Saturated Fats, Cholesterol Lard and Vitamin D
- Thread starter RyanX
- Start date
I would reverse that hlat. The congealed white layer should be mostly saturated fat. Why you get much liquid on top, I'm not sure.
I have a ten year experiment with bacon fat going on. I always cook bacon in a large pot of bacon fat. When the pot is too full of bacon fat, I pour (and filter) it off in 5 gal pails. 12years ago I poured this off in jars and stored them in a closed cupboard and just let them sit for all these years. All the fat congeals to a white paste, never grows anything, and never has a bad smell - just white paste. The only time that I get a liquid is if I tried to cook something other than bacon in the pot. For years now, I only cook bacon in that pot.
I have a ten year experiment with bacon fat going on. I always cook bacon in a large pot of bacon fat. When the pot is too full of bacon fat, I pour (and filter) it off in 5 gal pails. 12years ago I poured this off in jars and stored them in a closed cupboard and just let them sit for all these years. All the fat congeals to a white paste, never grows anything, and never has a bad smell - just white paste. The only time that I get a liquid is if I tried to cook something other than bacon in the pot. For years now, I only cook bacon in that pot.
Thank you. I had a hunch I was doing something wrong. Liquid part is going in the trash now.
Fluffy
Dagobah Resident
I would concur, I’ve noticed than when I cook chicken most of the fat from it stays liquid with only a small amount going solid, it occurs to me now that the liquid fat is mostly PUFA with some small amount of omega 3 and the solid fat is saturated.
The liquid layer is just water that naturally seeps out of the meat. If you put the bacon fat after filtering it in the fridge, then the two layers separate. The upper layer is the fat and you can lift this (harder) fat layer off the liquid easily. That’s how I do it anyway -easy way to separate and ‘purify’ the fat.
I have a pot which I use for the week to cook purely bacon. The fat stays there and usually after cooking, I use a spoon to remove just any bacon residual, but I don’t refrigerate the fat, I leave it there and I seal the pot completely after using it, it’s basically always on the oven, I clean it completely on Sundays.
Here is a quick video how pork fat/lard is usually made
After you´ve collected the fat, it starts cooling down and slowly/eventually it comes together into a buttery consistency - that is the white part on the bottom. Eventually, it looks like this:
So, the top part is simply the part that haven´t yet "solidified", and both are equally good. You store it in a dark and cold place and it can last a year or more, if stored properly. When it goes bad, you will notice it changes the smell.
What is not shown in the video is that you leave the pork belly in there to fry until it turns completely golden brown. After collecting the liquid fat from the pot, you then also squeeze extra fat from the golden parts as well (best use something like this), and then you end up with both fat and delicious crunchy cracklings!
You simply salt them and eat them as a snack. Edit: clarity
The C's mentioned recently that reusing fat is not a good idea. Am I correct in interpreting from below that reusing the fat ONCE is what they were getting at here? If so, the bacon pot method that some are advocating here may not be the best.
Session 18 May 2024
I´m aware of that quote and I thought that means that once you have the fat/lard, you use it once.
I don´t know of any other method of extracting fat from pork belly except for "melting" it in a pot (as described in my post above).
So, do you think that the process should be i.e. to buy pork belly, chop it in the small pieces, put it in a freezer or fridge, and then when you want to cook/bake/fry something, you first "melt" the pork in a pot/pan and then add in the meat (or whatever)? I should work...
msasa79
Jedi Master
Just a heads-up that traditionally as a rule milk is also used, especially for cracklings. I have found none in the commercial shops that didn't have milk as an ingredient on their declarations. FWIW.
I don't reuse lard if it reaches the smoke point because the fat has likely oxidized and generated toxic byproducts. Lard seems to be less affected than other fats but it's still something I try to avoid. If it hasn't reached the smoking point I reuse it a few more times, then discard it. See here for more info.
And from ChatGPT:
And from ChatGPT:
Formation of Toxic Compounds
- Aldehydes and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs): When lard is overheated, it produces aldehydes and PAHs. These compounds have been linked to increased risks of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and inflammation.
- Specifically, prolonged heating of lard past its smoke point (about 190°C/374°F) encourages the production of various aldehydes, ketones, and volatile organic compounds, many of which are potentially harmful when inhaled or ingested. These compounds include acrolein, malondialdehyde (MDA), and 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE), which are known for their toxic and carcinogenic properties.
- Free Radicals: These are highly reactive molecules that can damage cells, proteins, and DNA, contributing to oxidative stress and inflammation, which are implicated in aging and various diseases, including cancer.
I wonder if it is the cooking juices separating from the fat (the lard being the bottom layer), can you take a picture?
Goemon_
The Living Force
What do you mean by baking pork belly and bacon? That's two different animals, so to speak. Do you bake them together?
I may be eating to much fat but if I bake pork belly there won't be any leftover. If you eat only the meat the rest would be a mix of fat and meat juice. I don't see any reason to throw any of that away but as it is not pure fat you better keep it in the fridge and eat it within a few days. Reheated or not, OSIT.
If you bake bacon you should end up with somewhat pure fat that you can store more easily and use for cooking, just once if you follow the C's advice.
Your first sentence is how I extrapolate from the C's quote, with one little difference: you use it once for cooking.
My 2 cents
Here it’s known as pork dripping; a staple foodstuff of yesteryear in my part of the world.
You take a knife and spread both layers on bread. Most butchers around here still sell it in tubs, although unfortunately it’s mostly just elderly people who still buy it.
An example: Pork Dripping (per 250g) – Swales Group
You take a knife and spread both layers on bread. Most butchers around here still sell it in tubs, although unfortunately it’s mostly just elderly people who still buy it.
An example: Pork Dripping (per 250g) – Swales Group
That quote to me says freshly rendered bacon fat is fine to reuse once.
It looks like I got lucky at 177C/350F, under the smoke point.
I threw it away already. I'll take a picture on the next jar.
By pork belly, I mean pork belly sliced as thin as bacon. The bacon is further processed from sliced pork belly. So they are almost the same to me and I bake them together. The sliced pork belly is half the price of bacon and out of stock a lot, and my kid will only eat bacon.
This is the best way to do it irjO.
The traditional way of frying up slices of bacon in a frying pan will overheat some of the fat that is rendered from the bacon - thus the limit on reuse. If you use a large pot of fat to cook the bacon, temperature is controlled. Best to use a cast iron pot, burner set to the low side of med, plenty of fat (you can start with rendered lard), and a large amount of bacon (or pork side that has been salt cured in the fridge for 24 hrs). I do 3-5 lbs of bacon at a time. With that amount of bacon totally immersed in the fat, what emerges from the pot is steam - not smoke. The steam is just the water in the bacon (or sausage), and the slow release keeps the temp moderated and low.
This is what allows all the fat to return to a white paste when cooled and reused numerous times safely. When the pot fills with fat, pour/filter it off and store it. Based on my 10 year experiment, there is no need to can it.
