How do you cook bacon?

[bbqLuv]

I found this how-to-cook bacon video on YouTube interesting.
It also kinda has science behind it.

What's the best way to cook bacon at home? (Food science explained)

I have been using the water method, as do friends I've told.
What's your favorite way to cook bacon?

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Personally, on the pellet grill is my favorite. Get a whole pack done at the same time. The little griddle thing we have almost does a whole pack but it doesn't cook even. Our biggest pan on our biggest stove burner takes 3-4 batches to cook a whole pack. Oven method works fine, but there's no extra cleanup required on the pellet grill where every other method needs cleanup.

[bbqLuv]

kenrobin At which temperature do you cook bacon in the pellet grill?
Is there a particular procedure you use?

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Depends how you want it, 250 for an hour or so on the grates will get ya bacon with chew. You can then nuke for 30 seconds or so for a crisp. Or you can cook on foil at 275+ and get a crisp. Really depends on your cooker so I suspect everyone will have slightly different perfect temp/time

[kenrobin]

bbqLuv I put the bacon on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper so that I can capture and save the bacon grease. I cook for 40 minutes at 250, then I flip the bacon over and let it go for another 40 minutes. I finish it off by increasing the setpoint to 300 and then I start check on it after 15 more minutes. Sometimes it needs another 15 to get it where I want it, but sometimes it doesn't need any more time.

[Alan Brice]

Griddle outside. Great prep for the main. Stir fry, eggs n tatys, smash burgie, Brussels Sprouts, almost always start with a pound of bacon.
Takes no time at all. Cleanup is a breeze.

[acorgihouse]

Oven, hands down, and he has a suspiciously clean white kitchen.

[bbqLuv]

Probably clean for video, but I did not notice. LOL

[smokenoob]

posting that link here may crash the site! 😂😎

[bbqLuv]

I took a risk for the video to share that's beyond compare.

[texastweeter]

But that's risky considering the grease burns.

[bbqLuv]

"Grease Burns." Yep, it sure does! 400°F in the oven seems like you're playing with fire. I must be careful with my Pellet grill, which heats up to 500*F.

The spruce eats:
The flash point of lard and tallow fat is as follows12:
Beef tallow: 400°F (similar to vegetable oil)
Lard: 370°F (closer to that of duck fat)

[Mosca]

Griddle or oven. I do the whole pack at once, to just less than how I want it. Then, as I use it, 30 seconds to a minute in the microwave brings it to “perfect”.

[gcdmd]

That's similar to what we did when I worked at a truck stop cafe during college in the early sixties (no microwave, however, of course).

We'd precook a bunch on the flat top to just less than how we wanted it and keep it warm in a pan and then pull out and finish off what we needed for each order, also on the flat top.

[texastweeter]

I either end up dicing it and cooking in a cast iron skillet, or into a cold oven set to 400° convect bake, then a 5 minute timer once it comes up to temp. And of course I ALWAYS save my bacon grease.

[Purc]

It's all good.

[Panhead John]

Microwaved bacon can’t hold a candle to a good pan fry…..IMO

[captainlee]

Typical breakfast for the two of us,microwave. When the house is full, the oven. Camping, the frying pan.

[TripleB]

Always a frying pan. Got to save have the drippings. Love making roux with bacon fat.

[Sweaty Paul]

Or just cooking a fried egg in the fat. So good.

[TripleB]

Sweaty Paul +1, Dad's breakfast - Bacon, eggs fried in bacon fat and served with a side of rice. A staple in my household and served every Christmas morning.

[Sweaty Paul]

TripleB - now that’s a breakfast!

[Santamarina]

Griddle outside is my go-to when cooking a big batch for a family meal.

If I just need a piece or three what I’ve found works great is the air fryer. Very similar to the oven, but heats up and cooks in a fraction of the time.

[Duanessmokedmeats]

Hook and hang in my Pit Barrel, usually when I am smoking something else. To add flavor.

[HawkerXP]

..., ..., ...!

[DaveD]

I use these here A-frame racks and set them in the Copperhead vertical pellet smoker, run them with set point at 225/107 for a little over two hours. Great smoky flavor and it's perfectly cooked every time. One does need to get the bacon right off the frames when they come out of the cooker, they can stick on there if they cool too much. Then I put the racks in the fridge to congeal the grease collected in the little channels, keeps me in smoked bacon grease routinely. Once the grease is out, I just put them in the dishwasher and they come out fine.

These are a little too tall to fit under the lid of my kettle, but one could use any smoker that has the vertical space. Super easy to use in a cabinet cooker like the Copperhead. I got this set from Amazon after first having a set I bought from Pit Boss. They worked just fine, but were painted, and eventually the paint started chipping and scratching, so they had to go.

[bbqLuv]

You done good.

[surfdog]

9 times outta 10…in the oven. A half-sheet or two and I can cook up bunches with no mess, and I’ll save the drippings when it’s done.

[acorgihouse]

Panhead John I do it in oven this way: oven 400 no preheat, bacon laid out on foil on sheet pan. Takes 15 mins or so, when getting brown, flip the whole lot over and back in oven. Watch, as when they get done it's fast. Once done to your liking, take out and put on paper towels to drain, let sheet pan cool a bit and then you can pour off the rest of the grease (I pour through a sieve into jar.) Comes out flat, crispy as you let it get, and no mess on the stove.

[Panhead John]

Thank you acorgihouse !

[surfdog]

Panhead John Anywhere from 350-400°. Also depends on whether or not anything else is going into the oven. With a rack, without a rack…results are much the same. As acorgihouse noted, it can be pretty fast, obviously faster at the higher end.

Comes out flat & crispy every time. And because it has no direct heat under it, the rendered fat is a lot cleaner, so a quick pour through a strainer and you’ll have bacon fat for all sorts of uses.

[DavidNorcross]

On the griddle as often as possible!