I prefer mine chewy, not crisp, but that's just personal preference. Bacon is bacon whether crisp or chewy. And bacon = good.

Bacon either way is the food equivalent of mouth orgasm.


So- how do you get your bacon to sing? I screw up my bacon every time I cook it. I do well (not great) in th' kitchen, but have never mastered bacon.


I'll be home soon, and will make a bacon and olive loaf roll sandwich tonight, sans cheese since I'm on a diet and tossed the block of cheese from my fridge. Though I admit, I'd die for a slice of cheese if the stores were open- cheddar, jack, provolone, even swiss- hells bells- I'll even take plain jane american or that orange government cheese at this point...

May add olives or pickles if I have any left. They seem to fix any poor cooking mishap.



And if I have said olives, may add vodka and olives as a chaser. Joy! frig, after today's amount of stress, I'd substitute a dang pickle for th' olive and call it a done deal!



I'd like to hear the cooks tell me how they make their bacon "just right".

Tell me how to do it proper for chewy bacon as I prefer, as to entertain my preference, and also how to do it proper for crisp, for my brethren who like it that way.


I'm a bacon cook failure.....

I generally nuke them. Using a plate I lay two sheets of paper towel (to absorb excess grease) and then lay the bacon strips side by side and then place one sheet of paper towel on top (to control grease splatter). 3-4 strips get about 2.5 to 3 minutes. I will check it after time is up and add more time if it's not quite there. It's easy to over cook bacon using the micro wave so you have to be careful. Thicker slices will take more time.
Now I'm getting hungry thinking about it.

I fry it using a bacon press to hold it flat in pan. If I don't have a press i use the bottom of another pan.

When I charcoal-grill pork chops with mesquite chips, I always lay bacon across the top of the chops. They help add moisture to dry chops, and end up being the best bacon strips you'll ever have. They sometimes need extra time across the grate since they're hiding from the flame atop the chop. They don't burn as readily as you might expect.

Pork-topped pork=excessive? Yes.

As a side note, we have a punk bar in Mpls that has 'free bacon night.' Baskets just keep coming out of the kitchen to accompany your beers:
"Would you like another basket?"
"Yes, please!"

For those of us who have ever said, "I could never eat enough bacon!" I can tell you that there is a significant roadblock around 27 slices where you start to experience the bacon as a pulsing sensation behind your eyes. Might be the otherwise-healthy body starting to distrust, or just a physical manifestation of emotional disillusionment (or the Clash at 110db.) Even the greatest loves understand boundaries, I suppose.

Also, stick with light lagers/pilsners as a bacon pair.

Cook em in the oven

Bacon...

Lay out a baking pan that has a raised edge, 1/2 inch or so. Cover the pan with aluminum foil.

Place your bacon in the pan, put in as much as you can with minimal overlap. Don't do just a few slices or you'll be sorry you didn't make more.

Over the top of this bacon, sprinkle brown sugar and lightly rub/pat it onto the strips of bacon. Use enough to get all the bacon covered, but it doesn't need to be piled high. You can vary the brown sugar depending on your tastes and results next time you make some. Put it on just the top is fine, no need to turn them over.

Now, place in 350 oven. Time varies depending on how you like your bacon. But, the point is to melt the brown sugar and cook the bacon. I like mine slightly crisp on the edges.

The combination of rendered bacon fat, brown sugar, and the meat is quite tasty, IMO.

Oh, just be sure to remove it from the pan right away while it's still hot. If you don't it'll quickly become glued to the aluminum foil.

May not replace "everyday" bacon, but it's a tasty treat I enjoy every now and then.

I cook bacon in a cast iron pan, turning frequently. i like it just past elastic bacon...

jimfet has it. I do mine in the oven. You can either bake it at 450 for 7 or 8 minutes or broil it for 5 or 6 minutes. Haven't tried microwaving it... seems a great deal more energy efficient than the big oven.

