The Bacon Thread

[magnusfide]

A thread for all things BACON:
Hacks
Recipes
Smoking vs non-smoking.

[klaster79]

Uh bacon. Was my only weakness but because of high cholesterol level I had to stop eat that and have some diets like https://betterme.world/articles/7-day-anemia-diet-plan/. Sad ofc but health is more important!

[Vintage465]

I make my own bacon from pork belly's and from the fat end of Pork Butt's. So Bacon is my thing. My best bacon is made with Cure #1, salt, honey, molasses, dry mustard and picking spice. Brine for 1 week then smoke for 12 hours. I sometimes do Canadian Bacon in the same brine Also amazing. For the most part I always cook bacon in a pan in the oven @ 375 degrees. It's easier to manage the temp and not chance burning it due to the honey and molasses is more burnable compared to dextrose use commercial bacon. Far as recipes go, I'm pretty straight up liking it with eggs. I'll chop it into "Eggs Erroneous" as my brother calls it, basically scrambled eggs with everything in it. Bacon on a burger....or a favorite of my sons and mine, chicken livers wrapped in bacon.

Now here is exotic bacon I made called Shinkenspek. This recipe for Shinkenspeck is from Rytek Kutas sausage and meat curing book. He calls regular bacon "poor mans bacon" compared to this. Not sure I agree with that but this is real fun. It's a cured boneless sirloin and wrapped tightly with a cured belly then lightly smoked. Dried Juniper Berrys in the brine. Slice off a 1/2" slices and fry. It will bulge up so a bacon press is good to keep it flat on the skillet.

[opnspaces]

I've tried may different ways to cook bacon. Now my go to method is a 350 degree oven. Comes out nice and crispy every time.

Unlike ICamels recipe I start with a preheated oven. I do also line the pan with foil. But then I take long sheets of foil the length of the pan and roll or crunch them into long strips to lay the bacon over so it is mostly held up out of the drippings.

[ICamel]

Bacon - Oven Cooked
Line a baking sheet with foil. This will make cleanup easier later.
Arrange the bacon slices on the foil and place the baking sheet on the center rack of a COLD oven. (Try not to stretch the slices out. Just gently drape the bacon across the pan.) Close the oven door. Turn the oven on to 400°F. Walk away.
Come back 17 to 20 minutes later(less if thin slices). As soon as the bacon is golden brown, but not excessively crisp, it's done. The exact time will depend on the thickness of the bacon slices, and also on how quickly your oven reaches the target temperature.
Remove the pan from the oven. Transfer the bacon to paper towels to absorb any excess fat.
REMEMBER: Don't pre-heat the oven! Make sure the oven is cold when you put the bacon in.
Keep your eye on the bacon during the final few minutes of cooking to make sure that it doesn't burn.

I probably found this recipe here?

[eHoefler]

Bacon in the smoker dripping all of its goodness on tri trips, chicken, turkey, lobster, shrimp, fish, hashbrown casserole, mmmmm good

[hondapro]

pbeverly wrote:
Bacon on Blackstone followed by scrambled eggs and hash browns.

That is how I do it. It is the best.

[pbeverly]

Bacon on Blackstone followed by scrambled eggs and hash browns.

[theoldwizard1]

One of the simplest things you can do to make bacon easier to fry is use kitchen shears and cut the strips in half !

You can cook bacon in a microwave WITHOUT making too much of a mess. Start with a large, dished plate. A glass pie pan s even better. Lay down a double layer of paper towel. Add your bacon but do not overload! Add another double layer of paper towel.

Cook for about 2 minutes. This time depends on the power of your microwave and the amount of bacon you are cooking.

Now the messy part. Move partially cooked bacon to another plate with a double layer of paper towel. Place a double layer on top. It should take less than 2 minutes to finish cooking. Adjust time for chewy or crispy.

The bacon grease soaked paper towels WILL ATTRACT CRITTERS ! Dispose f accordingly.

[Latner]

Cook mine on foil on the grill.

[Pangaea_Ron]

I use my George Forman grill, it keeps the strips flat, and the grease drains off.

[pianotuna]

I love cooking my bacon in the microwave. Now if I could do a non scrambled egg I'd be in microheaven.

[magnusfide]

Came across this article about how to make a crispier bacon. I never heard of it and I have Southern relatives. Have you heard of this?
Tip for crispier bacon