Stay-at-Home Dad Survival Guide What to do with a pan of bacon grease: Part 2
What to do with a pan of bacon grease: Part 2
Thursday, 28 January 2010 18:31
It seems my first post about bacon grease touched a nerve (or an artery). Apparently, not everyone looks at a cast-iron pan of congealed pig fat and thinks, "Mmm...that could be the start of something delicious." That's a shame.
Bacon gets all the glory. "Bacon makes everything better," say the t-shirts. Yet, the remnants get discarded, cast aside into an old milk carton, their magical powers untapped.
I get it, though. Moderation and all that. So, Part 2 is a recipe that includes only a fraction of that pan of grease. The Bacon-Fried Cheeseburger.
Step 1: Fry bacon. This can be done immediately prior or days before final preparation.
Step 2: Burgers. Take a pound of hamburger, add an egg, salt, pepper, Worcestshire sauce and bread crumbs (crumbling bread works, btw, if you don't have a neatly-packaged silo of crumbs). Goo it all together until it holds it's shape, then split into four patties (or two, y'know, if you're feeling particularly piggy).
Step 3: (Pay attention, here comes the moderation) Scrape away some of the bacon grease. I mean, if you want.
Step 4: Fry the burgers in heated grease, flip, add cheese, cover to melt (optional: add bacon).
For extra points carmelize onions in the amalgam of beef and bacon grease remaining in the pan. Condiment to your (struggling) heart's content.
Note: This is, of course, a winter recipe. If it's BBQ weather, all bets are off. No one should fry burgers if they can be cooked on the grill.
Stay tuned for Part 3 when we begin to explore the wondrous things a pan of congealed pig fat can do for soups and stews.