I use one of those microwavable bacon trays,also.But before that,I always used the oven,and a cookie sheet or sheet pan with edges(not those newer cookie sheets that are completely flat.Fire time.)

Normally, I put the little strips o' lovin' on the griddle and press with a cast iron press. When we have a large quantity to do, its in the oven on a stainless sheet. The amount of grease on a full skillet is astounding.

The REAL question is what kind of bacon?

I love the "dry" cured bacon as opposed to the limp, watery stuff they sell in the grocery store. I don't know what the difference is, I think it is not brined as much or spends more time in the smokehouse. It is simply the best bacon. I bring it home when I travel up to PA, the kids call it "Pennsylvania Bacon" and cannot get enough.

I usually pan fry mine 'til it's crispy. Bacon is s'posed to be crispy, dammit. :D

I have a buddy who bakes it on a cookie sheet in the oven, topped with Teriyaki or Soy sauce, seasoning salt, and pepper. That shit 'll make you slap your mama.

I cook bacon in a cast iron pan, turning frequently.

Same here, but crisp.

I do mine in the oven at 375 for about 10 minutes. I get pressed bacon from the russian delis in my neighborhood. It's $4.99 per lb, but the slices are 2" wide, and the meat-to-fat ratio is something like 50/50.

I cook bacon in a cast iron pan, turning frequently. i like it just past elastic bacon...

close...

Same here, but crisp.

there it is :yes:

in the big cast iron pan, i fry bacon slowly until crispy.

mmmmmmmmm...

...baaaacon

I cook mine with my clothes on...

I cook mine with my clothes on...

In another forum I stop in, someone had started a thread called "Learned Life Lessons". My donation to the discussion was, "Never fry bacon while naked."

When I charcoal-grill pork chops with mesquite chips, I always lay bacon across the top of the chops. They help add moisture to dry chops, and end up being the best bacon strips you'll ever have. They sometimes need extra time across the grate since they're hiding from the flame atop the chop. They don't burn as readily as you might expect.

Pork-topped pork=excessive? Yes.

As a side note, we have a punk bar in Mpls that has 'free bacon night.' Baskets just keep coming out of the kitchen to accompany your beers:
"Would you like another basket?"
"Yes, please!"

For those of us who have ever said, "I could never eat enough bacon!" I can tell you that there is a significant roadblock around 27 slices where you start to experience the bacon as a pulsing sensation behind your eyes. Might be the otherwise-healthy body starting to distrust, or just a physical manifestation of emotional disillusionment (or the Clash at 110db.) Even the greatest loves understand boundaries, I suppose.

Also, stick with light lagers/pilsners as a bacon pair.


sounds like heaven! Bacon, the Clash, and Pilsner!

I cook mine with my clothes on...


Yes- but how do you scramble your eggs?

Yes- but how do you scramble your eggs?

The same way.. the bacon grease still splatters..

OH.. and just so ya know.. in a cast iron skillet, and nice and crispy done.. almost chared, but not quite.. the eggs gotta look real dirty from the bacon grease to be any good..

I like to fry bacon on a griddle. I cook it at 325 degrees turning frequently and cooking until done, but still on the chewy side.

After the bacon is done, I follow up with either pancakes or French toast. The left over bacon grease adds a magic touch to either.

Bacon, it should be a food group on its own.:yes:

Thick sliced in a cast iron skillet.

Wagner "1891" cast iron skillet. I only flip once.

Then, I fry my eggs in the bacon grease, basting them a bit by spooning a bit o' grease on top of them.

In case you are worried about my health, I only do a "big" breakfsat like this once a week.

Ken

In case you are worried about my health, I only do a "big" breakfsat like this once a week.

I'm worried, nonetheless, Ken.

Wagner "1891" cast iron skillet. I only flip once.

Then, I fry my eggs in the bacon grease, basting them a bit by spooning a bit o' grease on top of them.

