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Credit: Reviewed.com/Lindsay D. Mattison
Kitchen & Cooking

The Best Fat Separators of 2024

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Credit: Reviewed.com/Lindsay D. Mattison

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Editor's Choice Product image of OXO Good Grips Good Gravy Fat Separator – 4 Cup
Best Overall

OXO Good Grips Good Gravy Fat Separator – 4 Cup

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The design of this fat separator makes it shine. It's easy to control pouring and draining. Cleanup is a cinch. Comfortable handles seal the deal. Read More

Pros

  • Bottom draining design
  • Trigger is easy to control
  • Silicone-lined hole minimizes splashing

Cons

  • None that we could find
Editor's Choice Product image of OXO Good Grips 4 Cup Fat Separator
Best Value

OXO Good Grips 4 Cup Fat Separator

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Among spout-style separators, this one is a top pick for its effectiveness. With the help of a plug, it creates pressure, drawing liquid to the spout. Read More

Pros

  • Very effective at separating fat
  • Uses pressure to draw contents to spout

Cons

  • Strainer on top could be finer
Product image of Cuisipro Fat Separator

Cuisipro Fat Separator

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One of the better options on the market, the Cuisipro separates fat extremely well resulting in a great yield. Read More

Pros

  • Very effective at separating fat
  • Very little waste with yield

Cons

  • Somewhat slow to drain
  • Slightly inaccurate measurements
Product image of Vondior 4 Cups Gravy Separator and Fat Separator

Vondior 4 Cups Gravy Separator and Fat Separator

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Vondior's gravy separator strains and separates well, even though the measurements are slightly off and tough to read. Read More

Pros

  • Easy to use
  • Good straining
  • Separates fat well

Cons

  • Markings are difficult to read
  • Slightly inaccurate measurements
Product image of Bellemain 4-Cup Fat Separator

Bellemain 4-Cup Fat Separator

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This four-cup fat separator by Bellemain is a decent buy if you pour slowly and carefully while using it. Read More

Pros

  • Decently accurate measurements

Cons

  • Liquid easily spills over the top

  • Best Overall OXO Good Grips Good Gravy Fat Separator – 4 Cup
  • Best Value OXO Good Grips 4 Cup Fat Separator
  • Other Fat Separators We Tested
  • How Do Fat Separators Work?
  • More Articles You Might Enjoy
Lindsay D. Mattison
Written by Lindsay D. Mattison, Professional chef, recipe developer, and product tester with years of experience in home and restaurant kitchens.

Updated March 12, 2024

There's nothing sexy about a fat separator. In fact, it’s quite possibly one of the least glamorous kitchen tools. No one really wants to think about fat that much, but these gadgets seriously come in handy when you don’t have time to manually defat your broth or pan juices. Think about a busy Thanksgiving Day: Everyone is already bustling around the kitchen to get dinner ready, there’s no way you have time to pop your turkey stock in the refrigerator and wait for the fat to solidify (not to mention that there’s probably no room in the fridge anyway!). To make sure your gravy isn’t slick with fat, use a fat separator—like our top pick OXO Good Grips Good Gravy 4-Cup Fat Separator (available at Amazon for $27.95) —which allows you to separate liquids and fats almost immediately.

It’s really just about simple physics: Fats and liquids don’t mix. Given a few minutes’ time, the fat will float to the top because it’s less dense than water. These gadgets take advantage of that and pour from the bottom, making it easier to get flavorful liquid without a ton of excess fat. The best ones even have strainer tops that are designed to filter-out aromatics like chopped onions, carrots, or peppercorns. Here are the best time-saving fat separators.

Credit: Reviewed.com/Lindsay D. Mattison
Best Overall
OXO Good Grips Good Gravy Fat Separator – 4 Cup

The OXO Good Grips Good Gravy 4-Cup Fat Separator is, by far, our favorite fat separator on this list. By design, bottom-draining separators make it almost impossible to pass a lot of fatty-liquid through their valves because the fat floats on the top. Some of them have temperamental levers, but the trigger on this model is super easy to control. As you depress the trigger on the comfortable handle, it opens the silicone-lined hole in the bottom, allowing as much or as little liquid to pass as you'd like. That helps significantly in minimizing splashing, creating less mess than other models.

Unlike other bottom-draining models, the OXO also has a pour spout on the top, which makes it much easier to remove the fat left behind in the separator. The strainer on top also has the small and they easy catch aromatics from onions to thyme leaves. And, since the lever mechanism is located on the outside of the separator, clean up is a breeze. All of that comes together to earn the OXO our pick as Best Overall.

