topic Re: Cooking Bacon--- in Recipes

Cooking Bacon---

novamc1 — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 12:42:01 GMT

Was a little surprised that this much could be said about how to cook bacon. This story appears in major newspapers but originated at Washington Post , written by Aaron Hutcherson. Here's an excerpt if anyone is interested . I use the oven method.......easier and less messy.

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I love bacon. While I agree that it shouldn’t go on everything, I welcome the moments when I get to enjoy it in all of its crisp, smoky glory, such as in my colleague G. Daniela Galarza’s winter BLT from her Eat Voraciously newsletter or on a breakfast plate alongside hash browns and a pair of picture-perfect sunny-side up eggs.

For me, the epitome of this cured pork product is audible crispiness. You might be a fan of some chew or tenderness, which is fine by me because that’s your business, but I want there to be a snap and a crunch each time a strip passes my lips. For those of the same mind-set, here are two methods to produce just that.

Stove top

Tried and true, this is the way I learned to cook bacon: Lay the strips in a cold skillet, place over medium-low to medium heat, flip and fry until you reach your desired doneness and then transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. The key is to slowly render the fat to achieve bacon’s character-defining crispness. Unless you walk away from the stove while cooking — which you should not be in the practice of doing outside of a handful of situations anyway — this method produces superior results every time.

When it comes to skillet choice, nonstick or cast iron are my recommendations. I prefer a good nonstick skillet for more even heating and thus cooking, but some love the nostalgia of bacon frying in a cast-iron skillet, which is also a great way to season it from time to time. (And just a reminder about one of the myths of cast iron: While it is great at heat retention, it is a poor conductor, meaning that it will heat unevenly, leading to hot spots and varied textures in the bacon.)

You may have heard of the water method, and you may be wondering about its merits. For those not in the know, the editors at Cook’s Illustrated recommend adding enough water to cover the bacon in the skillet at the start, which leads to a “crispy and tender bite.” While it does produce a slightly less shatteringly crisp end result, I didn’t notice enough of a difference to champion this method over cooking it naked.

The main downside to the stove-top method is the quantity of bacon that you can cook. Unless you have a large griddle that fits across multiple burners, a skillet can only hold enough strips to feed two, maybe three, bacon-loving humans. Plus, if you are prone to get distracted easily and don’t want to stand near the stove, there’s risk of the pork belly going from beautiful to burned in no time at all. That’s where the oven comes in.

Oven

Plain and simple, this is the best way to cook bacon for a crowd — or just any time you want to take a more hands-off approach. Lay the bacon on a rimmed baking sheet and place it in the oven until it’s cooked to your specifications. There’s isn’t even any need to flip it.

I first encountered this method as a line cook, when we would make trays upon trays of bacon each brunch service. I have memories of placing a layer of parchment on each rimmed baking sheet, on top of which freshly cut strips of bacon were shingled just a bit (to fit more onto each pan) in the wee hours of the morning before the first diners arrived. The parchment paper is solely for easier cleanup, and I’ve used it when baking bacon ever since. (Daniela is a fan of foil for the same reason.) If there’s sufficient overhang, either can leave a perfectly unsoiled pan underneath, but if you don’t mind putting in some work and would rather not create more waste, cooking the bacon directly on the sheet pan is an option.

Considering a baking rack? I say don’t. Cooking it on a rack leads to meaty instead of crispy bacon, which is not what we’re after here. Plus, then you have the task of cleaning it, which I often find to be a real pain.

As for the oven temperature, it mostly comes down to how long you’re willing to wait. The package currently sitting in my fridge instructs a 375 degree oven, which yielded my ideal of perfectly crisp, regular-cut bacon after about 25 minutes. I’ve gone as low as 350, but any lower than that and the wait becomes too long. J. Kenji López-Alt recommends 425 degrees, which he says takes 20 minutes for crispy bacon, but he doesn’t recommend going much higher than that. “Cooking at 475 left me with bacon that was threatening to burn in spots and still undercooked in others after just 15 minutes,” López-Alt wrote. (Pro tip: There’s no need to preheat the oven.)

Both methods lead to incredibly crisp bacon, and the choice of which to use mostly comes down to how much you want to make. If your ideal bacon is more limber or has a bit more chew, you may prefer a different method. There are several ways to go, and that’s completely up to you.

Regardless of the method you choose, the one rule that you must abide by is to always save the fat. That liquid gold is full of flavor and it’s great for cooking vegetables, making vinaigrettes, frying chicken and even baking breads and desserts. Just pour the bacon grease into a metal or glass jar, pop it in the fridge (it should last for at least three months) or freezer (where it keeps indefinitely) and grab it whenever you want to add a boost of bacony flavor to whatever it is you’re cooking.

This story was originally published at washingtonpost.com

Re: Cooking Bacon---

Bhvbum — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 12:51:49 GMT

I cook a full pound of bacon at one time on my baking sheet,

lined with a piece of foil, in the oven between 375 to 400.

You only have to REMEMBER IT IS COOKING! It is easy to forget! Because there is no turning and it is out of sight.

And when you take it out and remove the bacon to a paper towel, you just fold up the foil and throw the whole thing away, nothing to clean. Leftover bacon just put in a Ziploc and freeze it. So no need not to cook the full pound at one time.

If you want the bacon grease, just form a little funnel of the foil at one end and drain it into a container to put in the refrigerator.

Re: Cooking Bacon---

Eileen in Virginia — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 12:56:10 GMT

I cook bacon in the microwave. I have a microwave dish designed for nuking bacon that has peaks to keep the bacon out of the grease and wells to collect the grease (drain after each batch). The one I've got now has a lid to reduce spatter, but I've used paper towels in the past. You can also use a plate with paper towels. As a rule of thumb, cook for 1 minute per slice, adapting based on your microwave's power. I can fit 5 full slices on the dish at a time and cook a pound of bacon in about 15-20 minutes. I get crispy bacon every time.

