When it comes to adding flavor and richness to your cooking, there's little better than bacon fat. As a bonus, you are required to cook and eat bacon before getting to the grease; a task we are more than happy to tackle. But before you start sizzling, there are a few things you need to know about rendering it right, storing it, and cooking with it.
We understand the desire to cook your bacon as quickly as possible (the quicker it cooks, the quicker you get to eat it!). But here's an instance where a little restraint will serve you well. Not only will high heat potentially burn your bacon, but it will also cause it to crisp up before you've rendered out all that lovely fat. This means you won't have any bacon grease to cook with, and the fat remaining on the bacon will be gummy and chewy. We call that a lose-lose.
Avoid this by cooking your bacon in a cast-iron pan or heavy skillet over very low heat—10 to 12 minutes may seem like a lot, but it's totally normal for a good rendering. You'll be amazed at how much fat you'll get if you go slowly. One standard grocery store package of bacon will yield anywhere from ½-⅔ cup of fat. Want even more bang for your bacon? Ask a butcher for bacon ends (just what they sound like), which are almost entirely fat. Any meat that cooks from them will be essentially bacon bits.
Maple bacon is tasty (although we prefer to lacquer our own with quality syrup, rather than buy the pre-flavored packaged stuff). But when you're cooking a batch of bacon with the rendered grease in mind, it's better to stick with regular old plain bacon. You can use bacon grease in everything from cornbread to sautéed vegetables, and you won't always want a hint of sweetness or other added flavors. Flavored bacon does produce a comparable amount of grease, so if you like maple-scented broccoli, don't let us stand in your way.
Once you've cooked and eaten your delicious bacon, you can attend to all of that liquid fat you worked so hard to cook out. Strain the fat through a fine mesh sieve into your storage vessel. Don't use plastic—if the fat is still hot, it could melt the container. I like to use a pint-sized glass jar with a wide mouth. It's sturdy, won't impart plasticy flavors into the grease, and the wide opening is convenient for spooning out dollops of fat. As the bacon cooks, it will inevitably leave behind bits and pieces of meat. You don't want those in your bacon grease; when you cook with it later, they'll burn and impart a bitter flavor to your food. As a bonus, removing the solids means it'll last for just about forever in your fridge.
Because bacon grease is solid at room temperature, keep that in mind and be smart in how you use it. It's ideal for sautéing or roasting vegetables; heat it first to re-liquify it. Then coat your veg with it; a generous tablespoon will be enough for a sheet pan of veggies. Or, rub it on a chicken before popping the bird in the oven. It doesn't perform in the same way that liquid-at-room-temperature fats, like oils, do. In other words? No vinaigrettes. There is one exception for fats that congeal at room temperature (bacon grease, coconut oil, etc.): If you're going to dress the greens with a hot vinaigrette and eat it immediately, as in the case of a classic spinach salad with warm bacon dressing, you're in the clear.
Bacon is salty by necessity—it's part of the curing process. So when cooking with the fat, adjust the amount of salt you add accordingly. You can always put more in if it needs more, but it's hard to fix an oversalted dish.