Food - Drink
The Clever Way To Store Bacon Fat
By SYLVIA TOMCZAK
While strips of crispy bacon are great, bacon fat can be better for thrifty home cooks. When cooled to room temperature, bacon grease turns into a soft, scoopable, pearly white cream with a smoky and salty flavor that can enhance countless recipes; however, the fat is perishable and shouldn't be stored on the counter.
Storing bacon fat in a jar and placing it in the fridge is an easy option, but it's not the best choice in the long run. Bacon grease stored in a sealed jar in the refrigerator will keep for about six months, but storing the fat in the freezer can extend its shelf life to a year, and doesn't make the fat much harder to use, if you follow this tip.
The most clever way to freeze bacon fat is to pour warm (not hot) drippings into an ice cube tray, instead of freezing it in larger blocks. Bacon fat cubes make it easy to pop a tablespoon of smoky goodness into any recipe, without having to chip away at a big, frozen chunk just to get the amount you need.