Pros

  • Bottom draining design

  • Trigger is easy to control

  • Silicone-lined hole minimizes splashing

Cons

  • None that we could find

$27.95 from Amazon

$27.11 from Home Depot
Credit: Reviewed.com/Lindsay D. Mattison
Best Value
OXO Good Grips 4 Cup Fat Separator

If you're looking for a spout-style fat separator and you don't have a ton of money to spend, you can't go wrong with the OXO Good Grips 4-Cup Fat Separator. The design uses a red, silicone plug to create air pressure inside the spout, preventing fat from entering the chamber. When you remove the plug, the liquid spurts up, allowing you to drain it first before encountering the fat that floats on top. There are a few other spout-style separators that look exactly like this one, but the OXO out-performed them all.

Our only qualm with this product is the top strainer, which has holes large enough to allow a few peppercorns to pass through its gates. If straining stock without using cheesecloth is a big deal for you, spend the extra money on our top pick instead of this Best Value choice.

Pros

  • Very effective at separating fat

  • Uses pressure to draw contents to spout

Cons

  • Strainer on top could be finer

Buy now at Amazon

Other Fat Separators We Tested

Product image of Cuisipro Fat Separator
Cuisipro Fat Separator

The Cuisipro 4-Cup Fat Separator is a little slow to drain, but it has a better yield than other fat separators, and allows a small amount of fat to escape through the bottom drain. While this wouldn't be our first choice for use as a measuring cup, not only because it's not entirely accurate but also because the etchings are hard to read. Though, as a fat separator, you can't go wrong with this model.

Pros

  • Very effective at separating fat

  • Very little waste with yield

Cons

  • Somewhat slow to drain

  • Slightly inaccurate measurements

$32.58 from Amazon

$39.99 from Abt
Product image of Vondior 4 Cups Gravy Separator and Fat Separator
Vondior 4 Cups Gravy Separator and Fat Separator

The Vondior 4-Cup Gravy Separator and Fat Separator looks exactly—and I mean exactly—like the slightly-better-performing Cuisipro. The only way to tell them apart is by the brand name was printed on the product. Easy to use, this fat separator doesn't allow any peppercorns to pass through the top strainer, and it does a fine job at draining the liquid without passing too much fat through. Unfortunately his fat separator isn't accurate as a measuring cup and the etchings are hard to read

Pros

  • Easy to use

  • Good straining

  • Separates fat well

Cons

  • Markings are difficult to read

  • Slightly inaccurate measurements

Buy now at Amazon
Product image of Bellemain 4-Cup Fat Separator
Bellemain 4-Cup Fat Separator

The Bellemain 4-Cup Fat Separator is available for a great budget price, but it falls behind when it comes to performance. Overall, we like the separator, but you have to be very careful pouring it to prevent fatty liquids from spilling up over the top. While it is more accurate with larger quantities of liquid than smaller quantities, it just doesn't excel at both.

Pros

  • Decently accurate measurements

Cons

  • Liquid easily spills over the top

Buy now at Amazon
Product image of Swing-A-Way Easy Release Grease Separator
Swing-A-Way Easy Release Grease Separator

We love the smaller profile of the bottom-draining Swing-A-Way 4-Cup Easy Release Fat and Gravy Separator, which makes it easy to store. We just wish it performed better in the kitchen. This is the only model we found that can't actually hold 4 cups of liquid as advertised, and the cup measurement is wildly inaccurate, weighing almost a full ounce less than it should. Although this fat separator is easy to clean, the easy-to-clean handle is also pretty awkward to hold.

Pros

  • Small profile good for storage

  • Easy to clean

Cons

  • Inaccurate measurements

  • Doesn't hold a full four cups

Buy now at Amazon

How Do Fat Separators Work?

There are two types of fat separators: spout-style pitchers and bottom-drainers. They both work the same way, although their draining methods differ. After you pour your stock or sauce through the strainer (which is designed to catch aromatics like chopped onions or peppercorns), give it a minute to allow the fat to rise to the top. With the pitcher design, you simply pour the liquid through the spout, which pulls from the bottom of the receptacle. For the bottom-drainer types, you pull a lever to drain the liquid directly through a hole in the bottom. With both methods, you stop pouring before you reach the floating fat, leaving it behind in the separator.

Meet the writer

Lindsay D. Mattison

Lindsay D. Mattison

Professional Chef

@linzdmattison

Lindsay is a professional chef, recipe developer, writer, and developmental editor. After years of working in restaurant kitchens, she turned to writing to share her passion for local, organic, and seasonal ingredients with home cooks and food enthusiasts.

See all of Lindsay D. Mattison's reviews

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