I’ve been using cast iron cookware for several years now and can’t recommend it enough. The best thing about them, besides how easy they are to use, is the amount of flavor they impart on your food. If you read my article on getting started with cast iron cooking, you’ll know that much of this is from the patina you develop as you use it.

And nothing is as awesome on cast iron as bacon grease.

I never said this was healthy. But in fact, you need very little bacon grease to lube up your pan and get cooking. The point is that with very little grease, you impart huge flavor!

Use it to make up some skillet home fries and eggs for breakfast or make a beautiful crust on a pan seared steak. Don’t like asparagus? Ever tried it cooked in bacon grease? Bippity-boppity bacon grease!

Now, the only hassle about cooking with bacon grease, is collecting bacon grease. It’s so high in trans-fat that it becomes solid at just below room temp. So when it’s in its liquid oil form, it’s pretty freaking hot. Trying to hold a strainer or put a paper towel over an empty container will either result in a burn or a towel with a hole in it, ask me how I know! Plus, you’ve got to either use a glass jar or metal container; the hot grease will likely damage a plastic container. And, you don’t have to risk pouring any down the drain!

You could just dump all the grease into a jar, but it’s also full of little bits of bacon, the kind that are too small to save but too big to ignore. This is the stuff you’ve got to strain out if you plan to save your grease for cooking later. If you don’t, those bits burn pretty quickly and don’t taste that good when you go to use the grease.

I’ve tried both methods above, holding a strainer underneath isn’t worth it because most strainers have too course a mesh and all the bits come through. If you could find a sieve, that would probably work, but most are too big for most jars. Paper towels filter out grease painfully slow and usually end melting away upon bacon grease impact. The best method I found, the honestly the most reluctant to try, was buying this grease strainer by RSVP, eloquently called the “Fryer’s Friend”.

I found out about them on Paul Wheaton’s website, but hesitated buying it because I hate buying stuff that has one singular purpose. However, once I did, it was well worth it for $13 bucks and free shipping.





It’s simple. It’s a metal can with a spot and handle. It has a fine mesh sieve that sits on top, and removable lid that sits on top of that. You pour the grease through the strainer, bits stay out, put a lid on it and stick it in the fridge. When you want to use some, just pull a smear of it with a spoon or spatula and you’re good to go. It wound up being one those things that was all the things I was trying to do with a sieve and a jar, but took out the hassle.

I’ve found that your grease will stay good for quite a long time, or at least long enough for you to use it. Since I usually cook it on the weekends, making 4-6 strips at a time for myself and our dog, Zero, I wind up with about a half inch to an inch of bacon grease (as measured in the container) every weekend. A whole pack of 12 strips will likely fill you up for a month if you don’t cook bacon regularly, eat the bacon or freeze it for later. If you make bacon every day, you can store it continuously, but you probably shouldn’t be cooking with grease if you’re at that point. Just saying. 🙂

Good luck and stay greasy!

Check out the RSVP Endurance® Fryer’s Friend on Amazon