How To Clean Bacon Grease From Pan

igk [OP]: Sr. Member; Oct 31, 2002; 902 posts; 27 upvotes

Dec 5th, 2006 6:24 pm

how to clean pan after cooking bacon?

ok, i love the taste of bacon after frying it in a pan. much better than microwaving. i hate cleaning the pan afterwards though.

anyone have any good suggestions on how to clean the pan easily and quickly?

thanks

Dec 5th, 2006 6:28 pm

shutterbug: Deal Addict; May 19, 2003; 2923 posts; 988 upvotes

Dec 5th, 2006 6:28 pm

Dec 5th, 2006 6:29 pm

curtis: Deal Addict; Apr 3, 2003; 2882 posts; 10 upvotes

Dec 5th, 2006 6:29 pm

Detergent doesn't work for you? Works for me. I like leaving the bacon fat on there, then i usually turn the stove back on, let it melt a bit, and the whole thing just flops into the campfire.

igk wrote: ↑ok, i love the taste of bacon after frying it in a pan. much better than microwaving. i hate cleaning the pan afterwards though.

anyone have any good suggestions on how to clean the pan easily and quickly?

thanks

Dec 5th, 2006 6:39 pm

cwb27: Deal Fanatic; Apr 24, 2006; 6913 posts; 902 upvotes; Toronto

Dec 5th, 2006 6:39 pm

Hot water and dish soap, let it sit for abit...

Also consider using a teflon (non stick) pan, but make sure not to use steel wool or metal utensils or you'll strip off the non stick coating.

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Dec 5th, 2006 6:55 pm

gordholio: Deal Guru; Mar 23, 2005; 13432 posts; 295 upvotes; Midland

Dec 5th, 2006 6:55 pm

Even those non-stick frying pans are not always non stick as they say.
If you are using a cast iron frying pan, don't clean it with soap though.

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Dec 5th, 2006 7:04 pm

nini1204: Member; Jul 21, 2005; 284 posts

Dec 5th, 2006 7:04 pm

have u tried to deglaze the dripping with white wine? the bacon jus should be so yummy...usually after deglaze with white wine, u could really scrape off these yummy bacon bits, u can use it as sauce for another dish too...

Dec 5th, 2006 7:38 pm

star_tenshi: Newbie; Sep 28, 2006; 33 posts; Toronto

Dec 5th, 2006 7:38 pm

I find that wiping it down with paper towel and tossing all the bacon jus along with the paper towel into the garbage / green bin helps. Then after wiping down, just rinse a bit and soak in hot water before cleaning with detergent.

Dec 5th, 2006 7:47 pm

teknoluv: Deal Fanatic; Nov 28, 2005; 6044 posts; 22 upvotes; Toronto

Dec 5th, 2006 7:47 pm

cwb27 wrote: ↑Hot water and dish soap, let it sit for abit...

Yes, water (not necessarily hot) AND TIME.

Dec 5th, 2006 10:06 pm

Paolo: Banned; Nov 29, 2005; 4853 posts; 3 upvotes; Toronto

Dec 5th, 2006 10:06 pm

do it like Bubbles (of Trailer Park Boys) and get a slice of white bread, soak up the bacon fats and oils in the bread and eat it, and picture in your head you are eating a nice big piece of bacon.. mmm that oughta clean up the pan.

Dec 6th, 2006 10:04 am

Bullseye: Deal Fanatic; Feb 1, 2006; 9622 posts; 863 upvotes; Muskoka

Dec 6th, 2006 10:04 am

I don't use non-stick pans (health concerns), so frying anything means more work to clean up. What I do, though, is just let the pan soak in soapy hot water for a good hour (overnight if I'm lazy and don't get to it), then use steel wool (SOS pads) to scrub it. Comes off pretty easily like that, and unlike with teflon, you can scrub as hard and long as you need to without worry that you're contaminating your food or wrecking your pan.

Dec 6th, 2006 10:29 am

sw1ft: Deal Addict; Apr 9, 2005; 2436 posts; 153 upvotes; Toronto

Dec 6th, 2006 10:29 am

When the frying pan is cooling, throw in a few sheets of paper towel.

By the time you're done eating, the paper towel should have absorbed most of the oil/fat. They just wipe the remaining excess using another sheet of paper towel.

Dec 6th, 2006 12:29 pm

mlc2000: Deal Guru; Dec 3, 2003; 14457 posts; 230 upvotes; Mississauga

Dec 6th, 2006 12:29 pm

Bullseye wrote: ↑I don't use non-stick pans (health concerns), so frying anything means more work to clean up. What I do, though, is just let the pan soak in soapy hot water for a good hour (overnight if I'm lazy and don't get to it), then use steel wool (SOS pads) to scrub it. Comes off pretty easily like that, and unlike with teflon, you can scrub as hard and long as you need to without worry that you're contaminating your food or wrecking your pan.

You can always use Scotch-Brite pads, they're just like steel wool, but they're made of plastic or something like that. Won't scratch Teflon.

Last time I checked, they hadn't removed teflon from the market because of health concerns. Nor have the stopped using aluminum, because of the supposed links to Alzheimers.