Re: Cooking Bacon---

candys mine — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 13:06:19 GMT

I've always cooked bacon in the frying pan. I'll have to try the oven method. I'd like to be able to save the fat for later. I don't keep it after I've made eggs in it. Anyone else fry eggs in the bacon fat left in the pan? Anyone else ever order an extra baked potato when they go out to eat so they can slice it up and fry it in bacon fat the next day for breakfast?

Re: Cooking Bacon---

JeanLouiseFinch — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 13:20:43 GMT

I also do a full package at a time, in the oven. It’s nice having it ready in advance for lunches or dinners. I line my jellyroll pan with foil, then lay the bacon down, as close as possible without touching, and bake @ 400* for 20-25 mins.

Re: Cooking Bacon---

LindaSal — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 13:29:01 GMT

I am a stove top bacon cooker! I have not tried the oven method either but did have it done that way once on a beach house vacation with multiple friends and was surprised how good it was. Bacon is one of my weaknesses, I can keep eating it like potato chips. I have to limit how often I cook it as my hubby will eat one or two pieces and me at least a dozen (I know, really bad).......and I love the bacon fat when I cook brussel sprouts, OMG!! I am getting hungry now.

Re: Cooking Bacon---

mizree — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 13:31:11 GMT

@novamc1 i prefer the oven method on parchment paper. word of warning dont use on air fryer setting. i did this and all the bacon grease was not in the pan but on the floor of the oven. so after breakfast oven got a good cleaing.

Re: Cooking Bacon---

Mary Bailey — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 13:48:52 GMT

I use the oven method. I buy the extra long foil so it covers the whole pan in one piece with some over hang.

Leftover bacon can be reheated in micowave for 2 to 3 seconds.

Re: Cooking Bacon---

KingstonsMom — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 13:53:46 GMT

I use the 375 oven method with foil and parchment paper.

Re: Cooking Bacon---

Imaoldhippie — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 13:58:14 GMT

I cook bacon in my George Foreman grill. No splattered grease anywhere. Just wash the grill plates.

Re: Cooking Bacon---

novamc1 — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 14:18:20 GMT

I use foil to cover a rimmed baking sheet pan to cook a full package of bacon. Usually have the oven set at 400 or 425 degrees.

I remove a few slices before they're totally done and still a little greasy, because DH likes to cook his "over-light" eggs in the fat, so he completes cooking those bacon slices in a fry pan and then does his eggs.

I rarely cook any bacon until I'lm planning to make a casserole or other dish that calls for adding crispy bacon bits. DH would eat a whole package if I gave it to him!

Re: Cooking Bacon---

wagirl — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 14:33:42 GMT

the airfryer cooks bacon great too

Re: Cooking Bacon---

chickenbutt — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 16:05:26 GMT

I was interested when I first learned about cooking it in the oven. So, I set out to try it and the only problem was the mess.

I revised my method to this - I get the 18x13" rimmed baking sheet and put some nonstick aluminum foil down. Then the bacon on top of the foil. Then, I cut a sheet of parchment paper to fit on top. I push it down nice and pat, then in the oven it goes.

It cooks nicely and no mess.

Re: Cooking Bacon---

novamc1 — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 16:43:48 GMT

@chickenbutt

The Reynolds nonstick foil you mentioned comes in handy for many cooking chores. I loved it the first time I heard of it and even more after buying it.

Haven't found a need for it with oven-cooking bacon because I haven't encountered a sticky bacon problem, but am sure it works great for you.

Re: Cooking Bacon---

chickenbutt — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 16:53:35 GMT

@novamc1 wrote:
@chickenbutt

The Reynolds nonstick foil you mentioned comes in handy for many cooking chores. I loved it the first time I heard of it and even more after buying it.

Haven't found a need for it with oven-cooking bacon because I haven't encountered a sticky bacon problem, but am sure it works great for you.

True, it won't stick. It just seemed like a good idea plus it's nice and slick, and I always seem to have more of that than the other types I have.

Re: Cooking Bacon---

Mom2Dogs — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 18:11:27 GMT

I have always cooked bacon in the oven on the broiler pan. I set the timer on so that I don't forget to turn.

Re: Cooking Bacon---

depglass — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 19:21:37 GMT

I gave up on cooking bacon years ago, it just leaves too much of a mess to deal with. I use Oscar Mayer thick cut microwave bacon and breakfast on weekends is a breeze.

Re: Cooking Bacon---

Sooner — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 19:34:10 GMT

I can't eat eggs cooked with bacon grease. I know it is something a lot of people love, but scrambled, over medium in a clean non-stick pan with a tad of butter, or soft boiled only for me.

Well, hard boiled for egg salad! I LOVE egg salad. AND I love BLT's! That's where bacon goes if we ever cook it--in a BLT.

Re: Cooking Bacon---

DiAnne — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 20:15:38 GMT

i have been cooking bacon in the oven for years. It does not make a mess. I put foil on a rimmed baking sheet and put rack over that. I don't pre-heat the oven. I set it for 375 and the timer for 25 minutes. That is when I statt watching it. It does not need to be turned. The baking sheet is clean, the rack goes in the dishwasher and the foil and bacon grease in trash.

Re: Cooking Bacon---

SloopJohnB — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 20:53:58 GMT

@novamc1 I love, love me some bacon!!! Nothing beats a great BLT or having a couple of strips of bacon with eggs in the a.m.