Bacon vs. Precooked Bacon

[mcnerd]

+1 Is there any other way to make bacon? I cook bacon in a CI skillet.

I gave up the skillet for bacon years ago, to be replaced with the oven at about 350°F. Time depends on how crisp you want it. I generally a package or two at a time and freeze it. Then its only 30 seconds or less in the microwave for any need.

 

[chopper]

+1 Is there any other way to make bacon? I cook bacon in a CI skillet. I start it HOT, drop the bacon in, lower it to med. Drizzle in some maple syrup....

I have always just let the bacon swim in the maple syrup that fell off of my pancakes or waffles or French toast. Yum! I need to try fixing it up with it's own syrup!

 

[Andy M.]

I gave up the skillet for bacon years ago, to be replaced with the oven at about 350°F. Time depends on how crisp you want it. I generally a package or two at a time and freeze it. Then its only 30 seconds or less in the microwave for any need.

When I was seasoning my CI skillet, I cooked bacon in it. Now, I cook bacon in the oven too. A pound fits in a half sheet pan. I do two at a time. I bake it at 400º F.

I used to use a rack in the sheet pan but it's too hard to clean. Now I just use the sheet pan I've sprayed with Pam.

 

[taxlady]

Doesn't cooking bacon in the oven get a lot of grease on the walls of the oven? I would rather clean a skillet than the oven.

 

[Andy M.]

There may be some spatter. Not very much. I really like the way bacon cooks in the oven. I prefer my bacon not cooked as much as some. In my opinion, bacon should not shatter when dropped and should still be recognizable as a meat product. There is more uniform cooking, less shrinkage and flatter end product. I drain the bacon on paper towels then roll the strips up in a long strip of paper towels and freeze.

 

[taxlady]

I was thinking more of the amount of grease that gets into the air of the oven and then settles on all the surfaces. I have gotten Stirling to quit cooking sausage in the oven for that reason.

 

[CWS4322]

I clean my oven almost every 2 weeks. I do the rings and burner pans every Sunday. I don't find that there is a lot of splatter...my parents cook their bacon in the microwave...talk about a mess to clean. I used to broil the bacon, but the truth is, I like it done in the CI skillet. Once the bacon goes in the hot pan, I turn the pan down. I can do crispy, I can do mid-range...I get compliments on how well I cook bacon. I do think the secret is the maple syrup.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

I buy bacon anywhere from two to five pounds at a time when it's on special and pre-cook it my own damn self. I put it on wire racks on jelly roll pans and bake it at 375F for about 20 minutes. When it cools enough to handle it I place it on sheets of waxed paper by fours, stack them up, slide the stack into a Zip Lock freezer bag and stick it in the freezer. I pour off the bacon squeezin's from the sheet pans into a Glad container with a screw-on lid that I keep next to the stove.

When I want bacon for breakfast, BLTs, bacon cheeseburgers or whatever, I take out the required amount, place them on paper towels, and nuke them in the microwave for 1:05 for 4 slices.

 

[CWS4322]

I buy bacon anywhere from two to five pounds at a time when it's on special and pre-cook it my own damn self. I put it on wire racks on jelly roll pans and bake it at 375F for about 20 minutes. When it cools enough to handle it I place it on sheets of waxed paper by fours, stack them up, slide the stack into a Zip Lock freezer bag and stick it in the freezer. I pour off the bacon squeezin's from the sheet pans into a Glad container with a screw-on lid that I keep next to the stove.

When I want bacon for breakfast, BLTs, bacon cheeseburgers or whatever, I take out the required amount, place them on paper towels, and nuke them in the microwave for 1:05 for 4 slices.

I tend to make a pound of bacon at a time and do the same. I also make bacon bits--I put 2 sheets of paper toweling on a cookie sheet, cover the bacon with 2 more sheets, and use a rolling pin to crush. I put these in a ziplock bag and toss in the freezer. I always have bacon bits for salads, etc. this way.

 

[Andy M.]

I was thinking more of the amount of grease that gets into the air of the oven and then settles on all the surfaces. I have gotten Stirling to quit cooking sausage in the oven for that reason.

It hasn't been an issue for me. I use the oven's self-cleaning feature as needed to prevent the oven from smoking when it's turned on. When I use the oven between bacon cooking events, there is no smell, smoke or other disturbing results of cooking bacon in the oven.

 

[taxlady]

It hasn't been an issue for me. I use the oven's self-cleaning feature as needed to prevent the oven from smoking when it's turned on. When I use the oven between bacon cooking events, there is no smell, smoke or other disturbing results of cooking bacon in the oven.

My oven isn't self-cleaning. It's not so much smells as seeing the little brown spots of grease.

 

[Andy M.]

My oven isn't self-cleaning. It's not so much smells as seeing the little brown spots of grease.

You should cook all your bacon in a cast iron skillet.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

The only self cleaning in my oven is that I have to clean it myself!!!

I'm happy to cook bacon in the traditional way, cold bacon, cold cast iron fry pan, turn on the heat and cook 'til done. And it's overcooked if it breaks when you bend it!

When I buy bacon I separate it into serving sizes (perhaps 2 strips) and individually wrap in plastic and freeze. With all that fat it takes only a very short time to microwave on defrost cycle enough that the strips can be separated. The skillet completes the job.

 

[taxlady]

You should cook all your bacon in a cast iron skillet.

Actually, I prefer my Lagostina, stainless steel pan. I find that stuff (not bits) gets stuck on my cast iron and it needs the whole salt/heat/brush treatment. If I am cooking bacon for a dish that includes bacon, I just use whatever pot I will us to cook the rest of the meal (okay, not for carbonara ).

If we are cooking a large breakfast, we might use the electric griddle. It's non-stick and 37 x 47 cm (~14.5" x 18.5").

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

I've found that cast iron skillets are a whole bunch better if you don't get obsessive about cleaning them. I don't mind if there's a few bits of burned food sticking to my CI pan after I've scrubbed it with a nylon pad and warm water. The bits are already cooked enough that there's nothing there for bacteria to eat, and it doesn't affect the next use and will probably come off next time I use it and clean it.

I'm ordinarily picky about small things but my CI pan is not one of them. What I like about CI pans is that they're indestructible and they're low maintenance as long as you keep them away from soap.

I sometimes use soap on my CI skillet if it gets particularly bad, but again I don't obsess over it, nor do I season it. The next few times I use it, it won't be as nonstick as it usually is but it eventually recovers after a few uses.

I'm amazed that the (probably) first nonstick pan ever invented is still a contender for being one of the best.

Note that the iron age began at least 1000 BCE. I don't know how long iron technology took to progress to the ability to make CI skillets like we use today but they are surely several hundred years old or maybe a lot longer since we've been able to make these remarkable pans.

And still a contender! Take that, Teflon!