I was thinking

[Zagut]

And that can be a very dangerous thing.

Didn't know where to put this but it was either General Cooking or Terms & Techniques. GC won.

This might be of interest to those cooking for one as I do.
　
I love bacon.

I also love a bargin.

I tend to buy bacon in large packages (3lbs. is large for one person) but it's less expencive this way and I'm very cheap/ frugal. It is also frequently on sale in those packages so I take advantage of that.

One problem this presented was that I don't like the mess involved in cooking bacon. (Yes I've tried the oven method but prefer it cooked the old fashion way in a pan.) So I tend to go on a bacon binge.
I'd cook large batches or the whole three pounds and end up with a mountain of bacon . Store it in the fridge and have bacon everything to use it up before it sat too long in the fridge. (Not that bacon everything is a bad thing.)
　
Sometimes I'd freeze it in the package to extend it's shelf life but that didn't really help because once thawed I still and a bunch of bacon to deal with.
　
Well I'd bought one of these packages last week and it was time to deal with it.
I also had a hankering for bacon and eggs this morning.

I was going to cook the whole package and end up with a mountain of bacon but while I was cooking away I thought it would be nice to have just a few strips for things like bacon wraped hot dogs or bacon wraped chicken etc.. Pre cooked bacon is great but not for everything.
　
Hmmmm..... How about if I roll up a few pieces and pre freeze them. Then toss them in a vac sealed bag with extra headroom so I can just grab a piece or two to use as I need then reseal and put back in the freezer?
They won't be a lump I can't seperate unless I thaw the whole thing.
　
So here's the experiment.
　
Roll them up, Put them in a container and toss in the freezer.

　
Freeze semi solid and seal. Put them in the freezer for future use.

　
　
I'll let you know how it works when I feel the need for bacon after I recover from the mountain.

And here's my mountain.

 

[blissful]

Great idea. I buy the 3 lbs bargain, at a time too.
As with any meat frozen and sealed in plastic, throwing them in a sink of hot water will thaw them in very little time.

I like the annaheim peppers, stuffed with cheese, wrapped in bacon. I freeze these assembled and uncooked on a half sheet pan, then bag them. They come in handy.

 

[Josie1945]

Zagut, You can cook your bacon. Take a large enough
plastic container and layer your bacon .Put wax paper
between each layer. You can take out what you want
each time. I used to do this for Stevan before he retired.
I don't see any reason not to do the raw bacon like you
said. Have fun

Josie

 

[Cheryl J]

Hi Zagut. Yes, that would work very nicely, I always break down my uncooked bacon into 4 or 5 pieces and freeze. (cooking for one here, too. )

Good idea about rolling them up, prefreezing a little so they don't freeze together, then bagging them up in vacuum bags with extra head room. You probably already know this, just make sure that when you take the bacon out of the freezer bags, that the top of the bag stays clean for another good re-seal.

Now I want bacon and I'm all out.

 

[Andy M.]

I buy bacon from Costco in a bundle of four one-pound packages. I usually cook two pounds at a time in the oven and freeze the cooked bacon rolled up in a long strip of paper towels. When either of us want some bacon we unroll the paper towel enough to get the number of slices we want and tear off any excess paper. That excess paper towel is wrapped around the bacon and microwaved to defrost and reheat it - abut 12-15 seconds.

 

[Dawgluver]

I use Andy's method. Works great.

 

[Zagut]

Great idea. I buy the 3 lbs bargain, at a time too.
As with any meat frozen and sealed in plastic, throwing them in a sink of hot water will thaw them in very little time.

I like the annaheim peppers, stuffed with cheese, wrapped in bacon. I freeze these assembled and uncooked on a half sheet pan, then bag them. They come in handy.

Yummmm..... Those peppers sound good.

Recipe???

Zagut, You can cook your bacon. Take a large enough
plastic container and layer your bacon .Put wax paper
between each layer. You can take out what you want
each time. I used to do this for Stevan before he retired.
I don't see any reason not to do the raw bacon like you
said. Have fun

Josie

Thanks Josie. I like to make the mess all at once and clean up once.

My only reservation was freezing bacon as I've heard it isn't recommended but I'm not a supertaster and have never noticed a problem.

Hi Zagut. Yes, that would work very nicely, I always break down my uncooked bacon into 4 or 5 pieces and freeze. (cooking for one here, too. )

Good idea about rolling them up, prefreezing a little so they don't freeze together, then bagging them up in vacuum bags with extra head room. You probably already know this, just make sure that when you take the bacon out of the freezer bags, that the top of the bag stays clean for another good re-seal.

Now I want bacon and I'm all out.

Cheryl, I'd be more then happy to send you some of my Mt. Bacon since you're out. But I think you'd make it to the store for your bacon fix long before it arrived.
I only thought to roll them up as to ease in getting one piece at a time without having them stuck together.

Prefreezing is something I do with all things that could introduce liquid into my cheap foodsaver.

And extra headroom is a no brainer for a package you think you'll be opening many times.

I buy bacon from Costco in a bundle of four one-pound packages. I usually cook two pounds at a time in the oven and freeze the cooked bacon rolled up in a long strip of paper towels. When either of us want some bacon we unroll the paper towel enough to get the number of slices we want and tear off any excess paper. That excess paper towel is wrapped around the bacon and microwaved to defrost and reheat it - abut 12-15 seconds.

