dep31 posted: " We don't just smoke our own bacon; we also smoke or own ham hocks, Canadian bacon, hams and bacon fat. The back fat from a good, cleanly raised hog is wonderful stuff and shouldn't go to waste, but isn't the greatest for pastry baking. We realized the" Domestic Endeavors
We don't just smoke our own bacon; we also smoke or own ham hocks, Canadian bacon, hams and bacon fat.
The back fat from a good, cleanly raised hog is wonderful stuff and shouldn't go to waste, but isn't the greatest for pastry baking. We realized the first year that we made our own bacon that the bacon grease from said bacon is also liquid gold when it comes to adding flavor in other dishes like scrambled eggs, stir fry, roasted vegetables, etc. But we weren't getting enough from just frying up our own bacon to sustain our new habit… so we got the idea of brining and smoking the back fat just like we do the bacon, but then immediately rendering it and freezing it for cooking with later.
Voilà, bacon grease. Once it's smoked, it's rendered just like lard… but lard never tasted this good!
It takes me awhile to go through it, so I freeze it in pint jars. There's always one in my fridge; I tend to use it a teaspoon to a tablespoon at a time. I rarely pan fry in butter anymore; we use this for eggs, French toast, pancakes, you name it - if the recipe says to put a little oil in the pot, we'll use this instead. Less healthy than olive oil? Probably. Will it affect our overall health, given the amount of homegrown organic food we eat? I think we're safe!
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