Bacon grease is bacon fat retrieved from the stomach or back of pigs.
They consist of less fatty acids than meat attained from other parts of the body. One can consume it as a whole dish or use it as a minor ingredient to spice up their meals.
Bacon grease is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids that reduces heart health and stroke-related risks.
It is loaded with proteins, the building blocks of our body, and vitamins like Niacin, Biotin, Folate, and Thiamine. Selenium can reduce cancer risks.
The sad part of bacon grease consumption is its high levels of saturated fatty acids that result in chronic heart conditions.
So, it’s a good idea to shift from bacon grease to new alternatives to find your ideal match. Continue reading to get circumstantial substitutes.
7 Best Substitutes for Bacon Grease
Here you’ll browse through seven substitutes for bacon grease. They all are loaded with nutrition and will generate eudaimonia in everyone’s lives.
Chicken Skin Grease
For days when you’d like to take a break from pork, go for chicken skin grease. You can use it for sauteing your stir-fried dishes. It comes with a mild flavor and aroma.
Chicken skin grease contains a significant chunk of unsaturated fatty acids that reinforces your heart health and improves blood pressure by lower cholesterol. It is rich in omega-3 that reduces edema and agony in the body.
When left along with the chicken meat, chicken skin grease makes the meat more flavorful and aromatic, so you’ll need fewer spices and salt for some added taste.
It also keeps it moisturized and supple by maintaining its juices.
One major drawback of chicken skin grease is that it is rich in calories and saturated fats. A cup of chicken skin grease will generate around 276 calories.
Summary
Chicken skin grease is packed with unsaturated fats and omega-3 that is nutritious for your heart. It gives more flavor and moisture to your chicken meat when stored together.
Beef Fat
Beef fat is juicy, so you can save this one for making gravy-based dishes as there will be no requirement to add water and spices to balance the flavor and the liquid base.
Beef fat is a rich source of vitamins like A, B1 D, E, and K. It is convenient for your gut to digest fat-soluble vitamins and utilize them when needed.
It contains conjugated linoleic acid that has anti-inflammatory properties that will soothe an ailing individual.
Palmitoleic acid in beef fat possesses anti-microbial properties that safeguard our body from viruses, bacteria, and fungi.
Choline is nectar for your nervous system as it strengthens your neurons. Beef fat nourishes your skin, leaving it soft, supple, and moisturized.
On the contrary, beef fat contains saturated fatty acids that can lead to fatal heart diseases by increasing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels.
Summary
Beef fat is a rich source of vitamins and minerals and comes with anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial effects. It is suitable for your skin and nervous system.
Lard
Lard is also derived from pigs, just like bacon grease. Rendering of animal fats enables one to extract lard from it via moist or dry heat. Lard has a lingering aroma and flavor.
Lard is a reservoir of vitamin D that regulates controls calcium and phosphorus-related metabolisms. Apart from this, vitamin D is excellent for boosting bone health as well.
It reduces cancer risks, autoimmune malfunctions, and heart conditions.
It comprises 48% monounsaturated fatty acids that enable the consumer to maintain normal blood pressure levels. Oleic acids help suppress signs of depression.
The choline content of lard secures one from Alzheimer’s disease and heart diseases.
On the downside, lard contains trans-fat, and researchers have associated it with increased obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and heart trouble.
Summary
Similar to bacon grease, lard is derived from pigs. It contains vitamin D that is great for your bone health. Oleic acid combats depression, while choline protects from Alzheimer’s disease.
Butter
Butter is soft and creamy in texture; you can either go for unsalted or salted variants. You can use it for baking and dessert curation.
Butter is a rich source of carotene that is a kind of antioxidant that protects your cells from invasion through free radicals. Carotene has the potency to transform itself into vitamin A to boost our immunity. Butter is known to reinforce brain activities as well.
Carotene and its transformed version, vitamin A come with anti-cancer properties. They are known to reduce the risks of colorectal and prostate cancers.
