Now being from my dad's family, bacon grease is a staple for good breakfasts. Bacon grease to fry eggs in, bacon grease to fry waffles and pancakes on, bacon grease in my gravy, etc. I have always used it. Heck any other meal makes it makes things oh so wonderful too. Chopped veggies thrown into soups and stews, the small pieces of chicken when I make soft tacos, et cetera et cetera.
A while ago I had a bunch of friends over for breakfast and I picked up a ton of bacon. I figured if they didn't eat it all I could always use it for other stuff so I dragged out my favorite cast iron frying pan and went to work. What I forgot to do was to grab one of my metal bowls to dump the grease into as I was cooking so it wouldn't fill up the pan. After a while I noticed that the bacon that was being cooked in the deep part of the fat (my burner tilts to one side a little bit) was straighter, more evenly cooked and had better color. I pulled a few pieces out, let them cool slightly and then bit into bacon heaven. The pork gods gave me the greatest of gifts that day. I have decided to not cook bacon any other way if I can help it.
Don't get me wrong. If it's a crowd I am cooking for bacon in the oven still comes out great. But I can get distracted and if I don't stay on top of it they tend to burn on one side, I have to rotate the cookie sheet for the good results. This is wonderful for the breakfast hordes, or for BLT's at gatherings.
But if I have any kind of a choice it's the deep fried stuff. Take your deep fried snickers bars, your fried chicken, your tempura and other crispy offerings and just know in my heart of hearts they come in a close second place. As my Dad is always saying (and as I am always quoting him) "You have to be thankful for the things that work out, and you have to be especially thankful for the things that don't."
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