Do You Cook With Animal Fat?

December 2, 2009

I recently made croutons that were coated in bacon fat instead of butter or oil. They were the best croutons I've ever had. Many chefs, like Michael Symon, swear by cooking with pork or duck fat. After tasting the croutons, I plan on experimenting more with animal fat. Duck fat French fries, anyone? How about you?

Source: Flickr User rick

47 Comments

danakscully64 3 years 23 weeks

No - I'm a vegetarian and don't cook unhealthy meat to begin with. It honestly scares me to hear people say they like the flavor payoff of animal fat because it's just another ingredient I have to ask about when I eat out at a restaurant or at a friends house.

danakscully64 3 years 23 weeks

aijia - "I don't want to have to ask everyone if the croutons are vegan. =( " Typically they're not, many contain milk :( I've found vegan croutons before though. Some companies use croutons made with anchovies, so be careful!

SweetFirefly 3 years 23 weeks

Disgusting...no! I'm a vegetarian.

3 years 23 weeks

Whenever I cook something that gives off a lot of fat I put it in the freezer in pyrex storage containers. The fat freezes into discs that I can just break chunks off of for whatever I need. I probably have bacon and lamb in the freezer right now. Lamb fat is delicious, and I have been meaning to give duck a try so perhaps I will just so I can harvest some of the duck fat.

aijia 3 years 23 weeks

No! And as a vegan it makes it really difficult because it turns lots of vegan food into non-vegan food. I don't want to have to ask everyone if the croutons are vegan. =(

3 years 23 weeks

I fry eggs and potatoes in the leftover bacon fat. I also use it to make the roux for thickened soups. Lard goes into half my pie crusts (home and family only, at work where I don't know their dietary restrictions, they get vegetable shortening).

weffie 3 years 23 weeks

Lol I didn't mean to come off QUITE that bitchy... I just really, really love ducks :)

muse2323 3 years 23 weeks

I cook with animal fat rarely--bacon fat, sometimes.

GlowingMoon 3 years 23 weeks

Hell no. :) I can't remember the last time I ate bacon.There are reasons my HDL cholesterol is higher than my LDL, and this is one of them. :)

GlowingMoon 3 years 23 weeks

Hell no. :) I can't remember the last time I ate bacon. There are reasons my HDL cholesterol is higher than my LDL, and this is one of them. :)

CaterpillarGirl 3 years 23 weeks

btw i cook with bacon grease alot, nothing better than eggs in bacon drippings!

CaterpillarGirl 3 years 23 weeks

I love being greedy and selfish and skinny and eating baby cows, cute pigs and cute little ducks...they are yummy.

betty kraker 3 years 23 weeks

i love to cook veggies with bacon grease like fried brussel sprouts

3 years 23 weeks

I cook with animal fat on occasion.... I've utilized duck, bacon, and pork fat (ok that's what I have now)..Just not at the same time nor all the time. I believe it does bring great flavors into the dish...And why waste? As it is (generally speaking) people in today's society is wasteful enough as it is : P

ayuninur 3 years 23 weeks

AlexisSF 3 years 23 weeks

i'm not opposed to eating it, but i have never cooked with it.

Spectra 3 years 23 weeks

Yep, I use lard and bacon drippings all the time. I wish I could afford to use duck and goose fat more often because the flavor of duck fat is fantastic. I also use butter a lot, but nothing beats the flavor of bacon drippings. skigurl--Incidentally, my dad has a friend who is in his early 60's and cooks with lard just about every day and he's in fantastic health and probably weighs 150 lbs soaking wet. Eating fat doesn't make you fat; it's excess calories that'll do that to you.

Spectra 3 years 23 weeks

shoneyjoe 3 years 23 weeks

Sure I save animal fat for cooking. Bacon drippings and duck fat are both amazing additions to fried rice, roasted potatoes, and even scrambled eggs, I poach mushrooms in duck fat, and I have made suet crusts for pie. I am amazed at some of the almost cartoonish opinions on this post - deserving to be fat, vom, and the like.The way I see it, if I'm going to be the end result for slaughtering a pig (ie. to fill my desire for tasty, tasty bacon), I've also got a bit of a duty to make sure that the rest of him (or her) doesn't go to waste. To that end, I'll try to use every part of an animal. When I was in the UK, we had duck for sale one day at the supermarket. I broke that duck down, roasted the meat, rendered out all of the fat, and made skin cracklings, stock, soup, and the like out of what was left over. To do any less would have been, to my opinion, significantly undignified.

shoneyjoe 3 years 23 weeks

Sure I save animal fat for cooking. Bacon drippings and duck fat are both amazing additions to fried rice, roasted potatoes, and even scrambled eggs, I poach mushrooms in duck fat, and I have made suet crusts for pie. I am amazed at some of the almost cartoonish opinions on this post - deserving to be fat, vom, and the like. The way I see it, if I'm going to be the end result for slaughtering a pig (ie. to fill my desire for tasty, tasty bacon), I've also got a bit of a duty to make sure that the rest of him (or her) doesn't go to waste. To that end, I'll try to use every part of an animal. When I was in the UK, we had duck for sale one day at the supermarket. I broke that duck down, roasted the meat, rendered out all of the fat, and made skin cracklings, stock, soup, and the like out of what was left over. To do any less would have been, to my opinion, significantly undignified.

Hello890 3 years 23 weeks

Haven't read through all the comments, so forgive me if I repeat anything...Butter and lard are actually VERY healthy to cook with. Some believe that manufactured cooking oils such as canola oil, vegetable oil, etc. are harmful, because of the damage to the fatty acids and cell membranes (they're exposed to light, processed at extremely high temperatures, turn rancid, etc.).....BUT, there's lots of controversy on this topic, so I won't go into it further.Weffie, as for cruelty to animals... I'm finding it more and more difficult to bear the inhumanity and ugliness that comes with the farming methods used with these poor creatures. However, I don't think eliminating them from your diet is the answer. There are alternatives, like free-range animal products (which I'm going to start purchasing).

Hello890 3 years 23 weeks

Haven't read through all the comments, so forgive me if I repeat anything... Butter and lard are actually VERY healthy to cook with. Some believe that manufactured cooking oils such as canola oil, vegetable oil, etc. are harmful, because of the damage to the fatty acids and cell membranes (they're exposed to light, processed at extremely high temperatures, turn rancid, etc.).....BUT, there's lots of controversy on this topic, so I won't go into it further. Weffie, as for cruelty to animals... I'm finding it more and more difficult to bear the inhumanity and ugliness that comes with the farming methods used with these poor creatures. However, I don't think eliminating them from your diet is the answer. There are alternatives, like free-range animal products (which I'm going to start purchasing).

3 years 23 weeks

Skigurl, you obviously believe that eating fat makes you fat. You really should read "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes (any decent library will have the book). Eating fat basically makes you feel full sooner than when you eat any other kind of food. You end up eating less food overall. It is the carbs that make people fat.

limelindsey 3 years 23 weeks

One of our local grocery store chains sells duck fat for cooking. Never tried it but I've heard raves about the fries! Might be worth a splurge, but maybe not right now - kind of want to save my splurging calories for cookies!

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47 Comments

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