Freezing Bacon

[KarenDW]

I have to ask though, how do you wrap them for freezing? My mother used to freeze bacon, but that was in the 1 pound cryovac package, straight from the grocery store and into the freezer. If I'm going to be quartering the package, should I wrap in parchment or butcher's paper, then wrap in foil and stick in a plastic freezer bag? That is my usual way of prepping meat for freezing, but I'm wondering if it's too much. As long as it's air tight the fat in the bacon shouldn't pick up any off flavours, right?

Simplest ways are sometimes the best

I wrap each portion in plastic film, then pop them all into a bigger, heavy re-closable plastic bag. Spread out the bag in the freezer, initially; larger surface area = food freezes more quickly. Then, squeeze out the air for longer freezer storage.

We also use the "package cut in half" method for portioning. Somehow, using half-slices make the tiniest amount of bacon seem like more.

[Toliver]

I have a friend who cooks up a pound of bacon and then, once it cools to room temperature, she puts it in a plastic (ziploc-ish) bag and freezes it. Then whenever she needs some bacon for a sandwich or whatever, just takes out what she needs and puts it in the microwave to heat it up (mere seconds). I mentioned this to my mom and she does it now, too.

I think there is a textural difference but I don't know if that can be blamed on the entire process or the microwave reheat. It's definitely not crisp. But in a sandwich or cut up in a dish that's going to be cooked anyway (baked beans, etc), that doesn't matter.

[Pam Brunning]

Sorry to upset you Shamanjoe - no mansion, no massive kitchen, no walk in cold room (since we gave up curing professionally) just an American True commercial fridge, bought on e bay, with no fancy ice makers bunging it up. Here are the results! Bacon caramelises nicely as we use brown sugar in cure. The mushrooms are from the garden.

The brine crock will hold a whole gammon and a belly.

Edited August 12, 2010 by Pam Brunning (log)

[emannths]

I was going to try to describe how I freeze bacon, but I found a site with drawings. Just try to make sure that there are no air bubbles between the slices and the plastic wrap.

Edited August 12, 2010 by emannths (log)

[Blether]

Doesn't the catering trade buy frozen pre-cooked rashers, packed in exactly that way, with the bacon on a sheet of parchment or sheets of parchment inside the zip-bag ?

Edited August 12, 2010 by Blether (log)

[Pam Brunning]

Yuck!! That sounds disgusting - I thought e gullet was into good food not rubbish

[prasantrin]

Yuck!! That sounds disgusting - I thought e gullet was into good food not rubbish

I thought this place was about food, period. Is there really that much difference between a company cooking a bunch of bacon and freezing it, and an individual doing the same thing?

Edited August 12, 2010 by prasantrin (log)

[Shamanjoe]

Sorry to upset you Shamanjoe - no mansion, no massive kitchen, no walk in cold room (since we gave up curing professionally) just an American True commercial fridge, bought on e bay, with no fancy ice makers bunging it up. Here are the results! Bacon caramelises nicely as we use brown sugar in cure. The mushrooms are from the garden.

Pam,

Good Lord, that mushroom is huge! I love the setup though. I just wish the wife would let me try that (AND get a fridge like that).

Blether,

You can buy bacon like that at Costco, but it's not frozen, its vacuum-packed and the bacon is paper thin. They put the same piddly crap on most fast food burgers these days. Not that I eat fast food. No, never..

[Blether]

Hi, Joe. I don't hang out at Costco much - largely because the package sizes don't work for me, and I have better-quality-and-lower-price outlets for fresh meat, fish & veg that are more convenient. I wasn't aware of the vacuum-packed option.

Years ago I did some work at an American-run place here (in Japan) that had high-end dining as well as cafes and bars. Their standard bacon was as I described - pre-cooked and frozen laid out in single rashers, to be revived / finished for 1 - 2 mins under a broiler. I think the food service argument is that in the mixture of restaurant costs, you lose more money having customers occupying a seat for 5 - 10 mins while you cook bacon from scratch, than you do paying a supplier to pre-prep it.

[Pam Brunning]

Why bother to stuff and make yourself fat with bad food when there is so much good food about? As a friend of mine always says - If a meal is good, I eat it and enjoy it, if a meal is bad I leave it and lose weight - a win, win solution

[Blether]

Down, Pam. Down !