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

[elyse]

I keep the fat in the fridge and put it in a pan to fry bread. Mmmmm. Yummy toast!

Elyse

P.S. Thanks for the welcome!

Edited January 6, 2003 by elyse (log)

[essvee]

Good call, mamster. When I said "fat-free" I really meant "practically greaseless." Not quite the same.

[g.johnson]

where does one get slabs of bacon?  i don't think i've ever seen it, although now i'm intrigued.

The deli counter at a decent grocer should have them. (Garden of Eden and Jefferson Market do.)

[guajolote]

My butcher stocks this bacon, which is fantastic (there is a shortage right now):

Jones Farm

They also have amazing hams - I've never tried their beef.

[awbrig]

we had the Niman Ranch applewood smoked bacon this am and although excellent we did think that the smoked bacon from Whole Foods was much better...but these 2 brands are the best Ive tasted so far!

[DaveFaris]

Occasionally, my grocery store puts really cheap bacon on sale ... 3 packages for $5. Something like that. I'll fry it all up, just to render it just for the bacon fat. And although it seems sinful, I'll sometimes toss the bacon away.

(I'm probably not telling you guys anything, but the phrase "scraping the bottom of the barrel" had to do with cooking and bacon fat. In days of old, if you were dipping into your bacon drippings barrel, and hitting the bottom of it, then times were pretty bleak for you, or so I've been told.)

For honest-to-goodness bacon, awbrig is right. The stuff they sell at the butcher counter at Whole Foods can't be beat.

[awbrig]

For honest-to-goodness bacon, awbrig is right. The stuff they sell at the butcher counter at Whole Foods can't be beat.

Im looking to find better bacon but havent yet Dave! I thought Niman was going to do it but no way...Im glad you're with me!

[jackal10]

Crisp or floppy?

I think you people are missing the point: it depends on what you are going to do with the bacon as to how you cook it and which cut.

For serving with an egg etc for breakfast I like mine crisp, so pan-fry thin-cut streaky bacon, cooked out. A weight on top helps.

For a bacon butty I like it floppy, so thick cut back, cooked gently. Sliced white bread, thick butter, tomato ketchup. Eat over the sink as the yellow melted butter/bacon fat/ketchup runs down one's arms. Heaven.

[Adam Balic]

I am living in the land of bacon and depending on what type of bacon I am using I cook it in different ways. However, I don't really like crispy bacon and consider it a waste of pig to cook it so. People shouldn't waste pig, pig is good.

[sammy]

There is a recipe from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook for Braised Bacon which is incredible. Uses a slab of 2 to 3 lbs and makes the bacon mouthwateringly tender with an incredible rich taste. Used it in several dishes including a great soup over the next 7 to 10 days.

[Xanthippe]

There is a recipe from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook for Braised Bacon which is incredible. Uses a slab of 2 to 3 lbs and makes the bacon mouthwateringly  tender with an incredible rich taste. Used it in several dishes including a great soup over the next 7 to 10 days.

I've made that ethereal Braised Bacon twice in as many weeks! *Great* stuff . . .

And not to veer off topic, but does The Zuni Cafe Cookbook rock or what??!?

[awbrig]

You can buy Nueske's bacon at Treasure Island in Chicago now...

http://www.nueskes.com/

[glenn]

Where do I find really really thick disposable paper towels? Unless someone knows a better way to do this.... I cook bacon in the microwave. I put 7 double-ply paper towels on top and bottom of the bacon and sandwich it in between 2 plates and nooook it for 3 to 4.5 minutes depending on the bacon's thickness. The point of this is to get rid of as much fat as possible. I know, I know, what a waste, the taste leaves something to be desired, but it's ok (especially using gourmet brands) and healthy, or healthier than the alternative. But I spend almost as much on paper towels as I do on the bacon!

[sng sling]

There may be better brands in the US now, but we buy US-made "Job Squad" towels in Singapore for their thickness. Seem about 2 or 3 x the normal to me....

[elyse]

Why don't you nuke it ona plate with one papertowel over it for the splatter, and then lay them on a couple of paper towels when they're done? Much more cost effective.

[Lyle]

Have you tried those blue-tinted shop towels? They're tough but I know you're looking for maximum absorbancy, and I'm not sure how they compare to a high-quality kitchen towel in that department.

[lamb]

I cook bacon in the microwave occasionally too, and have found that VIVA towels are the most absorbent. Bounty just lets the grease lie there as the bacon is nuking - pretty gross.

2 sheets of paper towel on the plate, but bacon on pt, and add a sheet over bacon and nuke.

My kids like it crispy, so I generally nuke about 45 secs per slice of bacon.

Comes out grease free!

[rickster]

Why don't you nuke it ona plate with one papertowel over it for the splatter, and then lay them on a couple of paper towels when they're done? Much more cost effective.

I agree. I'd think you could blot up almost as much fat using this method as using multiple layers of towels. The little fat you couldn't get would be pretty insignificant given the amount of bacon most people eat in a serving.

[sagestrat]

You can also get a microwave-bacon plate (hard microwavable plastic that looks a bit like a grill pan to catch the grease). Then you just cover with a paper towel and you're set. Probably available at Target, K-Mart, and kitchenware shops.

[Lyle]

You can also get a microwave-bacon plate (hard microwavable plastic that looks a bit like a grill pan to catch the grease).

I had one of these, and had little success. I don't know why. I laid the bacon across the ridges, the fat fell into the pools, and all were happy. But the bacon, for me, cooked much less evenly; it needed constant manipulation to keep certain pieces from burning and others from remaining floppy. Could the exposed bacon-bottom have something to do with this? With the paper towel method the fat absorbed into the towel is still in contact with the bacon. Would that matter?

[sagestrat]

I had one of these, and had little success. I don't know why. I laid the bacon across the ridges, the fat fell into the pools, and all were happy. But the bacon, for me, cooked much less evenly; it needed constant manipulation to keep certain pieces from burning and others from remaining floppy.

Hmmm, don't know what the problem was for you. I have a rotating plate in mine, so maybe that helps. But also, the plate a paper towel method works too.

[glenn]

I found that the problem with using 1 or 2 towels during cooking allowed the bacon to cook in the fat more and I ended up with greasier bacon than if I had used more towels. Patting the bacon down afterwards was too late, the fat was already absorbed into the bacon. Am I being obssessive about this? [don't answer!] [[re viva vs. bounty -- but the results on the tv commercial showed bounty as the clear winner!]] Regardless, I'm happy to see I'm not the only person that nukes bacon.

[Lyle]

I had one of these, and had little success. I don't know why. I laid the bacon across the ridges, the fat fell into the pools, and all were happy. But the bacon, for me, cooked much less evenly; it needed constant manipulation to keep certain pieces from burning and others from remaining floppy.

Hmmm, don't know what the problem was for you. I have a rotating plate in mine, so maybe that helps. But also, the plate a paper towel method works too.

Now that I think about it, the tray was in fact too large to rotate in our microwave. The circular plate, of course, would.

The main reason we got rid of the micro-tray though was it was a single-use item and we seldom microwave bacon, usually only for topping on a potato or as other garnish. Or for mock swordfighting.

Edited June 24, 2003 by Lyle (log)

[beans]

Or for mock swordfighting.

[nerissa]

If health is a concern, what about buying lower fat bacon? I seen it in my local Whole Foods...you could always use pancetta, of course.

Are you talking about the paper towels that some brands market specifically as designed for microwaving?

I trashed my microwave on my last move--didn't have the space for it.