Best Way to Cook Bacon: Soft/Crisp? Fry/Bake/Microwave?

[heidih]

4 hours ago, weinoo said:

How curly does one's bacon get?

My experince is that the very thin slices do the complete ruffle versus thicker slices. My dad used to bring home rind on bacon that never curled - and oh my was that well cooked rind tasty.

[AlaMoi]

(sigh)  bacon is not bacon is not bacon, either....

most all of the national/big name brands are "wet cured" - injected with solutions that near instantly turn them from pork into bacon.

some brand curl up like sow bugs, others not so much.

 

we have an Amish market where one can get dry cured bacon - salt/sugar/hung/dried for 3 months +/-

various smokes available, thin/regular or thick slice . . .

the proprietor - who did the dry cure process in his own facility - retired, sold the business, the new fellow apparently buys his dry cured bacon from another supplier - and the jury is out as to whether the quality is the same.

 

it is vastly superior to brand name wet cured, but not quite as good as 'the old stuff'

 

the prior dry cured did a nice crinkle 'curl' - the new stuff methinks is not as dried and tends to 'more wildly curl' to the point a bacon press is most useful / needed.

[gfweb]

I make mine between 2 small sheet pans in the oven.

Or on the stovetop between 2 steel pans.

Or I snip the fatty parts in several places to stop the curl if cooking alone in a pan.  The curl comes from different contraction of the bacon fat vs meat when heated

[btbyrd]

I just throw mine on a foil-lined sheet pan and let it ride. I used to do the "two sheet pan method" in the oven until I realized that bacon doesn't really curl and that I was just creating unnecessary dishes for myself. And you can't see the bacon as it cooks. And there's a greater risk of bacon fat seeping out and falling on the floor of the oven.

 

I only cook bacon on the stovetop when it's cut into lardon. Lardons? Strips. I do appreciate the allure of curly pan-cooked slices that have varying degrees of doneness and a range of textures to them, but my wife is a strictly crispy person, and the oven gives consistently crispy results. And it's easier and cleanup is a breeze. I can't help but feel like bacon presses are for people cooking much thinner bacon than I am or for line cooks working on a flat top. 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

I live in a time intolerant kitchen.    Get up, order breakfast from what's available, and get it on the table.    Bacon cooked stove top, watched while attending the other parts (hash browns, poached or fried eggs, waffles, French toast).   Bacon comes to the table hot, blotted, curled or straight.    No complaints.   (Complainers get to cook the next shift.)

[lindag]

Admittedly, I don't like frying bacon.  Even with a good hood, memory lingers on.

So I've been buying microwave-ready bacon.  It tastes good and there's virtually no mess. 

But today I read in CI that I can make regular bacon cooked in the m/v.

Who knew?  I've not tried it yet but this is what they say.

Next time I make bacon I'll try it.

[rotuts]

bacon comes out nicely in the micro

 

it sizzles in its on fat . etc

 

a paper two or two over the top

 

prevents splatter 

 

and there are event ancient Bacon Cooker items for the micro

 

w ridges to keep the bacon off the melted fat

 

https://www.amazon.com/Solutions-Progressive-Microwavable-Bacon-Grill/dp/B00IQKES1I/ref=pd_lpo_sccl_2/131-5570512-5638352?pd_rd_w=urekM&content-id=amzn1.sym.116f529c-aa4d-4763-b2b6-4d614ec7dc00&pf_rd_p=116f529c-aa4d-4763-b2b6-4d614ec7dc00&pf_rd_r=VEXEWY1D5M295TKE85DF&pd_rd_wg=VTWtA&pd_rd_r=c5e05ce3-4934-4918-8147-5b94ef560cc3&pd_rd_i=B00IQKES1I&th=1

 

this version seems to come w its own lid.

 

I have a much older lid-less one.

 

thus the paper towl

 

works just fine.

 

 

Edited June 28, 2023 by rotuts (log)

[heidih]

48 minutes ago, lindag said:

Admittedly, I don't like frying bacon.  Even with a good hood, memory lingers on.

So I've been buying microwave-ready bacon.  It tastes good and there's virtually no mess. 

But today I read in CI that I can make regular bacon cooked in the m/v.

Who knew?  I've not tried it yet but this is what they say.

Next time I make bacon I'll try it.

My fave lazy way is on a paper plate. Paper towel, then slices, then towel on top to keep splatter contaoned. This is with regular bacon straight from butcher. No prep.

[rotuts]

works just as well

 

Ive one this myself

 

many times

 

[lindag]

The latest entry in the 'Panini Press' thread reminded me that ATK is now endorsing the cooking of bacon in a frypan with a TBSP or two of water. (for smaller portions of course)

I rarely cook bacon because of the usual mess; this method I will have to try.

 

[Smithy]

5 minutes ago, lindag said:

The latest entry in the 'Panini Press' thread reminded me that ATK is now endorsing the cooking of bacon in a frypan with a TBSP or two of water. (for smaller portions of course)

I rarely cook bacon because of the usual mess; this method I will have to try.

 

 

Please do report when you try it. Do they say it reduces spattering? And then can you evaporate the water to retrieve the grease?

[blue_dolphin]

In another topic, @Smithy mentioned the liquid gold that is bacon drippings.  This reminded me of my neighborhood's annual 4th of July breakfast that follows the little parade of kids and horses. They cook the pancakes on-site but always ask for volunteers to cook bacon at home and drop it off. Each volunteer cooks 5 lbs of bacon, provided by the committee. 55 lbs total. 
My first thought:  Wow, I could get a LOT of free bacon drippings that way!

[ElsieD]

11 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

In another topic, @Smithy mentioned the liquid gold that is bacon drippings.  This reminded me of my neighborhood's annual 4th of July breakfast that follows the little parade of kids and horses. They cook the pancakes on-site but always ask for volunteers to cook bacon at home and drop it off. Each volunteer cooks 5 lbs of bacon, provided by the committee. 55 lbs total. 
My first thought:  Wow, I could get a LOT of free bacon drippings that way!

I save mine as well.  I keep full jars in the freezer as i cook a lot of bacon in the summer (BLTs) but not so much in winter.  I also think of it as liquid gold.