• Carrot@lemmy.today
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    3 days ago

    Everyone says put it in a container and throw the container away, but I don’t have a bunch of empty containers around that I can just throw away. My best method is to, while the oil is still warm and liquid, use a paper towel or two to soak up all the oil. Usually it’s safe to toss this into the garbage as is, as it will cool down considerably, but if not, give it a few minutes before tossing in the garbage. I never wait for it to harden, and I’ve never melted a garbage bag before. Once there’s only a little bit of oil left on the pan, an excessive amount of dawn and a good bit of scrubbing will trap the oil and make it safe to dump down the drain. If you aren’t using that much cooking oils, you can also compost the oily paper towels, but I’d check with your local compost folks first to make sure they allow it, as too much cooking oil can ruin a compost pile.

    • minibyte@sh.itjust.works
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      3 days ago

      It sounds like you’re just browning the occasional cut of meat. If that’s the case, use the fat to make a roux and thus gravy.

      • Carrot@lemmy.today
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        3 days ago

        Depends on the meal, I do use the fats for gravy and sauces when the meal allows, but most of the time it’s my morning bacon and eggs, where I’ll fry the bacon, mop up half of the bacon grease, fry the eggs in the remaining grease, then mop up what’s left with a paper towel.

        • minibyte@sh.itjust.works
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          3 days ago

          Good point, I do the same thing. You just made me think about frying up some bacon, making a béchamel sauce with the grease, then doing a bacon Mac and cheese with it. That’s on the menu for next week now. Thanks!