Glycosphingolipids improve bowel movements and soothe gastrointestinal health conditions.
Unfortunately, butter cannot be consumed by lactose-intolerant people. The milk proteins present in butter may result in allergic reactions.
Summary
Butter comes with uniform consistency. It contains carotene that protects cells from free radicals and transforms into vitamin A. Glycosphingolipids improve digestion.
Olive Oil
Olive oil contains nutritious factors like tocopherols, carotenoids, and polyphenols beneficial for one’s health by restricting pathogens’ growth and flourish the good bacteria present in your gut.
Olive oil showcases anti-cancer properties due to the presence of phenolic and polyphenolic compounds and has anti-microbial and anti-atherogenic effects on your body.
Daily olive oil intake will aid in coronary artery illness.
Virgin olive oil comes with factors that protect against tumor formation and development, while extra virgin olive oil is rich in oleic acid that decreases hypertension, prevents cancer and type-2 diabetes.
Despite being a fantastic alternative to bacon grease, olive oil is loaded with calories that may lead to weight gain.
Summary
Olive oil restricts hypertension, cancer, tumor formation, and type-2 diabetes. There are three variants of olive oil available: olive oil, virgin olive oil, and extra virgin olive oil.
Peanut Oil
Since peanut oil is extracted from peanuts, it has a nutty aroma and taste. Peanut oil is also known as groundnut oil as the seeds of a peanut plant develop underground.
Peanut oil has a positive impact on your heart due to the presence of vitamin E and unsaturated fatty acids.
It helps control your blood sugar levels by boosting insulin production in the body, making it suitable for diabetic patients.
Peanut oil contains antioxidants that restrict free radicals’ activity and safeguard our cells, thus preventing cancer risks. The monounsaturated fatty acids aid in lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in the body.
As a precautionary measure, avoid peanut oil if you are allergic to peanuts. Omega-6 fatty acid consumption may boost your chances of contracting heart diseases.
Summary
Peanut oil contains vitamin E and unsaturated fatty acids that are good for your heart health. It controls blood sugar levels and prevents cancer by hindering free radical activity.
Sesame Oil
Sesame oil is derived by pressing raw sesame seeds. Sesame seeds are known as the “Queen of Oilseeds” due to their nutritional qualities. They have several medicinal and cosmetic uses.
Sesame oil is fused with the goodness of antioxidants like sesamol and sesaminol that fight free radicals and protect our cells from damage.
It comes with anti-inflammatory properties that help reduce edema and agony of the joints, toothaches, and scrapes.
Sesame oil comes with around 82% of unsaturated fatty acids, making it safe for your heart. It assists in lowering cholesterol levels in your arteries and unclogs them for an unhindered flow of blood.
According to researchers, sesame oil can be used to cure Arthritis.
On the flip side of life, sesame oil may cause allergic reactions to specific individuals. It is rich in calories and might adversely affect your blood sugar levels if consumed along with blood sugar regulation medicines.
Summary
Sesame oil comes with sesamol and sesaminol antioxidants that battle off free radicals and have anti-inflammatory properties. A significant chunk of this oil is unsaturated fats.
FAQs
Bacon grease belongs to the family of lards. Both of them differ in their taste, with bacon grease having a smoky flavor while lard consisting of no particular taste.
Cow fat, also called tallow, can substitute bacon grease due to its rich nutrient and linoleic acid contents, along with anti-inflammatory properties.
You can use ghee instead of bacon grease while sauteing, but you may not be able to retrieve the same aroma as that from bacon grease while using ghee as an alternative.
Bottom Line
Bacon grease is filled with the good and the bad. You may want to try new alternatives and derived nutrients that aren’t available in bacon grease to promote good health.
You may opt for any of the seven substitutes mentioned above.
We hope that we successfully provided a detailed insight about various bacon grease substitutes, do let us know in the comments section below if we happened to miss out on your favorite alternative.