Tuesday, July 28, 2009

What to do with all that bacon grease

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So now that I am on a "real food" kick, I am happy to announce that bacon is a real food, and so is a potato, so lets put them together shall we? So we had bacon and eggs for breakfast. Now a good housewife would know you never pour bacon grease down the sink, because it will clog up your pipes eventually. So I usually let it solidify and spoon it into the garbage. Today however, I used it to roast my potatoes. You would think that rendered bacon fat would taste strongly of bacon, If you have ever put your finger in bacon fat, it really doesn't. It mostly just tastes like fat, with a mild hint of bacon.
I think we all connote bacon fat as the ultimate artery clogging substance. However, did you know they have never actually proven that saturated fat causes heart disease? Frankly, bacon fat is a "real food" where as vegetable oil is merely a food like substance and is high in omega- 6's which counteract the health benefits of omega 3's.
So don't feel guilty by these roasted potatoes in rendered bacon fat, because they are darn tasty.

Cut up any potato you like in big chunks (I used russets, but would have been thrilled to use yukon gold if I had them). Boil them in salt water until tender. Properly drain them (I spun them in the salad spinner so they were nice and dry). Preheat your oven to 450 degrees, positioning your rack on the top third of your oven. Spoon your bacon fat (as little or as much as you like) on a cookie sheet and add the potato. Season liberally with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Toss to coat. Roast for 20 minutes, tossing half way through until they are crispy and unbelievably irresistible. I couldn't stop eating them!

2 comments:

The Mecham Family said...

Sounds delicious. I think you should bring some in to USS. :)

Anonymous said...

thank you so much!!! i love bacon.
kris