Thanks Mr. Andy. I'll think about freezing the mountain.
It's just that I can find a use for the cooked bacon before I'm require to freeze it. I'm sure my Cardiologist might disagree.

 

[Andy M.]

I've never detected any issue with raw or cooked bacon being frozen. Do it all the time.

 

[Zagut]

I freeze raw bacon all the time also and have never experienced a problem.
(Sometimes you read things that stick in your head.)

But cooked bacon doesn't seem to last very long around here for some unknown reason.

Oh the mysteries of life.

 

[blissful]

When I get a dozen or so annaheims, I cut the tops off, slit them and take out the seeds and veins. Take 1 and 1/2 packages of 8 oz cream cheese, soften, mix with 1/4 cup of diced olive/onion/peppers/capers--olive relish. Stuff the peppers, wrap in one slice of bacon. Freeze them. When you want 2, put 2 on a a bake sheet, bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees F.

 

[Zagut]

When I get a dozen or so annaheims, I cut the tops off, slit them and take out the seeds and veins. Take 1 and 1/2 packages of 8 oz cream cheese, soften, mix with 1/4 cup of diced olive/onion/peppers/capers--olive relish. Stuff the peppers, wrap in one slice of bacon. Freeze them. When you want 2, put 2 on a a bake sheet, bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Thanks.

But I can't see only wanting 2.

 

[Bigjim68]

I've never detected any issue with raw or cooked bacon being frozen. Do it all the time.

So do I and I can detect no difference in quality.

I either buy Costco or Mohawk slab bacon. I stay away from VP meat section bacon. Costco gets frozen and thawed a pound at a time. Mohawk is heavily smoked and salted and will keep for weeks in the fridge.

 

[Zagut]

What's VP meat??
(Excuse my ignorance)

I was only thinking of a way to easily grab a slice or two of bacon as needed for those of us who love bacon but don't like the hassle of peeling it off the slab or freezing it in slab form.

Rolling it up and freezing per slice as a cube seemed like a good way to preserve it long term and yet be able to grab a slice or two when you need/want it.

Pre cooked has it's uses but it's nice to have just a slice or two of uncooked bacon around for those who only use small amounts.

But it's bacon so it's all good in the end.

 

[Cheryl J]

What's VP meat??
(Excuse my ignorance)

I was only thinking of a way to easily grab a slice or two of bacon as needed for those of us who love bacon but don't like the hassle of peeling it off the slab or freezing it in slab form.

Rolling it up and freezing per slice as a cube seemed like a good way to preserve it long term and yet be able to grab a slice or two when you need/want it.

Pre cooked has it's uses but it's nice to have just a slice or two of uncooked bacon around for those who only use small amounts.

But it's bacon so it's all good in the end.

I agree with you there on the bolded above, Zagut. I like to have precooked bacon in the freezer for chopping and adding to dishes, but there's something about cooking up raw bacon and enjoying it freshly fried that really appeals to me... Hot and crispy right out of the pan with fried eggs, or on a BLT.....yum....

(I don't know what 'VP' bacon is either....)

 

[Dawgluver]

Alrighty then, Bigjim. What the heck is VP meat? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[Zagut]

I concur Cheryl but I was thinking more along the line of using a nice thick slice of bacon to wrap around a chicken /dolly breast or hot dog.

You just never know where bacon will fit in.

 

[Cheryl J]

I concur Cheryl but I was thinking more along the line of using a nice thick slice of bacon to wrap around a chicken /dolly breast or hot dog.

You just never know where bacon will fit in.

That, too!

 

[Cooking Goddess]

I usually buy 1-pound packages. To make sure we aren't eating up an entire pound before it gets funky, I cut the pound in half and make two narrower slabs, wrap each half in plastic wrap, then drop into a zip-top freezer bag to corral them. The length doesn't work for wrapping, obviously, but I suppose you could peel off x-amount of strips, wrap, and freeze for future use. After all, 1/4 pound of slices would be just right for that 1 1/2 pound Dolly chicken breast. Sounds like less work than rolling your own, but whatever works for you is best.

And that can be a very dangerous thing.

That might account for the first thought that popped into my mind: "Uh-oh".

 

[Zagut]

I usually buy 1-pound packages. To make sure we aren't eating up an entire pound before it gets funky, I cut the pound in half and make two narrower slabs, wrap each half in plastic wrap, then drop into a zip-top freezer bag to corral them. The length doesn't work for wrapping, obviously, but I suppose you could peel off x-amount of strips, wrap, and freeze for future use. After all, 1/4 pound of slices would be just right for that 1 1/2 pound Dolly chicken breast. Sounds like less work than rolling your own, but whatever works for you is best.


That might account for the first thought that popped into my mind: "Uh-oh".

You're first thought is right on the money.

I was simply looking for a way to freeze wonderful bacon and pull single portions as needed.

And you do realize it takes more then one slice to wrap a Dolly Breast?

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Yup. Which is exactly why I suggested wrapping 1/4 pound of slices for one of those babies.