Bacon: How to COOK it (not how to make it)

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

johnmeyer

Master of the Pit
Original poster
Nov 19, 2015
1,689
451
Central Coast, CA
I realize this forum section is about how to cure and smoke bacon. However, once you've done all that work, how do you actually cook it??

I have tried a lot of different methods over the years:
  • Fry in a non-stick skillet. Alternatively, fry in stainless skillet, or fry in a CI skillet.
  • Fry on my electric griddle.
  • Microwave on a special bacon rack. Alternatively, microwave in between two pieces of paper towel.
  • Bake in the oven (various recipes and temperatures).
  • BBQ on the Weber gas grill.
My current method is to use a really large non-stick Dutch oven because the height of the sides keeps almost all the splatters and pops from getting on the cooktop (I use a wire screen splatter shield on the top which catches the little bit that still makes it to the top). I turn down the heat after the fat starts to render in order to avoid burning.

I have seen some pretty crazy ideas, including doing it on a waffle iron, or doing it in a deep fat fryer (really???).

I am curious if others have a favorite way to cook their bacon?
 
In the oven for sure!

UNLESS your cooking eggs with it.

Then in a cast iron pan & then cooking the eggs in the bacon grease.

Al
 
When I go out to the farm and use my big off set smoker, I clean off the top of the firebox while it's cold, and then after the FB is fully heated up and REALLY HOT, I'll fry bacon on top of the FB.  THe grease from the bacon helps prevent rust and it makes for some decent snacking too.
 
When we go camping we cook bacon in a paper bag over the open fire...

At home I typically cook our bacon in the oven. During the summer months when it s too hot to fire up the oven I cook it in the BBQ on a sheet pan.
 
Yup. A foil lined sheet pan in the oven. Bacon strips actually fit. Easy clean-up too. You can pretty much just pour off the bacon grease. It's much cleaner than the charred and dirty grease you get from pan frying.

I have noticed that the sugars will burn a lot sooner with my homemade bacon over store-bought, and have to be a lot more cautious about cook temp. Cooking it in the oven makes this a seamless effort for it to come out perfect every time.
 
When I go out to the farm and use my big off set smoker, I clean off the top of the firebox while it's cold, and then after the FB is fully heated up and REALLY HOT, I'll fry bacon on top of the FB.  THe grease from the bacon helps prevent rust and it makes for some decent snacking too.
What is the snack: the grease with FB gunk? :-)
 
What is the snack: the grease with FB gunk? :-)
Well yeah!  I need iron in my diet!  
laugh1.gif


I should have clarified a bit.  The FB is cleaned really well before the bacon goes on.  
 
Hmm ... quite a few of you are doing it in the oven. I need to try that again. I haven't done it that way for twenty years.

I did some research after I posted, looking to see what various cooking sites recommend. Cook's Illustrated recommends doing it in a frying pan, but covering the bacon with water. During the first part of the cooking the water boils, keeping the bacon from getting too hot and burning, but still hot enough for the fat to begin rendering. You then finish the cook in the normal way. I guess I need to try that one as well.
 
I pre-heat the oven to 450°F, line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, then put a cooling rack in the cookie sheet.  I can easily get a pound of thick cut bacon on the rack.  With a little creativity I can get a thin cut pound of bacon on the rack.  I set the timer for 20 minutes, check, then add time until it is done.  Usually takes 25-30 minutes, sometimes a little longer. 

On the stovetop I use a 15" non-stick Dutch oven with 5" sides.  Can do about 1/2 lb of bacon that way. 
 
 
Due to the addition of nitrites it is recommended not to heat above 350°F - 177°C.  For that reason, my preferred method is to bake anywhere from 200°F - 93°C for a couple hours to 325°F - 163°C for approximately 25 minutes or to the desired crispness.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/co...077cc76/Bacon_and_Food_Safety.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal...at-preparation/bacon-and-food-safety/ct_index

T
I think both links are the same story, just reformatted.

I skimmed it and as food health issues go, it seems really minor to me. It is certainly not enough to get me to change cooking methods.

Perhaps if I ate bacon every single day, three meals a day, I might worry more.

Damn, why didn't I think of doing that before this??
 
I skimmed it and as food health issues go, it seems really minor to me. It is certainly not enough to get me to change cooking methods.
We like the results of the low and slow oven method because there is no burnt sugar while rendering the fat without any mess. We also like the sous vide and searing thick cut bacon method.

To each his own, we all do what works best for each of us.

 
I'm old fashioned. I throw it in a cold skillet on the stove and turn the heat on to medium. Once it starts to brown nicely, I turn it frequently until Iget the level of doneness I'm looking for.
 
This video explains it pretty good. You can do scrambled eggs too...


OK, that video made me very, very glad I started this thread. I mean, who the heck would have come up with that!!

I wish the guy had taken out the bacon and egg and actually eaten it. I'd love to see how it looked on a plate.
 
OK, that video made me very, very glad I started this thread. I mean, who the heck would have come up with that!!

I wish the guy had taken out the bacon and egg and actually eaten it. I'd love to see how it looked on a plate.

First time I had it was when I was 5, 40 years ago...

When done properly it looks like bacon and eggs. We always open it up and eat it right out of the bag. Bag goes in the fire no dish method.
 
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Latest posts

Hot Threads

Clicky