Animal Fats, Which Ones Do You Save?

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skilletlicker

skilletlicker

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In a recent thread titled Leftover Beans, I mentioned sautéing aromatics in pork fat reserved from raw pork butt. Caseydog mentioned using bacon grease. Personally, I use bacon so sparingly that the grease doesn't accumulate. Chicken fat rendered from unwanted skin might be an opportunity I'm missing, though.

Which animal fats do you save for future use?
 
I have not in a while but I've been known to render and save duck fat. I need to make duck again, once my foot heals.
 
From cooked meat, just bacon fat. The rest I render from fresh uncooked fats and a little water, especially schmaltz. I don't render much anymore except schmaltz.
 
pictonguy said:
From cooked meat, just bacon fat. The rest I render from fresh uncooked fats and a little water, especially schmaltz. I don't render much anymore except schmaltz.
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You struck me as someone who would be a duck fat fan. Do you not use it, or just buy it or what?
 
FrankZ said:
You struck me as someone who would be a duck fat fan. Do you not use it, or just buy it or what?
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Oh yeah for sure. I just don't cook enough duck for the amount I use, so I just buy it and duck fat is one of the fats I use the most, it's pretty much my go to for cooking in general, that and butter. Tallow is in my rotation as well. Then bacon fat and schmaltz.
 
pictonguy said:
Oh yeah for sure. I just don't cook enough duck for the amount I use, so I just buy it and duck fat is one of the fats I use the most, it's pretty much my go to for cooking in general, that and butter. Tallow is in my rotation as well. Then bacon fat and schmaltz.
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That says to me you need to cook more duck. :mrgreen:
 
Bacon.

When I smoke a brisket I smoke the fat trimmings to render them. I'll use that like bacon fat but also for other beef dishes.
 
I'm surprised nobody mention possum fat. Uncle Herschel makes cornbread hushpuppies fried in possum fat that are pretty tasty. Of course he would eat just about anything that swims, slithers, or walks. Herschel is in his 90's and pretty active on his farm. Maybe he knows something we don't.

We don't follow those rules here. As a general rule we don't save any animal fats. Doesn't stop me from cooking eggs in new bacon grease but that's about it. Ms. Gracie Lou gets pretty excited about fat we trim before cooking.

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Is that her "get out of my face" look?

I cook my bacon on a rack in a sheet pan in the oven, so I have a lot of rendered bacon squeezin's in the canister next to the stove. The problen is, I always forget it's there!
 
I don't really save fat as I don't cook enough of any one meat to make it worthwhile. However, that said, when I roast a whole duck, (which I will be doing this coming Christmas), I will, naturally, roast my potatoes in the fat - delicious! In fact I will be roasting 2 ducks - I like a LOT of leftover duck! :yum:
 
I have bacon grease and beef tallow. I bought the beef tallow at COSTCO. You can buy bacon grease at most grocery stores. I don't use much, just enough to add bacon flavor to things I pan fry.

CD
 
dcSaute said:
iffin' you're hankering poultry fat . . . cook yer'self a goose.

more fat than meat . . .
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I used to save goose fat. I used to serve goose at Yule every year. But, the commercially available geese around here got leaner and leaner. I quit buying goose for my winter solstice parties after the year I only got a couple of tablespoons of fat from a large goose. Because there was so little fat in the roasting pan, it got burnt enough to taste unpleasant.
 
I don't save any animal fats, I don't use them for cooking, we just use EVOO for everything except for those very rare times when I fry chips or for frying aubergine slices coated in batter to make a Parmigiana. In this case I use peanut or sunflower oil.

Of course, for Carbonara I use the guanciale fat and when slow-cooking chicken pieces, or oven-baked, which release fat so I don't add any oil.
 
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