In case you are worried about my health, I only do a "big" breakfsat like this once a week.

Ken

So I guess since I eat Bacon and Cheddar Panni's 2 or 3.. even sometimes 4 times a week I should worry huh?

Consider yourself at death's door.

Consider yourself at death's door.

No new news there... :smoke:

I generally nuke them. Using a plate I lay two sheets of paper towel (to absorb excess grease) and then lay the bacon strips side by side and then place one sheet of paper towel on top (to control grease splatter). 3-4 strips get about 2.5 to 3 minutes. I will check it after time is up and add more time if it's not quite there. It's easy to over cook bacon using the micro wave so you have to be careful. Thicker slices will take more time.
Now I'm getting hungry thinking about it.

Ditto here!
Jim

No new news there... :smoke:

I hear ya. :smoke: <cough, cough>

I'm worried, nonetheless, Ken.

Your genuine concern is duly noted.

I'd like to hear the cooks tell me how they make their bacon "just right".

Med-low heat, as you don't want it to cook too fast. Stovetop, on a non-stick griddle. We always get Fletcher's Thick Sliced bacon, either maple or regular. Sometimes we'll sprinkle it with a secret mix that's kind of like a rub: granulated garlic, onion salt, paprika, cayenne pepper, or Hot Shot pepper. Cook slowly, and turn often. We like it chewy, so don't cook it too long. Drain on paper towels. Gobble down. Always need to make 3x as much as you think you need because it gets munched on as it cooks.

Bacon. Mmmmmmm.......

Don't bring home the bacon...

Don't bring home the bacon...

"Why Sizzle Fat, when you can..... Sizzlelean!"

Your genuine concern is duly noted.

And genuinely appreciated, I'm sure.

I'm gonna try to cook 'em in my seldom used George F. grill & taste the result.......:thmbsp:

^ ahh the george f. grille...

Biggest pain in the ass to clean after use ever! I once threw one away completely because I was so irritated with it.

ahhh bacon, I find the oven around, 400˚ for like maybe 10 or so mins is good for nice crisp bacon, on baking sheet of course. In the pan, cast iron, the trick is it never actually becomes crisp until you remove it from the pan.....how long did take YOU to realize that? Never understood why my bacon wouldn't crisp when I was younger.......

P.S. Wrap your homemade meatballs in bacon!!!!!! You can't turn back after that.

Bacon is one of the cruelest things man ever did with animal parts. It sooooo unhealthy, but it is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO unresistably GOOD!!! I would eat 8-10 strips per day, but my desire to live past 50 limits me to once or twice a month.

Rob

Don,t forget to save the grease

Don,t forget to save the grease

In a cup above the stove! Usually till it grosses out my vegetarian-wife and it gets thrown out!

This whole thread is making my arm numb and my chest hurt. :scratch2:

The cast iron skillet is a great way, as long as you are not cooking for a crowd. The oven method works fantastic, but try using parchment baking paper instead of aluminum foil, works much better! Restaurants get their bacon all laid out on paper, stacked up in a case. You just pull a few sheets out, and pop them in the oven, and you have a mess o' bacon in no time, and it doesn't stick to the paper.

The Brown sugar sounds tasty, I'll have to give that a whirl!

I'm gonna try to cook 'em in my seldom used George F. grill & taste the result.......:thmbsp:
^ ahh the george f. grille...

Biggest pain in the ass to clean after use ever! I once threw one away completely because I was so irritated with it.
The trick is to clean it while it's still hot, right after everything comes off. Other than that, it works well. Don't try to cook bacon on a small, 'dorm-size' Foreman grill, though. It takes forever.

I like my bacon crispy, but not carbonized. There's a happy place.

I worked in a hotel for a few years. The breakfast cook would cook the bacon in the oven just until the fat was opaque, then take it out. When someone ordered bacon, he's finish it off on the stainless steel grill with their eggs and hash browns. Always came out perfect.

