Fatty bacon ideas - soup?

[Piggle Rick]

Hello fellow autists

I was just gifted 4 pounds of fatty bacon that is sliced 1/2 inch thick. I’ve been thinking I will dice it (just the first 2 pounds this time) and fry it off in my big soup pan, Then remove the meat and use the fat to fry up some of the onions, celery, and carrots I already have. Add a couple of my tomatoes, some chicken broth I have in the freezer, then put the meat back in. I was also going to cook in some red lentils. My question is, how much of the bacon fat should I remove? I love bacon fat but I want the soup to not be disgusting. My wife will not eat it if it tastes too much like grease.

Also, any better ideas for this bacon would be appreciated. I may get this again (I trade with this guy regularly for my honey).

Thanks in advance kiwi bros.

 

[souschef]

I'd start with frying the diced bacon and using the grease to sautee the veggies. But would not remove the fat, instead add a little flour to make a roux then build the soup from there. I'd skip the tomatoes, though

 

[MrTroll]

Throw it out and buy some healthy tofu instead.

 

[mindlessobserver]

Pure bacon would be a bad idea for soup. It would be very greasy.

What it IS good for however is Stews where there is a heavier base to absorb the fat. Classic examples are

Coq of Vin

and

Beef Bourguignon

You do need to cook the bacon a bit before using it though. Save the grease in a mason jar and use it pan fry everything from vegetables to eggs. My favorite thing to do with bacon fat is to take some finally diced onion, fry them in the bacon fat and then pour in some green beans I had pre cooked at the same time. Finishing Green Beans off in bacon fat and sauteed onions fried in bacon fat is god tier.

 

[TheOtherSideofMakeBelieve]

Bean soup with bacon subbed in for the ham is pretty solid. I like the kind where it has some fast cooking beans mixed in that basically dissolve to thicken the broth while the tougher beans cook. A roux with some of the grease to further thicken it sounds like a nice addition in my book. It sounds like you're going to have a ton so I'd just make all of the grease into roux and divvy it up into portions and freeze it for future soups that could use some smokiness

 

[souschef]

Bean soup with bacon subbed in for the ham is pretty solid. I like the kind where it has some fast cooking beans mixed in that basically dissolve to thicken the broth while the tougher beans cook. A roux with some of the grease to further thicken it sounds like a nice addition in my book. It sounds like you're going to have a ton so I'd just make all of the grease into roux and divvy it up into portions and freeze it for future soups that could use some smokiness

This method for green pea soup is a staple where i live. Bacon and hot sausage, then make into a thick soup, great on winters

 

[Not A Cat Person]

You don't have to put all the grease in the soup, but you shouldn't throw it out. Get a glass jar with a lid, fry your bacon, pour whatever grease you aren't going to use into the jar when it's still liquid but not dangerously hot. Save it in the refrigerator and use it for cooking other things. It's good stuff.

Also, potato soup.

 

[James Brown]

You don't have to put all the grease in the soup, but you shouldn't throw it out. Get a glass jar with a lid, fry your bacon, pour whatever grease you aren't going to use into the jar when it's still liquid but not dangerously hot. Save it in the refrigerator and use it for cooking other things. It's good stuff.

Also, potato soup.

Do this and use it to make shrimp and grits. Find recipe, do what it says, but fry shrimp and vegetables in bacon fat. Then crumble bacon over the shrimp and grits at the end. Very gud, and depending on how much gravy you make for the shrimp it can be soup-esque.

 

[Rango Dango]

what my dad does is fry thick slices bacon (actually pork belly but shhh) in the pan and then eat them on a piece of bread with mustard

 

[𝕺𝖑' 𝕯𝖎𝖗𝖙𝖞 𝕱𝖆𝖙𝖘𝖔]

Fried rice with eggs and bacon is really good

 

[ChampFantana]

Dice it up, pan-fry it and make Carbonara with it.

 

[Piggle Rick]

Fried rice with eggs and bacon is really good

Dice it up, pan-fry it and make Carbonara with it.

I love everyone’s suggestions but these two are where I think I will go from now. I did make a bacon and vegetable soup but it didn’t go down well (I didn’t thicken it with anything but red lentils). Apparently it was boring, and I used too much cabbage.

On the bright side, everyone here loves my fried rice and also my carbonara.

 

[There She Glows]

Refried beans with bacon fat instead of lard.

 

[Taser Confetti]

Cook it down, save the bacon grease and make some potato soup.

 

[Piggle Rick]

Cook it down, save the bacon grease and make some potato soup.

What’s your recipe? Potato soup with bacon grease sounds good to me. Especially if I’m adding some leeks or green onions etc.

 

[WonderWino]

If it were me i'd mince it up and use it in a big pot of pea soup in place of a ham or ham bone and just use beef stock as the soup base

 

[AfpelApple]

I'd start with frying the diced bacon and using the grease to sautee the veggies. But would not remove the fat, instead add a little flour to make a roux then build the soup from there. I'd skip the tomatoes, though

Yes, I think that bacon grease goes really bad with tomatoes for whatever reason. Potatoes are much better with it

 

[Doggo]

Still got fatty bacon? Make meatloaf out of them! Wrap nice fatty pieces of bacon around the loaf and bake. That’s a Gordon Ramsay trick.

 

[𝕺𝖑' 𝕯𝖎𝖗𝖙𝖞 𝕱𝖆𝖙𝖘𝖔]

A protip I learned for cooking bacon btw is to fill ur frying pan with a bit of water. It keeps it from burning while being hot enough to render the fat, then once it all boils off, the remaining meat only needs a minute or two to fry in the grease to get it perfect and crispy without burning.