This is a hurry-before-it's-too-late kind of a recipe. Spring is almost here and soon we will be turning from the delicious, deeply favored roots of winter to the equally delicious but decidedly more delicate shoots of spring. So if ever there was time to throw in a little bacon fat on it, it would be right now.
By now you know to always save your bacon fat, right? Right? Well, here's a simple way to use just a dab of that pure gold to turn something already wonderful (like roasted vegetables) into something sublime. The great thing about bacon fat is that you don't need a lot to bring that special smoky flavor to your dish.
I recently chopped up one each of leek, turnip, rutabaga, cauliflower (small) and, because 'late winter' also means 'early spring,' about 8 asparagus spears. I threw the leeks and asparagus together as quicker-cooking vegetables on one small tray and the cauliflower/rutabaga/turnips as longer-cooking vegetables on another. I sprinkled on some salt and dabbed bacon fat over the top here and there (about one tablespoon total) and put them into a preheated 375° oven. The bacon fat was fairly solid from being in the refrigerator, so after five minutes I took out the trays and gave the veg a toss in the now melted fat in order to distribute it evenly. I then proceeded to roast until everything was tender and starting to brown up, with an occasional shake of the pan here and there.
Once out of the oven, I tossed the veg together and sprinkled them with fresh chopped thyme and black pepper and ate them, along with a nice wedge of cheese and some toasted bread, as a light supper.
While spring produce makes me happy, I'm always sad to see the winter roots go. I love a good root roast and adding just a little bacon fat to the mix was a wonderful send off to these dear old friends of the winter table.
Related: Tip: Save Your Bacon Fat
(Images: Dana Velden)
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how else do you use bacon fat in cooking? i have been wondering about this recently.
sometimes i use my bacon fat to fry eggs and definitely for making refried beans.
I use it instead of shortening to make biscuits.
I think it'd be great if The Kitchen would stop encouraging the use of extremely unhealthy ingredients like bacon fat. Bacon fat belongs in the garbage.
I disagree with laurabelk. If you're going to do the damage to the environment by raising the animal for eating, use it all. Keep at the deliciousness, Kitchn!
isn't this the time of year parsnips are dug up? YUMMM.
Yes, parsnips! Bacon fat is getting a better rap these days, health wise.
right on, cuddlebunny! bacon fat, properly rendered, can be a part of a healthy (yes, i said "bacon and healthy" in the same sentence!) diet and add depth to many dishes. bacon fat is certainly healthier than a number of over processed vegetable oils.
laurabellk -- I just did a quick search online, and it looks like bacon fat isn't that terribly much more caloric than butter.
Obviously, neither are healthy. I don't think bacon fat is ever going to be part of a workable diet (in terms of losing weight), but I also don't think there's anything wrong with posting a recipe that uses a bit of bacon fat as seasoning. If the recipe involved vegetables roasted in butter, would you still object? Or if it were a recipe for a cake or baked goods that involved butter?
"Try This! _____ roasted in bacon fat!"
Yes, obviously, that would be good no matter what. The idea with bacon fat (or plain old lard) is that you can use less of this than butter or olive oil to cook with high heat and not burn or stick. Olive oil (for example) does have health benefits not provided by bacon fat, but in terms of pure calories, the bacon fat is lower in calories and less is needed to cook.
My grandpa used to make a huge bag of popcorn in bacon fat on the stove every Sunday night and my dad and his 7 siblings plus my mom, my aunt's husband, and the 6 original cousins would all sit around and eat it and play trivial pursuit. Now there are 30 cousins and bacon fat is supposed to be bad for you...
I agree, laurabelk; I'd also like to see some healthier recipes here. It definitely seems that the only times a vegetable-heavy dish shows up on this site, the healthy stuff is swimming in butter, cream, cheese, or bacon. That's not the only way to make food taste good, Kitchn!
Vegetables were made as a fat-delivery vehicle. I usually throw some mushrooms into the skillet after my bacon is done, to mop up all the fat. But I might save it for this recipe this week!
@STH: How about the avocado and grapefruit salad that was posted earlier today? Or the granola at the begining of the week? Perhaps the salmon and couscous wasn't healthy enough for you? I also remember quite a few 'healthy' recipes from the veggie and vegan weeks earlier this week, plus some lovely lighter casseroles from Faith's book... Need I go on? Jeesh.
earlier this year*
I also didn't make it clear in my "recipe" that this amount of vegetables could serve about four people, if not more. So that's 1/4 of a tablespoon of bacon fat, which is less than a teaspoon. 1 tsp bacon fat = 38 calories, 4 grams of fat (2 grams saturated.)
Of course we save our bacon fat. As a matter of fact, I'm not that big a bacon fan, but I make bacon a few times a year just for the bacon fat (the hubster eats the bacon). My Hungarian grandmother made all of her best dishes with bacon fat and they just don't taste the same without. This weekend, I am doing grandma's dressing and it will start with bacon fat, onions, hungarian peppers, red peppers, hungarian peppers, and root parsley. Some things shouldn't be messed with.
As a cardiologist who also specializes in nutrition, I would like to comment on the notion that bacon fat is "unhealthy." In fact bacon fat is an oleic acid very similar to olive oil, which is an omega 9 fat. Omega 3 and Omega 9 fats contribute to a healthy immune system and diminish chronic tissue inflammation that leads to vascular disease and cancer.
The true culprit in our diet is excess Omega 6 fats which include many of the so called "healthy" vegetable fats. Of course, as is well known now, trans fats are toxic. The prejudice against certain animal fats is based on old medical advice that had not clearly examined the chemical structures and health consequences of a variety of fats. In fact lard, a pork fat derivative, has a healthier structure than "Crisco" a hardened vegetable fat which was substituted for lard in baking.
I would encourage anyone to do a little internet research if they wish to verify my comments. Also this is not to advocate a diet of large amounts of fat, but to advocate for a sensible approach to the uses of the "good fats" with a well balanced proportion of carbohydrate and protein. In addition to excess Omega 6 fats, it is also the large amounts of "processed" carbohydrates in our diets that is contributing to the epidemic of obesity and diabetes.
Leave the pigs alone, for god's sake.
Point gmgustaf.
Laurabelk, everything in moderation will not kill you. Relax.