The Simple Way Martha Stewart Disposes Of Used Cooking Oils

Those of us who do a lot of cooking at home have probably all come across the same common problem: how to properly dispose of old cooking oil. When you're left with a ton of oil in a pot or pan, it can be tempting to pour it down the sink, but you should never do that (along with composting oil in your garden, generally). Luckily for us, Martha Stewart has the perfect easy solution.

In a TikTok video, Stewart revealed that she uses a bunch of paper towels to soak up all of the excess oil quickly and easily. Just make sure you have enough paper towels so that there's enough to sop up all of the liquid. Stewart said, "The pan will cool off and, in a matter of seconds, you have a pan that can be safely washed in the sink."

After you've moved the paper towels around the pan and effectively cleaned up all of that oil, you can simply throw the bunched paper towels away in the trash. It doesn't get much easier than that.

If you don't have a ton of experience in the kitchen, you may be wondering why you can't dispose of leftover oil in the most obvious way: By pouring it down the drain when you go to wash it. Despite this making the most sense on the surface, it's actually something you need to avoid when you're cleaning up after cooking.

The reason you want to avoid this at all costs is that the oil will solidify once it's cooled down, which means that it will block up the drain. If a small amount accidentally goes down the drain, it's nothing to worry about, but you want to get in the habit of disposing of oil using other methods so that blockage doesn't build up over time. Plus, if you pour a large amount down at once, it's almost guaranteed to cause a problem.

You can use Stewart's method of using paper towels to soak up the oil. Or, you can reuse your frying oil, which is another great option.

While you can reuse frying oil, it should only be used to cook the same or very similar foods to avoid introducing unwanted aromas that the oil might have absorbed into another dish. Stewart suggests only reusing the oil up to four times, but always discard it if it begins to smell rancid. Similarly, if you're using large quantities of oil to fry food, you'll need to rethink your method of disposal. 

To dispose of this much oil, you'll need to let it cool completely before transferring it into an airtight container such as an empty plastic jar from yogurt or cottage cheese. Then, freeze the container with the oil inside. Once the oil is solid, you can throw the block of oil away. Do this just before taking the trash out to ensure the oil doesn't thaw at room temperature and leach out of the bag. Finally, you can place the container in the dishwasher to clean it and use it again for an eco-friendly disposal. If you need another method, consider one of Tasting Table's 12 best ways to dispose of used cooking oils.