Some of our favorites include: Bacon Grease Gravy and more!
Bacon Grease Gravy
Bacon grease is the star of this smoky flavored gravy. Pour over warm biscuits for the perfect breakfast..
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 6 people
Section 1: Ingredients
1/2 lb bacon or 1/4 cup bacon grease
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 cups milk whole, 1%, or 2%
1 tbsp black pepper
Section 2: Directions
1. If cooking bacon for the grease, cook 1/2 lb bacon (chopped into bite-sized pieces) until crispy. You can chop before or after cooking. If using leftover bacon grease or Bacon Up, skip to Step Two.
2. Using the same skillet, heat 1/4 cup of the bacon grease over medium heat until liquified and hot.
3. Add 1/4 cup flour to the hot grease and whisk over medium heat for 2 minutes. Whisk continuously so the flour does not burn.
4. Add 1 cup of milk to the grease/flour mixture and continue to stir with the whisk. Once it starts to thicken, add the second cup of milk and stir.
5. When the gravy is at a desired consistency, add in your crispy bacon pieces (optional) and add 1 tbsp black pepper (or to your taste).
6. Serve over warm biscuits.
Notes
- If the gravy gets too thick, add a little more milk to thin it out.
- Remember: You can always add more milk but you can’t take it away. Add the milk slowly to make sure it is all incorporated and the gravy is thickened before adding more.
- If the gravy is thin, you can try turning the heat up while you continue to stir.
- Even thin gravy tastes delicious!!
- Crumble your bacon and add it to your gravy or sprinle on top of your biscuits.
- Add cooked sausage to your gravy for a hearty sausage gravy and biscuit breakfast.
Bacon-Fat Biscuits
Trade bacon grease for lard in a standard recipe, and the bacon’ll be in the biscuit. (But you can always sneak a few slices, too)
Section 1: Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
4 tbsp. cold bacon grease
¾ to 1 cup cold whole buttermilk
2 tbsp. butter, melted for brushing (optional)
Section 2: Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar together in a large bowl. Blend the bacon grease into the flour with your hands until the mixture resembles coarse meal with flakes of bacons grease dispersed throughout. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, then slowly pour in the buttermilk, stirring until a dough forms (if this happens with ¾ cup, stop; if not, keep slowly adding remaining butter milk until dough forms).
3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead a few times, then roll or pat the dough to ½ inch thick. Using a biscuit cutter, cut out as many rounds as possible. Reroll scraps and cut to get more biscuits. Transfer to a baking sheet, arranging biscuits on the pan so that each one just touches its neighbor; they’ll “climb” each other as they bake. Optional: Brush tops with melted butter.
4. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the biscuits have risen and the tops have begun to brown. Serve warm.
How to clarify bacon grease
Method one:
1. Pour warm (liquid) bacon grease ito a glass jar with a sealing lid
2. Fill with water
3. Put the lid on and shake
4. Store in the refrigerator upside down to chill. The impurities will stay in the water while the clean grease will float and solidify.
5. Dump out the water and rinse the inside with fresh water.
6. Now you have clean bacon grease to use in a variety of ways!
7. For long term storage bacon grease is best kept in the fridge.
Method two:
You Will Need:
One coffee filter
A strainer, medium-sized works best
A glass jar or ceramic mug/ramekin to collect the fat
A lid for the jar
If your strainer has a long handle, which most do, you’ll need some sort of prop for the strainer handle, to keep it from falling over.
Hot bacon grease, still in the pan or baking sheet.
Steps:
1. Take your coffee filter and bring the center to a point, think of making it more like a funnel. This little adjustment will help the bacon grease to pool and collect in the middle of the filter, which results in fewer spills.
2. Center it in your strainer. Pour the hot grease into the center of the filter. The grease needs to be hot so it will pass through the paper easily. Once the fat cools and solidifies, it will not strain anymore.
3. Leave this little setup to filter and strain for at least fifteen minutes.
4. When it’s done, make sure and appreciate the bits of meat that were filtered from your bacon grease, and toss the filter in the trash. (Remember, don’t compost it! It’s drenched with fat and meat and might attract unpleasant pests.)
5. It is recommended to use your grease pretty quickly or keep it in the fridge. Enjoy your fat!
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