Got a jar full of bacon fat in your freezer? Want to get that fat all over your person and general area? Boy, do I have a project for you: cleaning your bacon fat to re-use for other things.

I have done this before. The first time I tried it, I microwaved the jars and then scooped the fat out. It took forever and got everywhere. Then I read somebody else’s blog where they recommended putting the jars in hot water to melt the fat – voila, just pour it out. It seems obvious now.

The process is very simple: dump the fat in water, let it come to a boil, let everything separate/congeal, pull the fat out, and repeat. Both times I’ve done this, it has taken 3 rounds of boiling.

The longest part is waiting for the water and fat to separate – it takes several hours in the fridge.

Once it’s done, the water is (relatively) clear and your fat is nice and clean! Then you can put it right  back in the freezer and forget about it for the rest of your life.

You can re-use the bacon fat for frying things (which I was doing before with the “dirty” fat), or to replace lard in a pie crust* or to make dog treats.**

*When I did this, I was not impressed. The crust had a smoky flavor which I think would be great for savory pies, but the crust barely held together. I may try this again with a half lard/half bacon fat crust as the fat by itself was not enough to hold things together.

**I used this recipe to make dog treats for Boomer. While I was googling around I found several similar recipes with people in the comments basically accusing the makers of purposely giving their dogs pancreatitis for fun. You guys it’s an occasional treat, not a daily pot o’ grease.