One CAN worry themselves sick, avoiding the boogey man, trying to stay healthy.

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Dec 6th, 2006 12:48 pm

Bullseye: Deal Fanatic; Feb 1, 2006; 9622 posts; 863 upvotes; Muskoka

Dec 6th, 2006 12:48 pm

mlc2000 wrote: ↑You can always use Scotch-Brite pads, they're just like steel wool, but they're made of plastic or something like that. Won't scratch Teflon.

Last time I checked, they hadn't removed teflon from the market because of health concerns. Nor have the stopped using aluminum, because of the supposed links to Alzheimers.

One CAN worry themselves sick, avoiding the boogey man, trying to stay healthy.

There are also reasons to believe that high temps alone will allow the chemicals in teflon to get into your food, it isn't just from physical removal of it.

Just because it hasn't been removed from the market (yet) doesn't mean it isn't bad for you. Think of things like asbestos, which remained in use until concrete evidence was found of the health issues. Too bad for all those who died from exposure in the meantime. There is a growing body of evidence which suggest teflon could be harmful, it isn't some tinfoil hat conspiracy.

I agree that it's possible to become easily overwhelmed by the vast pool of studies on things, though. I tend to evaluate such things in a risk/benefit manner, if the benefit is minimal, and there is some evidence of risk, I will avoid it. Such is the case with teflon, it's easy to avoid non-stick pans, there are alternatives that are nearly as good, so I use those instead.

In contrast, while I am also concerned with aspects of meat production, such growth hormones, overuse of anitbiotics, and environmental issues, it doesn't mean I will stop eating all such meat. Such a thing would mean no eating in most restaurants, which is too much of a benefit loss for me to avoid the potential risks.

So you could say I'm a pragmatic health nut, I guess. I'm certainly not worrying myself about any of it, just being practical and cautious where possible.

Dec 6th, 2006 1:00 pm

mart242: Deal Fanatic; Jan 16, 2003; 6270 posts; 107 upvotes

Dec 6th, 2006 1:00 pm

Cook the bacon in the oven instead.

Put on a cookie tray, bake at ~400 for 8 minutes, flip, bake some more. No mess. And keep the bacon fat for future use.

Dec 7th, 2006 10:50 am

5abSingh: Deal Addict; Feb 6, 2006; 1011 posts; 247 upvotes

Dec 7th, 2006 10:50 am

mart242 wrote: ↑Cook the bacon in the oven instead.

Put on a cookie tray, bake at ~400 for 8 minutes, flip, bake some more. No mess. And keep the bacon fat for future use.

i second this (alton brown does too) except put the bacon on a rack on a cookie tray so the grease drips off. then to clean the cookie tray, use an abrasive cleaner (i.e. ajax) and hot water. soaking the tray in ajax/hot water for a few minutes helps break down the fats.

Dec 9th, 2006 8:23 pm

LRLR007: Newbie; Nov 10, 2005; 4 posts

Dec 9th, 2006 8:23 pm

Pour out the bacon grease and then put water in the pan apx 1 inch and turn the stove on. Let it cook for a few minutes and you'll see how easy the stuff comes off. Of course you still have to use a sponge & soap. Works when your making scramble eggs too.

Dec 10th, 2006 2:45 am

Steeve Urkel: Deal Addict; Aug 19, 2005; 3630 posts; 4 upvotes

Dec 10th, 2006 2:45 am

mart242 wrote: ↑Cook the bacon in the oven instead.

Put on a cookie tray, bake at ~400 for 8 minutes, flip, bake some more. No mess. And keep the bacon fat for future use.

lol, was just about to suggest that.

Cook it on a piece of tinfoil and then throw it out when you are done ...no pan to worry about and still as good as pan frying- exept no bacon burns!

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Dec 11th, 2006 6:02 pm

stealth: Deal Expert; Aug 9, 2004; 21935 posts; 500 upvotes; Newmarket

Dec 11th, 2006 6:02 pm

Doesnt this mean you have to clean your oven more frequently? Theres gotta be grease spattering all over the inside.

Steeve Urkel wrote: ↑lol, was just about to suggest that.

Cook it on a piece of tinfoil and then throw it out when you are done ...no pan to worry about and still as good as pan frying- exept no bacon burns!

Dec 11th, 2006 6:04 pm

stealth: Deal Expert; Aug 9, 2004; 21935 posts; 500 upvotes; Newmarket

Dec 11th, 2006 6:04 pm

mart242 wrote: ↑Cook the bacon in the oven instead.

Put on a cookie tray, bake at ~400 for 8 minutes, flip, bake some more. No mess. And keep the bacon fat for future use .

What sort of future use?

Dec 11th, 2006 6:37 pm

Dr Butcher: Deal Addict; Sep 25, 2006; 2510 posts; 246 upvotes; Whitby

Dec 11th, 2006 6:37 pm

I just leave the pan on the stove for a few days. At some point after that I walk by and it's been cleaned up!

Magic I say.....

Seriously though, I pour the cooled fat into a cleaned sour cream etc. container and then use hot water and elbow grease to get the pan cleaned. A scotch brite pad usually does the trick.