Here at BENSA, we’re often asked what to do with bacon grease, the inevitable by-product of cooking our favorite meat. Our bacon loving members wonder if it’s okay to cook with bacon fat.
They ask us about how to save it, the best bacon grease container, and the easiest way to discard it. And of course, we love sharing all the ways to enjoy bacon fat in cooking and baking.
We think the drippings left over after cooking bacon are like liquid gold, and even created roundups of best bacon fat recipes and 25 Ways to Use Bacon Fat.
So today, we’re happy to tackle the topic of bacon grease and answer your questions definitively.
Bacon grease has slightly less cholesterol than butter and only 2 more milligrams of saturated fat. It has the same number of calories as the oil, but more saturated fat and sodium.
Bacon Grease vs. Butter
Perhaps you’re wondering, “Is bacon grease better than butter?” Or, “Can I substitute bacon grease for butter?” The answer is, it depends.
Nutritionally speaking, bacon fat is actually lower in saturated fat and higher in the good monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats than butter.
According to the USDA, a tablespoon of unsalted butter has 102 calories, 12 grams of fat and 2 miligrams of sodium; salted butter has 90 miligrams of sodium.
A tablespoon of bacon fat, on the other hand, has 115.7 calories, 12.8 grams of fat and 19.4 miligrams of sodium.
So if you’re watching your sodium intake, bacon grease is actually the lower sodium alternative to salted butter. Unsalted butter would be the lowest-sodium choice.
We sometimes substitute bacon fat for half of the butter in a recipe, with excellent results.
I asked Kelly Quinn, MS RDN, and lecturer at Cornell University’s Division of Nutritional Sciences. “Bacon fat has many similarities, nutritionally speaking, to other oils, despite its bad reputation,” she told me. “It has similar calorie and fat content, 40 calories and 5 gram of fat per teaspoon.”
Sunday-morning breakfasts were a hallmark of my childhood. Id wake up to the floating aromas of bread toasting and the bacon sizzling on the griddle. My favorite part, however, was always the eggs. My dad’s stroke of genius was cooking them in leftover bacon fat. The whites would crackle and quickly spread into tentacles as the golden yolk gently bounced before settling in place. And in just a few minutes on the griddle, the eggs would soak up the bacon fats rich, smoky goodness.
We aren’t talking about bacon itself, though. Were talking about bacon fat, or grease (and sure, the word grease inherently sounds unhealthy). I never use more than a tablespoon or two, so could it really be that much worse for you than other cooking oils, like olive or canola oil?
Our senior designer Sarah Ceniceros uses it to cook chicken breasts. “It is the easiest, most delicious seasoning ever,” she said. And our food editor Brooke Caison takes after her dad and keeps a ceramic container of it next to the stove. She especially likes it for frying potatoes, she said, because “they suck up all the bacon-y flavor.”
While some cooking oils can get expensive (I’m looking at you, avocado oil), bacon fat is the waste from cooking bacon, so it’s more or less free. It’s the best waste I’ve ever tasted. So the next time you’re looking to add a little extra flavor to a dish, turn to healthy(ish), flavor-packed, and basically free bacon fat.
Bacon Grease: Better Than Butter?!
FAQ
Is cooking with bacon grease unhealthy?
Is bacon grease worse than olive oil?
Is bacon grease saturated or unsaturated?
Is it OK to cook eggs in bacon grease?
Is bacon grease better than butter?
Bacon fat is higher in monounsaturated fat (the good fat) than butter. Unlike margarine, bacon grease does NOT contain trans fat (aka “bad fat”). A comparison between a tablespoon of bacon grease, butter, and canola oil is quite interesting. Bacon grease has slightly less cholesterol than butter and only 2 more milligrams of saturated fat.
Is butter difficult to digest?
Butter, as other dairy products, contains lactose and saturated fats which can be difficult to digest. It is better to prefer olive, avocado or coconut oil in your meals.
Does bacon grease make food taste better?
When she isn’t covering food news or writing features about delicious trends in the culinary world, she’s searching for her next perfect bite. Using leftover bacon grease from cooking off a pound of bacon not only reduces waste but makes food taste so much better.
Is bacon grease a healthy fat?
Bacon grease is a natural fat that hasn’t been processed (however, the bacon has been). According to Fitbit, one teaspoon of bacon fat has 38 calories and zero carbs. Bacon grease is lower in saturated fat than butter and higher in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.