When you fry bacon in a skillet, it generates so much grease, and you might get stuck with the idea of pouring it down the drains.
Any plumbing expert would tell you to dispose of bacon grease differently, especially if you live in a region with cold, chilly winters.
Learning how to dispose of bacon grease does not have to mean immediate disposal after cooking some bacon.
There are plenty of ways to put bacon grease to good use, and you might also want to know how to store it for later.
However, if you’re sure you won’t be needing it, check out these tips that tell you how to dispose of bacon grease for your and your house’s sake.
Got other items to dispose of? We can show you how to dispose of Dry Ice or Old Paint, and we even have ways to reuse them!
How to Get Rid of Bacon Grease While Cooking Bacon
To cook bacon and get rid of its fat simultaneously, cook it in the oven, or toaster oven.
But first, preheat your oven, and line your baking tray with a baking sheet and aluminum foil in that order.
Fix your bacon into the baking tray and cook it in the oven to your preferred doneness.
The aluminum foil collects all the bacon grease, and any amount that goes through the holes gets absorbed by the baking sheet.
This procedure eliminates cleaning up the baking tray, and all you have to do is crumple the baking sheet and aluminum foil carefully as soon as everything cools.
How to Dispose of Bacon Grease From the Skillet
If you don’t want to use the oven, learn how to dispose of bacon grease using these simple steps:
Step #1: Allow It to Cool Completely
Fresh bacon grease is scalding hot, and immediate handling could cause kitchen accidents, so better let it sit until it is safe to handle.
Sometimes, you might want to rush this because you don’t want the smoky smell to adhere to your drapes.
Consider using an air purifier for odor elimination instead, and wait for the bacon grease and skillet to cool down.
Although personal safety is of utmost importance, scalding grease can also burn through plastic containers and trash bags, which beats the purpose of getting rid of it quickly.
Enjoy your bacon while waiting for the grease to cool.
Step #2: Use a Paper Towel for Small Amounts
As soon as the bacon grease has cooled down, consider how much of it is left in the skillet.
If you think a few paper towels is enough to absorb the grease, then wipe away.
Step #3: Pour Larger Amounts Into Disposable Biodegradable Bags
If the amount is too much and you think it will eat up into your supply of kitchen towels, use a biodegradable plastic bag instead.
Pour the bacon grease into the bag, and seal it tight. If you don’t think a plastic bag won’t hold the bacon grease until trash collection day, use the next methods.
Step #4: Pour Into Container, and Refrigerate Until It Solidifies
You can make solid lard out of the bacon grease, but keeping it in the fridge to harden doesn’t mean you plan to use it.
Pour it into a container with a lid and keep it in the fridge until trash day.
Come garbage collection schedule, scrape it out of the container, and toss it in with the trash.
Step #5: Toss It In With Biodegradable Trash
You might pour bacon grease into a glass jar or plastic canister for disposal.
When disposing of kitchen wastes such as bacon fat, throw them out with biodegradable trash.
Avoid mixing them in with recyclables such as plastic bottles and glass jars.
Where Can I Dump Bacon Grease?
If you go over the previous steps, you will understand how to eliminate bacon grease by throwing it out with biodegradable trash.
Biodegradable composting is the best way to remove bacon grease from your household, and you can do it in your backyard.
Not only is it safer, but it also protects the plumbing systems of your home.
This section explains where not to dump bacon grease.
Can I Dump Bacon Grease Outside?
Dumping bacon grease on the ground near your house is not bad for the environment in small amounts, but it will attract pests to your home.
Cockroaches and rodents love the taste and scent of grease.
Unless you have space in your backyard far enough from the foundations of your house, we suggest taking a different approach.
If you are adamant about throwing it out, try mixing it into bird feed and start a bird sanctuary in your backyard.
Can You Pour Bacon Grease Down the Drain With Hot Water?
Pouring bacon grease down your kitchen drain might seem like the quickest way to get rid of it, but consider its long-term effects before doing it.
Septic systems are very sensitive to grease, and you should not send any bacon fat down the drain.
