LikeTheDew.com

One of the biggest fights my husband and I ever had was over bacon grease. Like any good Southern cook, I save bacon drippings for later use. Bacon grease is as important to some dishes as saffron or white truffle oil is to others. My cornbread wouldn’t be “My” cornbread without the bacon grease I heat in my cast iron skillet before adding the batter for that oh-so-perfect crust. If I have enough, I add it to the oil I fry my chicken in. I add it to green beans, crowder peas and any other slow-cooked Sunday Dinner vegetable side dish. I wilt my collards in it. I fry eggs in it. I… you get the point.

I opened the door to the fridge to discover it gone one afternoon. As I’m noisily searching for it and cursing under my breath, my husband, Jeff, asks what’s amiss. After a brief discussion, he tells me he threw it out. You’d have to know Mr. Let The Garbage Pile Up Two Feet Around The Can Before You Take It Out to fully appreciate how ludicrous an act it would be for him commit.

We never fight – unhealthily so – so this little mishap was really just the hair on the proverbial camel’s back and a full blown, bona fide throw down ensued. During the verbal jousting Jeff demands, “And WHY do we have jugs of used oil in the pantry?!” after which I stare at him like he must be the stupidest man on Earth. Any moron would know that you can reuse oil for frying a time or two if you take care to store it properly.  A child would understand the need to have jugs of used canola or peanut oil labeled “fish” or “chicken.”  Errrr….. right?

As I’m starting to consider this, I step back to survey the contents of the top shelf of my pantry:  the aforementioned “fish” and “chicken” oil jugs (strained through a colander in air-tight containers, labeled and dated of course), canola oil, sesame oil, olive oil, grape seed oil and corn oil. Down below is a 5-gallon jug of peanut oil and I know in the fridge there are almost as many varieties of butter (clarified, salted, sweet cream, etc.).

Holy Olio, I think I have a rendered fat neurosis! Thoughts of therapy sessions with my newly appointed psychiatrist, 28-day “vacations” and white leather hand restraints start to pop in my head!  This can’t be normal!  I have an obsessive-compulsive disorder with cooking oil!  What the f…fatty acid??

And then I snapped back to reality and thought about it more objectively. I was blessed with a perceptive pallet. I can taste the black currant, pepper, vanilla, oak, leather and chocolate in red wines. I could distinguish between and name jarlsberg, havarti, gouda, harzer, Dubliner, beaufort and cabecou blindfolded and drunk. We don’t even fry food that often but when I do, I want to use the oil that will accent and build the flavor of the dish best.

My saving the fish and chicken oil is purely about frugality and since I don’t fry either very often, I have given up the used arsenal. This has made my husband happy and, as a bonus, significantly reduced our chances of contracting botulism!

1. Chris Wohlwend says:

   November 17, 2009 at 2:23 pm

   This story reminds me of a scene from my undergrad days, when I was living with a rotating cast of others in a two-story house. Early one morning a female scream from the kitchen sent everyone headed in that direction. There we found a horrified sometime roommate pointing to a mouse treading grease in the uncapped bacon-fat container on the counter.

   Reply
2. Gina Cooper says:

   November 17, 2009 at 2:28 pm

   As I am frying chicken in my canola oil ~ wishing I had added some bacon grease ~ I found this incredibly amusing. From one Southern cook to another, I totally understand the need to distinguish your different types of grease and to preserve them for all recipes! I have to admit I have multiple shrimp grease containers stored ~ you know I am from the Low Country and we do love our fried shrimp. I don’t fry often and actually try to be as healthy as possible ~ which is hard living in South Carolina. I did grill my chicken today but fried it for my company. I already know my palate will not be quite as happy with the grilled over the fried but there is a price I choose to pay at times just to fit in my clothes! There are times though that just require some good grease ~ especially bacon grease ~ to meet out Southern taste buds.

   I am glad that you and your husband came to a comparable decision on “your” grease. However, I think he will be disappointed when it’s gone when your good ‘ole Sunday meal does not meet the standards that they would ordinarily have if you had used that good ‘ole bacon grease.

   Thanks for sharing!

   Reply
3. Jennifer Harjehausen says:

   November 17, 2009 at 7:02 pm

   Great post! Keep ‘em comin’!

   Reply
4. sally wood says:

   November 17, 2009 at 8:55 pm

   I loved your post. Been there, done that, will continue to do it. There are some who look in my refrigerator and get really, really pale when they see those little containers of ……stuff. What is it? It’s what made that dinner you just so enjoyed so delicious. Manna from heaven!

   Reply
5. Mary Civille says:

   November 18, 2009 at 12:48 am

   I love bacon drippings almost, but not quite, as much as I love bacon. Always try to keep them close at hand. How else does one season hash browns?

   Reply
6. Meg Gerrish says:

   November 18, 2009 at 7:47 am

   Laughing first thing, barely rolled out of bed and you’ve got me thinking about bacon. We only keep peanut and olive oils in the house since we usually enjoy fried foods in restaurants, as that’s why restaurants were invented, to keep the mess in THEIR kitchens. When we do fry, a new container of oil is used, then tossed. No apologies.

   But here’s the thing: bacon grease? Honey threw out the bacon grease? Heart-healthy-ish, we only bake the bacon maybe once a month, but that’s enough to keep a tidy amount of collected grease in the fridge. A tablespoon here and there adds a lot of flavor to many dishes. If someone threw out the bacon grease…I don’t know. That’s just. Wrong.

   Reply