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Cooking Tests: Bacon (Part I)
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CINDY
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 12:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I HAVE A BIG FAMILY THAT I COOK FOR AND USE THE OVEN . I PUT THE BACON IN A CAKE PAN AT ABOUT 350 FOR 8 OR 10 MINUTE. IT'S GREAT.
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 12:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

For this bacon thread, Call me Porky. I've tried all methods, even carbon steel wok-frying at 40,000 BTU's. But for 10 years I've been most pleased with BAKING.

Baking has several advantages: Flatness; full rendering of fat; an even and rich browning; collectible fat with few particulates.

Method: 1) Use broiler pan with slotted top, or rack on baking sheet. (Slotted top is easier to clean).

2) To facilitate peeling of strips, microwave the 1 lb chunk: 3 pulses of 20 seconds, rotated.

3) A light spray of Pam or a swab with lecithin on pan helps prevent those curious bacon proteins from sticking.

3) Lay pieces on pan, overlapping 1 cm., as they will shrink. Center a "column" of ca. 10 strips down middle on X axis, then use 2 side areas for 2 strips each side on Y axis. This uses ca. 13 oz, leaving 4-6 strips for other uses. Trying to crowd the whole 16 oz in causes conjoined strips that are difficult to separate.

4) Oven should start at 350F, but turned down to 225-250 after 5 minutes (Standard anti-microbial technique). At 250 it will take about 40 minutes; 225 takes 60 minutes, etc. THE LOWER, THE BETTER for slow complete rendering. Going to 150 would be safe, if initial 350 "killzone" is observed.

5) Turning: In a NON-Convection oven there are two temp zones to observe: 1) the standard "hot spots" unique to each oven, and 2) the cooler center of mass vs the hotter perimeter of the pan. Thus, turning AND re-positioning (move from center cool to edge hot, and vice-versa) yields most even results. Use tongs and a teasing fork. Ideally, each piece gets 3 turns and rotations. Remember, the factory slicer is somewhat erratic, so each piece is unique in thickness. Check every 10-12 minutes if at 250. This is all not nearly as labor-intensive as it might sound.

6) Drain on a flat paper bag with single paper towel.
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 12:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The local grocery store has a twice-yearly sale featuring 7-to-10-lb packages of thick-sliced deli bacon. We fire up the smoker and smoke anywhere from 10-20 pounds of the bacon (obviously, we do it in cycles, so this is a time investment of a few hours). Once it's smoked but only about half-cooked, we take it off the smoking racks and finish it by baking it in the oven on cooling racks placed on baking sheets (with lipped edges, of course), on fairly low heat, for another 5-10 minutes. Then we store it in airtight bags and plasticware in the freezer. Whenever we want bacon, we just pull out however many strips we need, microwave for 10-15 seconds, and that's it. If we invest a few hours of one day in the smoking-baking process, we get enough bacon to last months (even when some family members go on low-carb diets and start practically living on bacon *G*).
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Victoria
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 12:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have the best method. Get ready made bacon like this kind.

Pop it in the microwave for a minute, and you have perfect bacon when you hear that microwave go "ding!"

I used to be a skeptic of buying ready made bacon, but after trying this out, I wouldn't go back to cooking bacon. It seems to me that the people who make this product have more concerns about perfectly cooking the bacon, and they have executed accordingly.

The bacon tastes great. It is cooked throughout, and no matter how thin it is, it still has that crisp and chewiness that makes it the ideal bacon.

The only problem I have with is the greasiness. I think they flash freeze the bacon once they cook it, so the fat is kept. My husband gave me the perfect solution:
Place the bacon on top of rice when you pop it in the microwave. The fat runs down the rice and you'll have tasty rice and not-so-greasy bacon.

I guess this would be the solution if you like bacon on rice like we do. YUM. If not, then I'm sure the paper towel trick will do after letting it rest for a bit.

It's probably more pricey than raw bacon, but hey, if you're going to live it up by eating bacon, go all the way and get ready made bacon!
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 12:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Microwaving, broiling, baking and ready-made bacon may be easier/quicker/cleaner, but none can beat the flavor of bacon fried in its own grease!
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Neighborcat
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 12:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Neighborcat Says:

For perfectly flat bacon, I recommend using a clothes iron set on "linen" or whatever the highest setting is.

Place the bacon on parchment paper or yesterday's Times and have at it usng firm pressure to render the fat. Be sure the water reservoir on steam irons is empty, otherwise you will have difficulty reaching the proper temperature.

