11

I cooked some bacon about a week ago and left the grease in the pan. I've used it the last two nights with great success for cooking other meals.

How long is it safe to reuse? I figure since I'm heating it up to a million degrees each time I use it it's probably pretty safe, but.... I'd rather not get food poisoning.

Improve this question
6
  • 4
    I don't know about leaving it just in the pan, they strain it and such - but Dyer's Burgers is still using grease from 1912 ;) dyersonbeale.com
    – rfusca
    Commented Sep 9, 2011 at 4:40
  • 1
    I don't plan on living for another 100 years so I think I'm set
    – Brh
    Commented Sep 9, 2011 at 4:52
  • 4
    Fat/oil will break down when overheated. If you are heating the oil to its smoking point, then it is too hot. If you want to keep this bacon grease for as long as possible, then strain it and don't overheat. Otherwise your food will taste like burnt oil, eww...
    – Jake Robinson
    Commented Sep 9, 2011 at 13:16
  • +1 for @Jake Robinson's comment... While delicious, bacon grease will smoke pretty early on... Watch out!
    – Rikon
    Commented Sep 9, 2011 at 14:18
  • Possible duplicate of How do I know if food left at room temperature is still safe to eat?
    – TFD
    Commented Nov 27, 2015 at 0:09

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
14

Is it safe? maybe. Is it recommended? No.

If you're going to save bacon grease (or other fats), I'd recommend:

  1. straining it
  2. putting it into a different container to minimize the surface area exposed to air
  3. keeping the container in the fridge.

Although, the first one, I admit I don't do -- as I'm not cooking bacon every day, I've generally used up my supply by the time I've got more ... so I fill a glass jar, and let solids settle to the bottom ... then just use the stuff off the top as I need it, until I get so far down the jar that I hit the darker strata, when I then dispose of the whole thing. (I recycle jars for this, then pitch the whole thing ... you don't want to go washing bacon grease down the drain, it does nasty things to your pipes)

...

If you're going to do what you are, you'll want to make sure that you hold the pan at 250°F (121°C) for at least three minutes, preferably longer, to kill off botulism spores, unless you're fond of that whole paralysis thing.

Improve this answer
1
  • You can also freeze it, which makes it much easier to work with (either as cubes, or chiselling it off when needed).
    – Bruce Alderson
    Commented Sep 9, 2011 at 16:54
11

I reckon that as long as it doesn't start smelling bad (AKA goes rancid) , it's good.

In the olden days, people would store food by covering it with fat as a way of preserving when there was no refrigeration available.

And by the way, good for you for following the 3 Rs: reuse, recycle, and be a cheapskate.

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.