When cooking bacon, the rendered fat that’s left over is liquid gold. Known as bacon grease, this byproduct has a multitude of uses in the kitchen. But can you conveniently pick it up at your local Kroger grocery store? Let’s find out if buying pre-made bacon grease is an option on your next Kroger run.
What is Bacon Grease?
First, a quick primer on what bacon grease actually is. Bacon grease, also called bacon fat or drippings, refers to the hot rendered pork fat that’s left behind after cooking bacon.
As the bacon cooks, the fatty parts melt and separate from the meat, leaving liquid fat in the pan. Once cooled, this leftover fat solidifies into a creamy, white grease.
Bacon grease has a smoky, meaty, umami flavor from the bacon. It’s highly prized for cooking due to its high smoke point and porky taste.
Benefits of Cooking with Bacon Grease
There are a few key benefits that make bacon grease a coveted kitchen staple
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Flavor – Provides rich, bacon-y taste to anything it’s cooked with.
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Smoke point – With a smoke point around 375°F, it’s great for sautéing, frying, roasting
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Versatility – Use it for cooking eggs, Brussels sprouts, popcorn, roast potatoes and more.
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Cost – Free to make at home. Getting every last drop extends your bacon’s value.
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Storage – Keeps for months in the fridge or freezer.
No wonder bacon grease is called “liquid gold”! Using it elevates the flavor of veggies, meats, baked goods and more.
Does Kroger Sell Bacon Grease?
Now onto the main question – can you conveniently buy pre-made bacon grease at Kroger?
After scouring Kroger’s online grocery selection, there is no pre-made or packaged bacon grease available to add to your cart.
Kroger does not appear to sell pure rendered bacon fat among its wide array of oils, sauces, and condiments.
However, you can purchase bacon itself in different forms:
- Packaged raw bacon slices
- Pre-cooked bacon pieces
- Bacon crumbles
But for already rendered bacon grease, Kroger does not carry or sell it as a standalone product.
Closest Options at Kroger
While Kroger doesn’t sell pure bacon grease, there are a couple substitute products you can buy:
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Bacon jam – Contains rendered bacon fat blended with spices and sometimes maple syrup or brown sugar.
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Baconnaise – A mayonnaise-style spread made with bacon fat and flavorings.
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Lard – Rendered and strained pork fat. The closest pure animal fat option.
These provide some of the bacon flavor and fat content. However, none are an exact match for pure rendered bacon drippings.
Why Doesn’t Kroger Sell Bacon Grease?
There are a few likely reasons why buying bacon grease isn’t an option on Kroger’s shelves:
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Niche appeal – Bacon grease is a very specific single-use item. Most customers buying oils want multi-purpose ones.
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Short shelf life – The high fat content causes bacon grease to go rancid quickly compared to oils. Difficult to stock.
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Food safety – Risk of improperly handled bacon grease causing foodborne illness. Regulations may restrict.
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Easy to make – Since it’s simple for customers to save grease at home, there’s low demand to buy it pre-made.
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Supply chain – Kroger may not have a supplier in place to provide commercial quantities of bacon grease.
For these reasons, Kroger has likely determined that pre-packaged bacon grease doesn’t warrant a place in their oil inventory.
How to Get Bacon Grease at Kroger
While you can’t grab a jar of pure bacon grease off the shelves, there are still ways to obtain it using items from Kroger:
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Cook your own – Buy bacon at Kroger and render grease from it at home. Store in the fridge or freezer.
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Ask the butcher counter – They may collect excess grease they could portion out.
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Purchase lard – For a neutral pork fat product to use similarly.
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Skim from ready meals – Scrape grease from tops of prepared foods like bacon mac & cheese.
With a bit of effort, it’s possible to gather usable bacon grease from Kroger sourced products. But the pre-rendered kind will have to be made DIY.
Where to Buy Pre-Made Bacon Grease
If you don’t want the hassle of rendering your own, check these places for pre-packaged bacon grease:
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Butcher shops or meat counters at specialty grocery stores like Whole Foods.
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Online retailers like Amazon, Goldbelly, ButcherBox.
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Farmers markets and stands may sell rendered lard or bacon fat.
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Local butchers and meat processors; call ahead to check.
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Make requests at your local restaurants or diners.
Be sure to look for responsibly sourced options stored properly. With some searching, you can find ready-made bacon grease from various providers.
Should You Bother Buying It?
While pre-made bacon grease provides convenience, it may not be worth the high price tag. Rendering your own allows you to control the quality and safety. The extra effort pays off in flavor.
Consider making your own bacon grease at home in bulk, then storing portions in the freezer. This way you can get the same benefits without the added costs.
The Bottom Line
When it comes to buying pure rendered bacon grease, Kroger doesn’t sell this niche cooking fat on its grocery shelves. However, you have options to cook your own using bacon from Kroger, request grease from the butcher counter, or purchase substitutes like lard. Or, look to specialty grocers and online shops to buy pre-made. With some easy DIY rendering, you can skip buying it and make your own delicious bacon grease at home.
Bacon Fat Hack | DIY & How To | Kroger
How to choose the best bacon grease container?
The perfect bacon grease container is one of the best ceramic stoneware containers. The color is bold to add a modern touch to your kitchen. You can trust its material as it is a long-lasting container. There is a snug-fitting lid, and it helps in preserving the grease while you are using it.
Can you use bacon grease instead of butter?
Adding a little bacon grease to your favorite recipes gives them a rich, smoky depth. “Bacon fat is a saturated fat like butter, coconut oils, and other animal derived fats, so it can be substituted for any of those,” says Abbott.
How do you store bacon grease?
A container of bacon grease is a cook’s secret weapon—and unlike pricey olive oils or fancy seasoning blends, it’s something you already have on hand. Here’s how to make sure you store this cooking treasure with all the care it deserves. To safely store bacon grease, you must first get rid of any small bits of bacon that are left behind:
Should bacon grease be cooled before transferring to a container?
Before transferring the rendered grease into a suitable container, you should let it cool to a manageable temperature. Apart from safety from hot oil splatters, waiting for the temperature to cool down will prevent the bacon fat’s steam from producing condensation inside the glass.
How do you get more grease from Bacon?
Thicker bacon generally yields more fat but can be chewier, while thinner slices often render less fat but result in crispier end-product. If you can, opt for bacon with a higher fat-to-meat ratio. This will naturally give you more grease. 2. Use an oven to get purer bacon grease
Does bacon grease add flavor?
For years, down-home cooks and distinguished chefs have used bacon grease to enhance their best recipes. Now with bacon up, it easy to add more flavor every day-whether you’re making a familiar favorite or adding some “foodie” flair to something new-without the hassle of frying pounds of bacon!