Pork, bacon, rendered fat, cooked

Rendered bacon fat, sometimes called bacon grease or bacon drippings, is what remains in the pan after strips of bacon have cooked down. Cooks strain the warm liquid fat through a fine mesh sieve into a heatproof jar to catch any browned bits, then keep it on the counter or in the fridge for later use. It carries a smoky, savory flavor that plain cooking oil cannot match, which is why it turns up in fried eggs, home fries, sauteed greens like collards or kale, cornbread batter, and even popped popcorn tossed with a spoonful in place of butter. A little goes a long way in a cast iron skillet, coating the surface evenly and helping food brown without sticking.

Because it is essentially pure fat, at 99.5 g of fat and 898 calories per 100 g, rendered bacon fat is used the way any cooking fat would be, by the spoonful rather than the cupful. It solidifies into a soft, opaque solid when chilled and turns liquid again over gentle heat, so a sealed jar in the refrigerator is the standard way to store it between uses. It is naturally low in sodium at 27 mg per 100 g and has no carbohydrate or sugar, which makes it a straightforward flavoring fat to swap into recipes that call for butter or oil when a smokier, savory note is wanted, particularly in skillet vegetables, biscuits, or gravy.