Cook em in the oven

Me too,
I put a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet
and lay the slices on,325 degree's,no need to flip it,Keep an eye on it for the desired crispiness or flimsiness :yes:,I love the smell of bacon cooking in my cabin,Yum!

In a cup above the stove! Usually till it grosses out my vegetarian-wife and it gets thrown out!

This whole thread is making my arm numb and my chest hurt. :scratch2:To me,nothing beats a nice cup of warm bacon grease to sip on while I,m eating a Double Chesse Sausage and Pepporini Pizza and if I illiminate all exterior and Interior sound I can allmost hear my arteries closing,,man you can,t buy a good time like that:yes:

To me,nothing beats a nice cup of warm bacon grease to sip on while I,m eating a Double Chesse Sausage and Pepporini Pizza and if I illiminate all exterior and Interior sound I can allmost hear my arteries closing,,man you can,t buy a good time like that:yes:

Damn, thats pretty hardcore bacon-worship right there :thmbsp:

My twins made some maple-bacon ice cream last year. It was.............weird.

Damn, learned something new today.
I have been baking in the oven, but I never knew about a bacon press. May have to invest in one of those.
Then again, the brown sugar idea sounds like one try!

My twins made some maple-bacon ice cream last year. It was.............weird.

Seems logical :scratch2:

Bacon=Good,

Ice Cream=Good,

Bacon + Ice Cream=Must be Great!

To me,nothing beats a nice cup of warm bacon grease to sip on while I,m eating a Double Chesse Sausage and Pepporini Pizza and if I illiminate all exterior and Interior sound I can allmost hear my arteries closing,,man you can,t buy a good time like that:yes:

That's pretty hard-core.


I admit, however, I used to drink the cup of gravy that came with the D'Angelo's turkey sub sandwich.

Probably why I started putting weight on.

My twins made some maple-bacon ice cream last year. It was.............weird.

Seems logical :scratch2:

Bacon=Good,

Ice Cream=Good,

Bacon + Ice Cream=Must be Great!



did I mention/post this before? I'm too tired tonight to read back.

A lady I work with brings in pre-cooked bacon that she microwaves for her lunch. The office fills up with the aroma and smells great. She is also a big fan of soft serve ice cream from dairy queen, and jokes how nice soft serve vanilla and bacon would be together.

Which leads me to this- an article I pulled from the paper discusses bacon ice cream, and bacon-chocolate-chip cookies, if I'm remembering right. I'll need to remember where I stuck that article....

My girlfriend likes me to whip her with room temp bacon. I show no mercy.

OK. Get some dark brown sugar and some pecans.
Crush the pecans and thoroughly mix with the brown sugar.
Press bacon into the mixture so it is completely coated.
Put a grate over a cookie sheet and lay the coated bacon on top so that the fat can drip away.
Bake in oven at 350 for a while. Half hour usually works, sometimes more, sometimes less. More or less.

Pig candy!! :drool: :banana: :thmbsp: :yes:


Get your diabetes and your heart disease in one efficient, delicious package. :D

Oh, yes, one other important thing. Use throw away pans if you can. It's a real bear washing those pans. :yes:

My girlfriend likes me to whip her with room temp bacon. I show no mercy.Thats smart,,,never leaves any marks ,and it leaves her with that bacony smell,, very sexy:yes:

Really odd that no one's mentioned a leash yet. Only good way I've found to make a pork critter stand still long enough to sizzle.

High cholesterol and a hereditary cardiovascular syndrome mean I no longer eat bacon.

However, when I did eat it, I never, ever, cooked it in a microwave.
Worst damn thing you can do to bacon. Can you say---"rubber"?

Dave

I cook mine in a skillet over low heat while I read the morning paper when I finish a section of the paper I turn the bacon over by the time I'm done with the paper so is the bacon, fry a few farm fresh eggs in the bacon grease over easy with toast, yummy. Totally bad for you but OH so good, only do it once or twice a week. I want to live to see retirement I think.

