • Spinach salad
  • Buttermilk cornbread

Cooking Bacon in the Oven

One of the best ways to stay clear of the somewhat problematic bacon fat is to cook bacon in the oven.

Here is what you need to do.

Preheat the Oven

Before you place the bacon in your oven, make sure to preheat it to at least 400 degrees.

To get rid of the leftover grease issue, line the dish containing bacon with butter paper or aluminum foil.

Cover the Baking Sheet With Foil

When cooking bacon in the oven, the entire baking sheet needs to be covered with high-quality aluminum foil. This also includes the inner sides of the pan containing bacon.

Once you have lined the baking sheet with aluminum foil, place strips of bacon on the foil directly. It is perfectly alright if the pieces touch each other. As they cook, they will continue to shrink.

Using aluminum foil to line the baking sheet will make it easy for you to contain the small amounts of bacon fat produced. After cooking your bacon, you can quickly dispose of the foil containing the fat into the trash.

Cooking the Bacon

The standard cooking duration for cooking bacon ranges from 10 to 20 minutes. But that depends upon how tender or crunchy you would like your bacon to be.

After you have cooked your bacon according to your preference, remove the baking sheet.

Now, with a clean paper towel or tissue paper, soak the grease from the bacon strips as they cool. With the pieces cooled down and the fat removed, serve them on a platter and enjoy.

Smart Ways to Utilize Leftover Bacon Grease

Sometimes, throwing away your leftover bacon grease isn’t the answer. If you think smartly, you will realize the sheer amount of exciting things you can do with your bacon grease.

Start a Fire

In most cases, a grease fire equates to a kitchen emergency. However, bacon grease can be used as an excellent fuel for your next bonfire gathering.

All you need is some bacon grease, an egg carton, and some dryer sheets. Start the fire, and enjoy yourself a night of beer, marshmallows, and ballads.

Make Home Made Bourbon

Becoming a liquor extraordinaire is not as difficult as you think. You can use that leftover bacon grease and make the best homemade bourbon there ever was.

This recipe will bless your happy hours in a way; you could never have imagined.

Make Candles

The easiest and most effective ways to use bacon grease is by making candles out of it. Just pour some bacon grease in a jar, and allow it to cool off.

While it is still liquid, add some flowery fragrances to eliminate the meaty odor. Use these candles during dinners or by the tub as you bath.

Conclusion

When disposing of bacon grease, make sure to keep the following points in mind.

  • Hot bacon grease is harmful to the skin and can cause burns. Before moving it from one container to the next, make sure it has been cooled off.
  • Pouring bacon grease down the drain isn’t the best idea as it can clog the plumbing once it hardens.
  • Never add a massive amount of bacon grease to the compost. The more the volume grease is, the longer it will take to decompose fully.

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