If you’re like many people, cooking with oil from time to time is a way of life. And whether you’re sautéing veggies, or deep-frying corn dogs, chicken fingers, and French fries, you’ll very likely have some used cooking oil leftover. So how do you get rid of it?
Can you pour it down the kitchen sink?
The short answer is: you shouldn’t. Pouring cooking oil down the sink can damage your plumbing.
Can you pour used cooking oil into your compost?
Not unless you want to run the risk of ruining the compost.
Here are three tips for properly disposing of and reusing cooking oil, which we’ve summarized from culinary professionals at The Washington Post.
Disposing of Residual and Small Amounts of Cooking Oil
If you’ve got some residual cooking oil after preparing a meal it’s easy to simply wipe your pans and pots with a paper towel and throw it away. You might also allocate a dish towel or two for wiping up residuals, and set them aside for kitchen laundry. When it comes to dishes, wipe away residual grease before you put them into the sink or dishwasher to keep grease out of the sewer system.
For small amounts of cooking oil you might consider pouring it directly into a trash bag, after it cools, so long as there are other items inside that can help absorb it.
Disposing of Larger Amounts of Cooking Oil
To get rid of larger amounts of cooking and frying oil you should transfer the oil into a disposable container that has a lid. Before you transfer it, though, let the oil cool to keep whatever you put it in from melting. You can then toss it out with the trash.
Reusing Cooking Oil
Large quantities of leftover cooking oil can be reused. First, let the oil cool, then strain it through a mesh strainer, cheesecloth, or a coffee filter. Store the oil in a container in a dark place to be reused at another time.
It’s best to limit the reuse of your fryer oil to a max of about four times because the oil starts to degrade once it’s used and it’ll continue to deteriorate with each use. It’s important to know that oil that’s past its prime won’t reach frying temperatures without smoking, and this can transfer bad flavors to your food.
The type of food you fry can affect how long your oil lasts. For foods that are breaded and battered you should reuse oil three or four times. With a food like potato chips, which fries cleaner, it’s okay to reuse the oil up to about eight times—or longer, if you add some fresh oil.
The simplest and easiest way to verify that cooking oil is still good for use is to sniff it to see if it smells unusual or rancid. Also, if your used oil sits unused for more than one or two weeks you should throw it out—no matter how little you’ve used it.
