People Are Just Discovering This Not-So-New Way to Discard Hot Grease, and They Can’t Believe It

If there’s one thing we love here at The Kitchn, it’s a good hack. While many people are still celebrating learning how to correctly use a potato peeler, there’s something new that has come across my timeline at what seems to be the perfect moment. Not too long after deciding to throw some chicken thighs in my cast iron skillet, I scrolled past a kitchen hack that would immediately change how I tackled cleaning up after cooking — and it’ll probably change it for you, too.

Using no more than a sheet of aluminum foil and a kitchen sink, content creator @HollyDormer shared with TikTok the very easy, yet ingenious way in which she disposes of hot grease. To keep it short, simply line the drain in your sink with foil, pour in the used grease, allow it to harden, then wrap up the foil and toss it in the bin. The entire process is mess-free and painless, and will once again make you feel disappointed in the fact that you didn’t think of this sooner.

Of course, this is not a totally new hack to us here at The Kitchn and since Holly originally posted the tip in 2022, it may not be new to you either. Thanks to the account @spiritualword on Instagram though, a new light has been shed on the video, giving more people (including me) the opportunity to keep the hack handy.

Personally, I come from the school of pouring old grease into jars and storing them in odd places around the house until you run out of places to hide them — the very same school that just accepted a certain amount of spillage due to not pouring the grease carefully enough from the heavy skillet into the jar with unsteady hands. And to be honest, I still have a couple of jars of grease in both my cabinet and freezer from over the years, just waiting to make their way to the trash can.

Now, I can surely throw that frozen jar away, but as for that jar sitting in my cabinet, I’ll be busting out the aluminum foil and using this convenient kitchen hack.