Grease and fats are important for various recipes. For this reason, the utilization of bacon fat has increased. Bacon fat has an immense flavor and is pretty decadent. Truth be told, bacon fat has an amazing taste (because bacon is delicious!). However, if you cannot get your hands on bacon fat, we have substitutes for bacon fat for you!
Substitutes For Bacon Fat
In the first place, it’s important to outline that bacon fat is extremely versatile and has an amazing flavor. Bacon fat is great for sauteing and baking; it can be used anywhere that you had to use butter. Bacon fat is the white fat that is made by slow-cooking bacon in the oven. After slow-cooking, it is filtered with cheesecloth to remove the residual particles.
Bacon fat attains a creamy texture and has a savory and smoky flavor. It also has a higher content of good fat. On the contrary, if you don’t have the bacon fat, we are sharing the substitutes!
1) Chicken Skin Grease
If you don’t like to consume pork or pork-related ingredients, you can opt for chicken skin grease. When it comes down to the stir-fried meals and dishes, chicken skin grease will make a promising substitute. The grease can be made at home by cooking the chicken fat without oil, and the fats will start coming out. The chicken skin grease can be used as topping, sauteing oil, and for many other reasons. On top of everything, chicken skin grease has the aroma and flavor that your recipe demands.
2) Beef Fat
If you want to stick with the animal-based fats for substituting bacon fat, you can easily go for beef fat. The beef fat can be used for searing the steaks, but it goes with gravies as well. The best thing about beef fat is that it has an intense flavor which complements the majority of recipes. However, with beef fat, you need to be mindful of the heat settings so the food or spices don’t burn.
The beef fat can be made by pan-frying the beef fat, and it will release the grease. This grease can be used for future use and goes perfectly with rice topping, noodles, and pasta.
3) Lard
To begin with, there is a wide range of lard varieties out there, such as plant-based lard, sheep lard, cattle lard, and pork lard. That being said, you can opt for lard that complements your meals and overall taste preferences. Lard delivers a subtle aroma with a sharp and intense flavor. In addition to substituting lard for bacon fat, you can also use it in place of cooking oil.
Lard has an amazing aroma and flavor, which adds a suitable flavor to meals. All in all, lard is the healthier substitute, so you can eat your favorite food without going into a guilt trip.
4) Butter
Butter is often confused with lard because they both have somewhat similar extraction processes. However, butter looks extremely different from lard. Coming back to the point, butter can be used as a substitute for bacon fat since it has a creamy and softer texture. Butter will deliver a similar aroma with a sweeter taste profile.
Butter can replace bacon fat in baking recipes. Even more, butter is available in plant-based options, so you can get the vegetarian substitute of bacon fat. The butter can be easily found in grocery stores. On top of everything, butter is extremely healthy!
5) Olive Oil
For everyone who needs the plant-based substitute for bacon fat, you can bid farewell to bacon fat and opt for olive oil. Olive oil goes perfectly for healthy recipes without worrying about the trans-fats and cholesterol. Even more, olive oil can be used in place of bacon fat in Italian recipes. It has a subtle aroma with a light texture.
If your dish involves meat or spices, olive oil can complement the flavor. Even more, it can replace bacon fat in salad dressing, topping, and dips.
6) Peanut Oil
In case you want the intense flavor of bacon fat, you can opt for peanut oil. Peanut oil will deliver an intense aroma with a nutty flavor profile. However, peanut oil can burn up pretty quickly, so keep an eye on heat settings. It can replace bacon fats in dips and baking recipes.