Does your sink drain to a grease trap under or somewhere near it?
If your kitchen drain system has a grease trap built into it, then go ahead and pour the bacon grease down the drain with hot water every time you are in a rush.
The grease trap will retain all the fats and protect your plumbing system from unwanted clogs resulting from hardening oils.
Consequently, a grease trap can only filter a fixed volume of debris from your kitchen sink.
As soon as it gets full and your sink won’t drain anymore, you have to go through the icky chore of cleaning it out.
Plus, it will be more complicated to dispose of large amounts of accumulated gunk.
Without a grease trap, the best disposal practice is to cool it down and ditch it in with proper garbage disposal.
The hot water may help the grease travel down the drain, but it will only cool down somewhere else and clog up pipes in hard-to-reach places.
Is It OK to Flush Bacon Grease Down the Toilet?
Water in your toilet almost instantly cools down and hardens any animal fat, including bacon grease.
Throwing bacon grease down the toilet may save you some time getting rid of it, but you will be leaving stains inside the ceramics that will still require some cleaning.
Additionally, toilets may use larger drain pipes than kitchen sinks, which means they are less likely to clog up.
But who knows where the grease might harden and start a never-ending cycle of mounting up to an irreparable clog.
What to Do With Bacon Grease
After cooking bacon, you don’t have to dispose of bacon grease just yet.
There are several other uses for it, and you can find a way to store it instead.
As soon as it cools down, filter it with a strainer and transfer it into a sealable container.
You can store it at room temperature for regular use, or you can freeze it for even longer storage periods.
Cooking
Bacon grease is practically lard. It is a very flavorful cooking fat and packs in the smoky aroma of freshly-cooked bacon.
When deciding what to do with bacon grease, consider using it in cooking other meals.
Bacon grease is one of the most fundamental cooking oils in Southern cooking.
You can use it to add character to many dishes, even with the bacon not around.
Many recipes call for bacon grease as a primary flavoring, but it can subtly blend into foods with more eminent flavors.
If you can incorporate it into your diet, you can still take advantage of learning how to dispose of bacon grease after being left over the second time around.
Fire Starters and Candles
Bacon grease is an excellent fire starter. Pour it over some paper or firewood to start a fire for the winter, or cook on your grill.
If you love bacon and save a lot of bacon grease, you can fill up several small jars and make bacon-scented candles.
While the grease is liquid, suspend a wick in each jar using toothpicks.
Put them in the fridge to solidify into homemade candles.
Seasoning Cast Iron Skillets
Skillets require regular maintenance using special oils for preventing rusts and maintaining an easy sheen.
While expensive skillet seasoning oils are a thing, you can opt to use bacon grease to season your skillet instead.
Bacon-Flavored Dog Treats and Bird Feed
Don’t your dogs love bacon? You can trick them into eating vegetables by infusing bacon grease into their food.
Or you can give them home-baked treats by infusing cookie dough with bacon grease.
If your dog is on a diet you need to throw the bacon grease in the trash. Make sure you have the best dog-proof trash can!
Alternatively, if you love birds, attract some by making DIY bird feeders in your backyard.
Splinter Remedy
Whenever you get splintered, that tiny foreign object can be difficult to remove.
Soften the skin around the splinter using bacon grease, and cover it with a bandage.
As soon as the skin is soft the next day, the splinter should come out without effort.
Bacon Infused Drinks
Have you ever heard of bacon-flavored bourbon?
Whip up your version at home using some bacon grease and good old bourbon.
How Long Can You Store Bacon Grease?
You can keep bacon grease at room temperature for up to six months as long as it is permanently sealed and away from light when not in use.
In the fridge, bacon grease can last up to nine months, but you can keep it indefinitely in the freezer.
Conclusion
With these methods, you can now dispose of any grease from any fried food.
If you don’t have problems with keeping bacon fat in your diet, consider storing it instead.
Cutting back on fatty food does not entail its disposal either.
You don’t have to throw it away because there are many other things you can do with it.
But if you decide it is not for you, then stick to the basics of not clogging up your drains.