I will say that if you are at all meticulous about your appearance, (as you may be if you require ultra-flat bacon) you should probably use a separate iron from the one you use on your clothes. This technique is also handy for those late night BLTs after the bar closes when staying in a hotel, as most hotels supply an iron these days, but not a microwave or stove! I have not yet found a means of using a coffee-maker for cooking bacon. The hot plate just doesn't get hot enough.
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 12:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I use a microwave disch made for bacon. I believe the second poster has a link. I cook the bacon about 3/4 of the way and then transfer to a pan to finish. This has some nice effects: 1 - the bacon keeps its shape. 2 - the pan doesn't fill with the grease becuase its in the microwave dish. 3 - The microwave dish is easy to clean since the bacon was browned.
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 12:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mistake in my post above - the 3rd item should have read:

3 - The microwave dish is easy to clean since the bacon wasn't browned.
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 12:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Perfect bacon?
Try Hormel Black Label pre-cooked.

Eat it cold or warm a few strips in the microwave for 30 seconds.

Mmmmmmm.
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2005 12:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

We mostly buy frozen bacon from the meat packing plant here in Ohio. This butchered bacon never, ever curls up. Thick, thin or medium sliced, it is straight. We love it. I cook bacon on a really high temp on the ceramic stove top in a huge pan. My bacon cooks up in less than 5 minutes.
Yum!
The problem we have is...the bacon tastes different. We can got a side of hog and the first bacon was scrumptious. Months later we bought a bundle pack of beef, chicken and hog. The bacon tastes weird and smells weird while cooking. Not spoiled.
Different.
What is up with that?
Someone posted about brown paper bags. In the 50's & 60's the trend was brown paper bags for turkeys.
Now a days the paper has too many chemicals in it. So please do not cook in said bags..unless you like chemicals.
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 15, 2005 4:05 am    Post subject: bacon cooking Reply with quote

Least hassle method for me is to cook in the oven at about 350F on a cookie sheet covered with paper towels folded 2 deep. Advantages: smells great, requires little supervision, grease/fat gracefully dealt with by paper towels (paper does not burn at 350F), cleanup is easy, product is consistent: 5-8 minutes partially/mostly cooks the bacon for use in other recipes, about 10 minutes for mildly crispy, breakfast-type, 12-15 minutes for crunchy, crumbly (salads and garnish). Disadvantages: uses a lot of paper towels, you still have a pretty greasy mess to deal with, in summer one hates to fire up the oven.

You can miss by a couple of minutes and repurpose the product to the next higher grade of crunchy... miss by 10 minutes and there will still probably be a some salvageable bits, depending upon your purpose and tolerance for carbon.

Next best: cast iron skillet with cover. Advantages: smells great, tasty seasoning for your skillet and the eggs you'll cook next, does not heat up the entire house in summer, leaves you with uesable bacon grease for other cooking tasks; a good system if you need not cook a great deal of bacon. Disadvantages: needs constant supervision, cooks more quickly than I think (unless I'm right on top of it I always get very crispy/carbon), bacon grease gets into the atmosphere and winds up everywhere in the house, especially the air cleaner filters
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 12:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The best way to cook bacon (I worked in the restaurnat industry for over 20 years) put a rack over a backing sheet, set the oven to 350-375 and bake the bacon until crisp and golden. The bacon does not sit in the fat while it cooks allowing for perfect crispness.
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Carol
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 3:26 am    Post subject: Lid on the pan when cooking? Reply with quote

OK, my husband thinks you cook bacon in the frying pan with a lid on it. Can someone explain why this is a bad idea (i.e. moisture and oil don't mix etc...).... I would appreciate it.
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Jörg



Joined: 31 Dec 2005
Posts: 51

PostPosted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 7:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm guessing your husband just doesn't want the grease splattering everywhere. Get him a big mesh grease splatter guard, and tell him to use that instead. It gets better results, with less chance of splattering grease on yourself when removing the lid (due to the trapped moisture condensing on the lid).
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KELLI
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 14, 2006 10:11 pm    Post subject: BACON I Reply with quote

YOU CAN MICROWAVE BACON IN LAYERS WITH PAPER TOWELS. EX: FOUR PIECES ON THE BOTTOM LAYER, FOUR PIECES ON TOP OF THAT ON A PAPER TOWEL AND SO ON. MY MOM ALWAYS DID THAT. YOU CAN COOK A PACK OF BACON IN ABOUT 10 MINUTES. USUALLY 1 MINUTE PER SLICE.
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