Fun with Bacon Fat!

That's right everyone, save that precious bacon grease because we're making candles!

I can't really take credit for this idea, my friend at Immortal Potential sent me a link to this cool process. But I have wanted to do something like this ever since I read about tallow* candles in "My Side of the Mountain" when I was a kid.

The first step is to collect the grease. About three pounds of bacon will give enough fat to make a good sized candle when pan fried. Take fat and an equal amount of water and bring to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and pour in 1/4 of the total mixture's worth of cold water. Do not pour in cold water while it's boiling! This will result in skin grafts. When it's cool enough, pour into a container and refrigerate. 

While the mixture is setting up, gather your preferred candle vessel, string, a toothpick, a magnet, and a beer cap. For my string I used a waxed twine I got for my birthday from the aforementioned friend for just this purpose and a mason jar to hold my tallow. Punch two small holes close together on the bottle cap and thread the string through. Twist the string to create the wick. If your string isn't waxed you may have braid them. Drop the bottle cap in the jar and twist the top of the string around the toothpick at the top of the jar. Place the jar on top of the magnet. This will keep the cap from floating in the fat. Obviously the cap needs to be made of a ferrous metal for this to work. If you don't have a strong enough magnet you can use a small nut or even a rock.

Now check on your grease; by now it should be hardened up. Remove it from the water and blot it with a paper towel to remove any water. If there's any bacon bits on the bottom remove them while the tallow is still hard. Place the tallow in a glass measuring cup and place that in a pot of hot water. The fat will now return to a liquid state. Pour it into the jar being sure to get the wick wet as well. Place in the freezer until hardened. 

When it's all set up, cut the wick to about 1/8 of an inch from the top of the tallow. Light, and enjoy the mood lighting. (And in case you're worried, there is no bacon smell at all. I say boo to that.)

*Tallow is clarified at used to burn in a lamp or candle.