Sizzling on the Stove

• Pan-frying serves as the simplest way to cook carrots in bacon grease. Wash, peel and slice the carrots into sturdy ribbons, sticks or discs as you pan-fry your bacon to a pleasing crisp. Crumble the bacon into the pan and heat its grease on medium until its nice and hot, but not smoky. Toss in the carrots and add the seasonings of your choice -- brown sugar or maple syrup makes for a sweet dish, while herbs and spices, such as rosemary, garlic, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper, make for a savory flavor. Cook the carrots in the grease for about 5 minutes, depending on how many carrots you have. When finished, the carrots should be soft to the touch, but not mushy.

Baking Bacon

• For baked carrots in bacon grease, use a covered pot with just enough bacon grease for your peeled and sliced carrots to simmer. Season and cook covered carrots at around 325 degrees Fahrenheit until they're tender. For an alternative method, set your oven to 400 degrees and fold a piece of aluminum foil over your sliced and peeled carrots, making a pocket. Place bacon slices, savory seasonings and a few pats of butter over the carrots. Seal the carrots in a foil bag and bake for a little less than an hour, until the carrots are tender. The grease from the bacon will seep into the carrots, helping to cook and flavor them.

Veggie Variations

• Carrots don't have to sizzle in the grease solo -- add complementary vegetables, such as collard greens, sunchokes, shallots or parsnips, to make a bacon-sauteed veggie side. Likewise, make a full dinner by preparing your oven-cooked carrots in bacon grease alongside a small roast, such as a tri-tip roast, a few cloves of garlic and a couple of Roma tomatoes. Make your oven-roasted, bacon-infused carrots more zesty by including the juice from half an orange in the foil bag or topping them with citrus zest and spoonful of marmalade.

Better with Bacon

• Bacon grease isn't the exclusive domain of carrots -- this natural by-product of fried bacon lends itself to a huge variety of recipes. Slather your baked potatoes with bacon grease before cooking them for a crispy, smoky finish, or use bacon grease for ultra-flavorful fried rice. Likewise, you can take grilled cheese to a whole new level by pan-frying the bread in a skillet lightly coated with bacon grease, or make a decadent salad dressing with bacon grease, sugar, spicy mustard and red wine vinegar.