There are two challenges to deep frying anything -- including French fries -- in bacon grease. Bacon grease has a low smoke point as compared to frying oils, and tends to scorch before your French fries are done. The other problem is that it takes a lot of grease to deep fry anything. To get enough bacon grease for your French fries, you'll have to cook a lot of bacon. For some, this is a problem; for others, it's an excuse to eat more bacon.
Step 1
Cook bacon and pour the grease into your heat-resistant glass container. Store the container in the refrigerator until you have at least one pint of grease. A quart would be better, but that's more than a year's worth of bacon in many households.
Step 2
Set up your fire extinguisher near where you'll be cooking. Flash fires are common with deep frying.
Step 3
Set your cooking pot on the stove over medium heat. Spoon in your bacon grease. Allow to melt like butter.
Step 4
Insert your cooking thermometer. Heat the grease at medium until it reaches 300 degrees F. Adjust the heat to keep it stable at that temperature.
Step 5
Sink a handful of fries into the oil. Cover the top of the pot with your splash screen to protect yourself and the kitchen.
Step 6
Wait until the fries are golden brown -- about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove using your tongs or spider.
Step 7
Set the finished fries on your paper towel to soak up the extra grease. Sprinkle on the seasonings of your choice.
Step 8
Add more fries to your oil, cover with a splash screen, fry until gold brown, drain on a paper towel and season. Continue doing this until you've cooked all your fries. You can strain the grease through a coffee filter if it starts to get murky.
Tips and Warnings
- You can get bacon taste without cooking that much bacon by dropping a cup of bacon grease into the pot and making the rest of the volume up with canola oil.
- Cook fries with a helper. Deep-fry accidents can leave you incapacitated, so it's good to have a friend around to help if something goes very wrong.
Things You'll Need
- Bacon
- Frying pan
- Heat-resistant glass container
- Fire extinguisher
- Deep soup kettle
- Splatter screen
- Spider or tongs
- Cooking thermometer
- French fries, or cut potatoes
- Seasonings
- Paper towel
References
- Deep Fat Fryer Safety
- "Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook"; Ed. Jennifer Darling; 1996
- "There Will Be Oil"; Good Eats, Season 12, Episode 4
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