Fat For Flavour

I am in my mid 30's and when I was a child my mum always kept a enamel mug of fat in the fridge that she used for cooking.  It was generally fat that had been drained off a roast and it was then used for other cooking.  I remember having bread fried in this fat as a treat some Sunday nights alongside grilled tomato, bacon or sausages and eggs.

While I have not eaten fried bread since then I do still use animal fat for cooking.  When we had our cow killed I requested all of the fat to be mince which I then rendered down.  I used some of the fat for soap making and I have a container in the freezer that I can use for cooking.  Because it has a slightly beefy flavor I do not use it with poultry (I save duck fat and chicken fat for this), fish or sweets but I use it instead of vegetable oil for other meats and strongly flavoured vegetable dishes.

When ever I am cooking something and there is a bit of fat left over or floating on the surface I strain it off and store it in the freezer in plastic containers.

If I cook duck I save the duck fat for cooking roast veggies or poultry. If I cook roast lamb I save the garlic and rosemary infused fat for cooking veggies or croutons and if there is lots of fat on the top of a curry I save it and use it as the oil when I make my next curry (we eat a lot of curry).

Labeling your fat ensures you use it in an appropriate future dish.

All the flavour from the previous curry are passed on to the next one.

By using the fat this way you add a whole extra layer of flavour to the next meal and you will not be spending money on vegetable oils or using them for the majority of your cooking which may not be good for your health.  

To read more about the health implications of vegetable oils you should check out David Gillespis book 'Toxic Oil' and you can check out his interview on the ABC here or read Liz's review of the book here.

Do you save and reuse oil?
What oils do you cook with?