Down the drain? Does it depend on the type? With bacon fat, I usually let it solidify in a cup lined with foil, and then throw it out. With used canola oil, I'm not quite sure what to do because it doesn't solidify.
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Never down the drain. We've had a few incidents in my neighborhood where the sewer pipes were clogged with fat, and a few people's basements flooded with sewage as a result. For fats that solidify, let them do so, then pitch them in your regular garbage. Chill it in the fridge if you need to get it to harden up. For ones that don't, I put them into a sealable bottle, and pitch them that way, but it's possible that your area might take it as part of a recycling effort. (ours does for motor oil; I've never checked at the drop off site if they take cooking oils or not). update : I was answering this assuming this was a question for home chefs; for restaurants, some places (eg, the state of Maryland) require a system for catching grease that's been washed down the sink. It's my understanding that they're fairly expensive (a couple thousand dollars US), but the fines for not having one installed may be even more, and they won't let new restaurants open without one. |
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The best way is to compost it. Since it is organic it makes great earthworm food. Otherwise, after allowing it to cool you should put it in a small sealed container and throw it out with the trash. You can save empty jars for this purpose. If you produce large amounts of oil you may need to take it directly to your landfill, or possibly ask a local restaurant if you can drop off your oil there. I advise against pouring it down the drain. It will clog overtime. Update - This hasn't been suggested yet, but you can reuse most oil several times. Deep-frying oil can be filtered and reused 3-4 times (more depending on the quality and your comfort). Bacon fat can also be filtered and then stored in your refrigerator. See also: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/3014/frying-oil-reuse |
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Unless you fry very often, you can store the twice/thrice/whatever used oil and use to saute or as an ingredient in cakes and breads that call for oil. You need to keep track a bit, since you don't want to put the oil used to fry shrimp into cookies, but it might work well to saute onions for shrimp tiki masala. Bacon grease can likewise be reused. Its my personal favorite for frying onions used in heavy curries from northern India and hearty meat dishes like stews. Simply dump into an old can or a pyrex container, cover in cling film or foil, and store in the fridge for a week or two (it can pick up odors, so not too long), or freeze in cubes for future cooking (would probably keep a year or so). Other fats can be put to good use: chicken fat is used as a condiment in Central European Jewish food, for instance. If you do fry a lot, you can save the used oil and make biodiesel. The process if fairly simple if you have a few days to let the product sit. Google will find instructions. |
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You can mix fats together that will harden and keep them. Once you have enough, mix them with some nuts and seeds and you have some home made fat balls for bird feeding. |
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You can always pour old oil back into the empty oil bottle (or any bottle or jar) and throw it in the regular trash. |
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I don't deep-fry so I never have multiple quarts of used oils. For a skillet full of used oil with too much crumb in it to reuse, I use a lot of Dawn and very hot water to fully emulsify the fat and then wash it down the drain with hottest water. I'm on a septic tank in the country for nearly 20 years with no problems. I save bacon fat that isn't overheated to fry tortillas and veggies headed for a stew or stir-fry. I keep bacon-fat in the fridge, although many southern cooks just keep it in a pot by their stove. |
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When I have some spare in a pan after a bit of a fry up or whatever I get the end pieces of bread from the current loaf and pour the fat all over them, then I let it soak in and then dry up for a bit and I put that out for the birds.. They love it - There's a wood pigeon here that loves bread with bacon fat! |
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fats and grease are not compostable, that much i know. not sure what else you can do with it. my grandmother used to just pour it into a can, freeze it, and toss it in the garbage on garbage day. |
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