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Bacon Cooked 8 Ways (from Sunday)

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    Bacon Cooked 8 Ways (from Sunday)

    Good article. I have done the cast iron, non-stick, baked on a rack and microwave.

    As the author points out, for some methods the thickness of the bacon is important - for example Sous Vide.

    Since I don't own a meat slicer, my home made bacon is nice and think. I am going to do the Sous Vide next!



    #2
    This was a good read! Thank you for finding and sharing it!

    Comment


      #3
      It is a good read, the author was thorough. It looks like I'm trying bacon on parchment paper, baked, within a couple days...

      Comment


      • jfmorris
        jfmorris commented
        Editing a comment
        That is a method my wife uses. Me? I'm heading outside to the griddle, unless its raining...

      • JGo37
        JGo37 commented
        Editing a comment
        jfmorris I've never made bacon on my Blackstone, even tho I have the CI bacon weight to keep it flat - can you imagine? I can't explain at all why this is...

      • jfmorris
        jfmorris commented
        Editing a comment
        Oh no @JGo37... we are repossessing your flat top grill chef hat immediately, haha!

        I like that I can throw out all the bacon at once on the flat top. I think I've had 3-4 pounds going at once on there. The wife wanted bacon last Saturday, and I threw a whole pound on, then did some eggs in the bacon grease. If I had been doing it on the stove top, it would have been 3 skillets to get it done, or cooking bacon 5 strips at a time to get it in a 12" skillet. And grease all over the kitchen...
        Last edited by jfmorris; September 10, 2020, 10:03 PM.

      #4
      It's fun to slap bacon on the griddle, as jfmorris does. There's something about watching that bacon, lined up like little soldiers, fry to perfection. For me, the only downside is that I can't save any bacon grease that way. That's not a problem when I'm cooking a few slices, but sometimes I like to cook a whole pound or more at one time.

      For large bacon cooks, I place it on a disposable aluminum foil rack set into a foil-lined rimmed pan set in a cold gasser, then turn the gasser on to about 350°. Flip the bacon a couple of times during the cook. Turns out pretty good. I start in a cold gasser so I get maximum rendering of the fat. After removing the bacon and allowing the pan to cool, I pour off the bacon fat for future use.

      I'm not sure what the parchment method would bring to the party compared with the method I currently use, but I think I'll give it a try for my next bacon cook.

      Thanks for posting the article link, JGrana .

      Kathryn

      Comment


      • jfmorris
        jfmorris commented
        Editing a comment
        Those disposable grates are interesting. I will look for them next time I am at Home Depot.

        I think from seeing Yvonne do bacon in the oven on parchment paper, it just lets the bacon fry in its own grease, much like in a skillet, and not stick to the pan or cause a big mess you gotta scrape off the pan. The paper is just there to keep the pan clean I think.

      • Bob K
        Bob K commented
        Editing a comment
        How have I not seen these disposable grates before? Perfect for prep work I’d think, like dry brining - yes/no?

        Agree w jfmorris that parchment is only for cleanup, use it all the time. Similar to foil though I think possibly crispier edges w parchment (like cookies).

      • fzxdoc
        fzxdoc commented
        Editing a comment
        It might work well for dry brining, depending on the weight of the meat, Bob K . They're aluminum, a bit thicker than heavy duty aluminum foil, meant to go over grill grates for ease of cleanup. I never use them for that. You can cut them to size to fit whatever sheet pan you're using.

        Kathryn

      #5
      Good article. I am with the griddle group - I love cooking it up on the griddle. Inside, it is either the CI skillet for up to 5 or 6 slices, or in the oven in a foil lined pan. I'll have to give the parchment paper method a try though.

      Comment


        #6
        Well then that's a lot to consider since I have a bacon cure in progress to smoke tomorrow.

        Comment


        • Jerod Broussard
          Jerod Broussard commented
          Editing a comment
          Save yourself the trouble, mail the smoked stuff to me.

        #7
        I like to cook bacon on the pellet grill on a grate over a foil pan-BUT because there's only two of us most of the time, only cook it to 3/4 doneness. Then freeze it and when we want some just zap in the microwave for a couple minutes.

        Comment


          #8
          DH brought home 4 pounds of nice bacon recently. I'll cook the bacon in my two half-sheet (13x18 inch) pans. They were $3 flea market finds.

          These pans sit nicely side by side on my Weber Genesis 3 burner gas grill and work perfectly for cooking bacon. I put 1-2 pounds of bacon in each pan. Turn the strips a time or two to get a little browning on both sides. I put the bacon on right after getting the burners lit and shoot for a temp of around 350 F. Takes around 1/2 hour, more or less.

