How To Cook Bacon

[mrjarrell]

I know of no place where you can buy bacon fat. Lard, yes. Get yourself a microwave bacon cooker pan and you can have all the grease you need, fast. I just save mine up.

 

[Cameramonkey]

I know of no place where you can buy bacon fat. Lard, yes. Get yourself a microwave bacon cooker pan and you can have all the grease you need, fast. I just save mine up.

Oh, and to make matters worse, mrs monkey and the kids prefer turkey bacon. I get outvoted often at the grocery.

 

[PeaShooter]

Apparently, we've been doing it wrong all these years. America's Test Kitchen has come up with a new way that gives you perfectly cooked bacon. Gonna have to give this a try.

[video=youtube_share;TSz7n-K2XV8]http://youtu.be/TSz7n-K2XV8[/video]

 

[mrjarrell]

Oh, and to make matters worse, mrs monkey and the kids prefer turkey bacon. I get outvoted often at the grocery.

Get them some turkey "bacon" and the real stuff for yourself. Then save up your fat for the cooking, since theirs is just a foul chemically mess. Fortunately, everyone in my family likes real bacon.

 

[phylodog]

Unfortunately I'm finding that doing things like baking bacon makes it so that I can't keep the fat.

Why can't you keep the fat if you bake? I just pour it off into a mason jar once the bacon is done.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Why can't you keep the fat if you bake? I just pour it off into a mason jar once the bacon is done.

It smokes like crazy in the catch pan when you oven bake unless you lay down paper towels.

Looking in the fridge at my empty mason jar makes me sad.

 

[phylodog]

Hmmm, mine hasn't been doing that. Maybe I'm cooking at a lower temp? I usually use 350*, I've heard others using higher temps but it doesn't smoke this way.

 

[Nodonutz]

I was dubious about this method, but it's by far the best way to cook bacon. As the water cooks down, the juicy goodness soaks back into the bacon, and the end product is way more flavorful than normal.

In fact, I partially cooked my bacon this way today to create bacon-spinach-egg-mozzarella "muffins." They'll be out of the oven soon.

I've done this several times.... so F**N' GOOD!! I partially cook the bacon and sprinkle some tarragon on there as well. Also caraway/rye or sourdough bread adds just that much more goodness.

 

[87iroc]

This. A nice sheet tray of bacon laid out on parchment in the oven at 350 is about the easiest and most evenly cooked bacon you can make.

Best bacon I've ever had was cooked this way.

 

[chipbennett]

So on a related note, where can you buy bacon grease? Or can you?

i have quite A few old school recipes from grandma that use bacon fat. Unfortunately I'm finding that doing things like baking bacon makes it so that I can't keep the fat. I just ran out of bacon fat so those recipies are dead in the water until I can find more. Yes I could buy more bacon and fry it but I'm thinking outside the box.

At the grocery store, in one-pound packages (I usually get Oscar Mayer). As a bonus, you get one pound of cooked bacon in the process of extracting the bacon grease.

(As someone else said: use a microwave bacon cooker. Easy collection of the grease. Save it in a disposable rubbermaid container, and store in the fridge.)

 

[chipbennett]

It smokes like crazy in the catch pan when you oven bake unless you lay down paper towels.

Looking in the fridge at my empty mason jar makes me sad.

Hmmm, mine hasn't been doing that. Maybe I'm cooking at a lower temp? I usually use 350*, I've heard others using higher temps but it doesn't smoke this way.

FYI, the smoke point of pork fat is 375F.

 

[chezuki]

Hmmm, mine hasn't been doing that. Maybe I'm cooking at a lower temp? I usually use 350*, I've heard others using higher temps but it doesn't smoke this way.

This. I'm able to pour off plenty of grease from the sheet tray once the bacon is done.

 

[Nodonutz]

At the grocery store, in one-pound packages (I usually get Oscar Mayer). As a bonus, you get one pound of cooked bacon in the process of extracting the bacon grease.

(As someone else said: use a microwave bacon cooker. Easy collection of the grease. Save it in a disposable rubbermaid container, and store in the fridge.)

Great recipe!
I usually get Farmland Bacon..... they even have a 'bacon club'. Farmland Bacon Club

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