Really odd that no one's mentioned a leash yet. Only good way I've found to make a pork critter stand still long enough to sizzle.

You mean my wife shouldn't have put the collar on me?

I generally nuke them. Using a plate I lay two sheets of paper towel (to absorb excess grease) and then lay the bacon strips side by side and then place one sheet of paper towel on top (to control grease splatter). 3-4 strips get about 2.5 to 3 minutes. I will check it after time is up and add more time if it's not quite there. It's easy to over cook bacon using the micro wave so you have to be careful. Thicker slices will take more time.


This has been my exact method for about 5 years now .Lovely results with no spattering all over the place to clean up.

The key(s) to cooking bacon the old standard method of frying in a skillet is to cook at low heat, and keep a close eye on it. I prefer cast iron. My wife uses the same equipment but usually comes up with crisp bacon cause she cooks at a too high heat and doesn't watch it close enough.

I read a new recipe in Maxim magazine the other day that I need to try..

Dip the bacon in a nice beer batter... then deep fry... DAMN I bet that's good!

When I see people cook bacon they often have it too hot. You have to start out with the heat up to boil the water away, but when it starts frying I turn it down half a notch at a time so there is no smoking of the grease when it's near done. I usually have it on about 3 out of 10 by the end.

That, and frequent turning, makes for perfect bacon.

All this talk made me pick up a pound of pressed bacon this morning, but the slicer girl only spoke Russian, so she sliced it thinner than I wanted.

All this talk made me pick up a pound of pressed bacon this morning, but the slicer girl only spoke Russian, so she sliced it thinner than I wanted......BogFrame, imo, that gentle "snap" from thin-cut crisp bacon is where it's at....I love to munch a few thin-cut crisp strips of bacon along with a big bowl of cold milk cereal with sugar added to the really cold milk....yeah, Spike has to lead me around for a few minutes afterwards.....

extra crispy even at ihop and my eggs over hard. I don't want no worms or sal manila in my food :D

All I know is that I'm grateful it's packaged in these wonderful 1lb individual serving sizes.

2lbs would just be excessive. Moderation is the key.

(1st heart attack at 34, 2nd at 43 followed by quadruple bypass. Denial? Whom me?)

Well, a slightly different approach:

Next time you fry some bacon. Save the liquid fat and keep it refrigerated for future use. Future use is the following time you want bacon:

Spoon out several spoons before starting the next round of bacon, and let it melt first, don’t get it too hot.

Also cut the damn slab in half before frying, it makes it sooo much easier to manage. More will fit in a pan also.

What you get with the extra grease is a deep fry effect that cooks more evenly, and you can tailor the cooking to as soft or as crispy as you want.

Cast iron or Teflon coated makes no difference with a deep fry method.

Use tongs to turn the pieces, and don’t be afraid to turn often.

Keep it warm in the oven on paper towels and covered with another paper towel, till ready to serve.

I make my women fry bacon naked :D

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a315/Bogframe/bacon.jpg

Pressed bacon, this time she sliced it thicker than I would have wanted.

The pan is an Erie #8.

I make my women fry bacon naked :D

You probably don't get to eat much bacon then, huh?




:D

http://www.webstaurantstore.com/waring-wpg150-commercial-panini-sandwich-grill-120v/929WPG150.html

Well I just got one of these in. Just cooked 12oz of bacon on it to make some ham, turkey, cheese, and bacon Panini samitches. Got the thick sliced bacon. Took less than 5 min at 400°. Well a filled pan took that long. I cooked 2 pans.

I like mine flame broiled. So I go out to the back yard and throw the bacon strips on the chain link fence. Then I get out the propane torch and sizzle away! At least I don't have to worry about getting rid of the grease, it just drips on the ground. As an added benefit it kills the weeds along the fence. :D