          Like Skip, I try to cook the bacon to almost done, drain well, freeze as separate strips on cookie sheets, pack in zipper top food bags, and back in the freezer. Microwave some frozen strips for a minute or so until they're as crispy as desired.

          I drain, filter, and save the bacon grease for cooking and soap making. I don't use a rack or foil or parchment in the pans although one certainly could. But the nekkid pans aren't hard to wash after the dogs give them a "prewash" and then soaking them in hot soapy water for maybe 20 minutes.

          Comment


          • klflowers
            klflowers commented
            Editing a comment
            After that second line in the second para, starting I put 1-2 pounds, I got up to get in the truck and leave for Iowa. Luckily I glanced back at the screen and read the next para about freezing. My first thought was I am going to park in her driveway and beg every morning...

          • IowaGirl
            IowaGirl commented
            Editing a comment
            My two thirtysomething kids came home for the weekend recently. The boys munched through 2 pounds of this cooked bacon in less than 2 days as BLTs and snacks. Not a single strip ever made it to the freezer. So you'd fit right in with my herd.

          #9
          A few decades ago I was a breakfast cook at a medium sized restaurant, and we did a huge batch of bacon every morning on baking sheets in the oven without parchment. Then transferred to a hotel pan and as orders came in, rashers were given a quick spell on the griddle to reheat, or a longer stay if they asked for crispy.

          But at home, it's always cast iron for me, just 'cause I love any excuse to use my cast iron. But the one think I'm curious about and have never tried is a bacon press. I've never owned one. Anyone here a fan? Seems like they should prevent the curling that sometimes makes it hard to cook each slice consistently. Do they also cut down on shrinkage?

          Comment


            #10
            Originally posted by JackJ View Post
            A few decades ago I was a breakfast cook at a medium sized restaurant, and we did a huge batch of bacon every morning on baking sheets in the oven without parchment. Then transferred to a hotel pan and as orders came in, rashers were given a quick spell on the griddle to reheat, or a longer stay if they asked for crispy.

            But at home, it's always cast iron for me, just 'cause I love any excuse to use my cast iron. But the one think I'm curious about and have never tried is a bacon press. I've never owned one. Anyone here a fan? Seems like they should prevent the curling that sometimes makes it hard to cook each slice consistently. Do they also cut down on shrinkage?
            I used a couple of presses the last time I cooked bacon, moving them around to press on a couple slices at a time. It certainly flattened the bacon out, and prevented curling, and made for some good bacon. Once it had been on the bacon for a minute, I could move it to another couple of slices, and the pressed ones stayed flat to the griddle, as seen below. It was certainly some of the flatest bacon I've ever fried up!

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            • Mr. Bones
              Mr. Bones commented
              Editing a comment
              Glad to see yall usin th presses...
              I think I have 7 or 8 that I can locate, round here...

            • Sweaty Paul
              Sweaty Paul commented
              Editing a comment
              Mr. Bones. One is none. Two is one. Seven or eight that can be located is three??😃🤣

            • Mr. Bones
              Mr. Bones commented
              Editing a comment
              Sweaty Paul "If Six Was Nine"

            #11
            Another thing that helps keep bacon flatter even without a press is to cook it a bit more slowly. High heat => more curling.

            Also there's bacon and there's BACON. Most store bought bacon seems to have a lot of water in it and it's sliced too thin. I think that stuff curls more and definitely shrinks more. I grew up on bacon from small local butcher shops that is rather dry to the touch and is sliced thicker. Seems to cook up nicer too.

            Comment


              #12
              Great thread!
              Click image for larger version

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                #13
                Baked in the oven at 325-350F wins for me. I use foil instead of parchment. Easiest cleanup (none) and saves the grease.

                Comment


                • JaySwen
                  JaySwen commented
                  Editing a comment
                  This is how I do it as well...cold oven, set for 400F, 10-12 minutes later for thick cut goodness. Now to make my own!!!

                #14
                Originally posted by IowaGirl View Post
                Another thing that helps keep bacon flatter even without a press is to cook it a bit more slowly. High heat => more curling.
                When bacon starts to curl, it's often because one long edge of the bacon piece is shrinking faster than the other. So I take a pair of kitchen scissors and make a small snip on that edge that is forcing the curl. The bacon flattens immediately.

                Bacon snipper, me.

                Kathryn

                Comment


                • zzdocxx
                  zzdocxx commented
                  Editing a comment
                  A perfectionist, giving me an inferiority complex now.

                #15
                I'm still on a quest for a Sriracha bacon jerky recipe that will approximate the SBJ they used to sell at Trader Joe's.

                Got some tasty stuff but still not quite. I used a honey and Sriracha mixture.

                Hope that's not too far off-topic.

                Comment

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