Do you save your bacon grease?

thymeless said:

I picked up the practice from Mad Scientist BBQ on Youtube. His videos improved my smoked brisket a lot. I like the smokey beef flavor the "lard" adds to certain things. I only keep about a cup in the fridge. Throw out the old and start fresh with every brisket, so about 3 months between usually.

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Kathleen said:

I am pondering it for pie crust in a beef pie.

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dragnlaw said:

I'm actually about to make some Tourtiere this week, to freeze for the holidays. Was contemplating which pastry dough to use, wondering if I had any Lard left in the pantry. Often you will find them with a shiny glaze at the end, using an egg wash. I'd might use it for the crust but don't think I'd brush the top with it. Be afraid it would just soak in and become soggy?

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dragnlaw said:

Interesting GG, one doesn't think of egg wash as fat... at least I wouldn't grease a pan for cake with it

I'll be making more than one pie so I just might try it both ways!

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dragnlaw said:

I'm actually about to make some Tourtiere this week, to freeze for the holidays. Was contemplating which pastry dough to use, wondering if I had any Lard left in the pantry. Often you will find them with a shiny glaze at the end, using an egg wash. I'd might use it for the crust but don't think I'd brush the top with it. Be afraid it would just soak in and become soggy?

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dragnlaw said:

Interesting GG, one doesn't think of egg wash as fat... at least I wouldn't grease a pan for cake with it

I'll be making more than one pie so I just might try it both ways!

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GotGarlic said:

It also has protein, of course, but an egg yolk is about 58 percent fat.

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taxlady said:

. . . I have never made an egg wash with just egg yoke. Is that something people do? . . .

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taxlady said:

I just looked it up. Whole egg, 100 grams of the edible portion of hard boiled egg, contains 75 grams of fat, so 75% for whole egg. From Wikipedia - Egg as food

I have never made an egg wash with just egg yoke. Is that something people do? I have used whole egg whisked together, either with or without the addition of some water. I have also used just whisked up egg white (I don't think I ever added water to that.).

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taxlady said:

That's what I would worry about too.

May I suggest that you make a tartlette for the experiment. What if lard does make the top soggy and crumbly?

I just looked it up. Whole egg, 100 grams of the edible portion of hard boiled egg, contains 75 grams of fat, so 75% for whole egg. From Wikipedia - Egg as food

I have never made an egg wash with just egg yoke. Is that something people do? I have used whole egg whisked together, either with or without the addition of some water. I have also used just whisked up egg white (I don't think I ever added water to that.).

The pie crust I make for tourtière is very close to half lard, by weight. Fat and water don't mix well, so I think a more water based wash is less likely to penetrate than a fat.

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taxlady said:

Oops, I just noticed that I wrote that 100 grams of whole egg has 75 grams of fat. It's not. It's 75 grams of water, making 75% water. D'oh!

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