Best pan for baking bacon

[Jennifer Murphy]

I just tried using a Pyrex tray. The cleanup was very easy. Almost nothing stuck to the glass. Is that because glass is better than Teflon or other non-stick surfaces or because our non-stick pans are old and worn out?

 

[taxlady]

I just tried using a Pyrex tray. The cleanup was very easy. Almost nothing stuck to the glass. Is that because glass is better than Teflon or other non-stick surfaces or because our non-stick pans are old and worn out?

That's a good question. I have personally, never found non stick bakeware to very non stick.

 

[Jennifer Murphy]

reading this thread, it appears to the casual observer . . .
there's more than one way to cook bacon.
or?
years back with bigger family eating . . . tried the rack-in-the-oven method.
sorta' kinda' works okay - but what a clean up mess.... toothpicks and rack cleaning . . not good . . . .

got a round bacon press to fit my 10" CI skillet - superb results. flat strips, evenly cooked (gas, some attention to temp required....) - four strips per go-round....

mid-1980's I was "introduced" to small quantity micro-wave cooking. ignored it as "small quantity" did not fit feeding six bacon starved people . . .

fast forward to empty nesting - a couple dishes requiring small qty - e.g. breakfast burrito with bacon/scrambled egg/four blend cheese....
works like: dinner plate, lay down two paper towels, strips of bacon, cover with paper towel. use rotating plate microwave - one minute per slice on high as a starting point.

....starting point.... oh dear there's a really big catch.....
most supermarket bacon ala OscarMeyer etc is "wet cured" - they inject the pork belly with curing salts/liquid and voile' in an hour you got bacon.
okay, works - but every brand cooks different because they all have different retained moisture, no to mention 'more leaner' or 'more fatter' strips.
so the microwave works - no question - but the timing hugely depends on the power of the microwave and the condition of the bacon you are cooking.

living next to Amish Country, we get "dry cured" bacon - salt/sugar/pepper, hung and smoked for weeks.... no injection of no nuttin'.
it cooks up totally different than insta-wet-cured supermarket bacon.
downside: dry cured bacon is not available on every street corner . . .

microwaving dry-cured bacon results in lots of fat soaking into the paper towels, clearly identifiable stripes of meat and clearly intact stripes of crispy-ed fat - and absolutely parsecs better than any of the wet cured product.

bottom line: my fav cook for brand name wet cured is CI skillet + bacon press.
for 2-4 strips dry cured - towels on plate covered with towel in the microwave.

I'll check some of the local specialty grocery stores for dry-cured bacon. Thanks

 

[Jennifer Murphy]

I forgot my other 2¢ (that's 6¢ all together )
By lining the tray with tin foil, I let the rendered fat harden, fold up the mess so as not to uck-up my trash can and chuck it
or
let that liquid gold cool and pour it into a sealed container, stash that in the `fridge and again, fold up the tin foil and you'll have very little clean up to do.

I tried saving some of the bacon grease and using it when I cooked some eggs. I didn't really notice that much difference from when I just use butter.

 

[Jennifer Murphy]

I seldom use parchment, just for convenience. I have a couple of silicon sheets that work well. I also try to be sparing on the aluminium foil. But, I worry less about that. It is infinitely recyclable. And, if the local recycle regulations allow it, it can be recycled while dirty. Apparently the process of melting the used aluminium burns off anything left on it.

Hmmm... I have been tossing it (the used foil). I'll try cleaning it a bit and recycling it.

 

[Jennifer Murphy]

@dcSaute hits on a good point:
Source and quality of the bacon.
Our standard bacon was a cold smoked slab (streaky bacon). We kept it in the fridge wrapped in a tea towel and cut when needed. This would fry easy in any frying pan without oil. The fatty bits were clear firm white. These are the ones I put in the microwave

I can imagine that back bacon would do totally different, same as anything you buy pre-packed and is sort of watery soft stuff.

How do you cut it? I thonk I would have trouble getting even slices. Do you have one of those slicers that they use in butcher shops?

 

[Jennifer Murphy]

One more question. When the grandkids are here, I'll have to cook a lot of bacon. But when it's just me, 3-4 strips is all I need. (Actually, I could probably eat the whole package, but.....)

What's the best way to keep the uncooked bacon. The packages are greasy and nearly impossible to open and close. I don't really have a Tupperware container the right size. I guess I could cut the strips in half.

Or maybe I just cook them all and put the rest in the frig as someone suggested.

 

[taxlady]

When I open a package of bacon and don't want to use all of it at once, I cut off one of the long sides of the package. Then it is easy to slide the whole thing out. I take what I need and put the rest back, with the cardboard it sits on. I put the open bacon package into a plastic bag that I close with a clip. It's not perfect, but the best I have come up with. I have tried cooking all of the bacon at once and storing the rest in the fridge. It stores fine. The problem is that we munch it up too fast.

 

[Jennifer Murphy]

I have tried cooking all of the bacon at once and storing the rest in the fridge. It stores fine. The problem is that we munch it up too fast.

Yeah, that's what I am afraid of.

 

[dragnlaw]

Yup, drives me crazy when I hear people cook and store... in my books there is no such thing! Gone before the day is done.

I cut the bacon in half, lay them all out on a cookie sheet with either plastic wrap/wax paper/parchment between layers and Freeze.
When frozen I roll up the layers (or book layer) and slide them into an easily re-sealable plastic bag.
Then when I want, I take only as much as I need. Usually only 4 pieces (2 slices).
I also make sure I match ends when I lay out/roll up so that I don't get just a bunch of fat ends or skinny ends at any one time.
Of course, you can also just lay out the full piece to freeze - depends on your preferred way to cook them.

 

[Andy M.]

. . . What's the best way to keep the uncooked bacon. The packages are greasy and nearly impossible to open and close. I don't really have a Tupperware container the right size. I guess I could cut the strips in half.

Or maybe I just cook them all and put the rest in the frig as someone suggested.

We cook two pounds at a time. We place the cooked strips onto a length of paper towel and roll the bacon up in it. That goes into a Ziplock bag and into the freezer. When I need some bacon I unroll the appropriate amount, tear off the paper towel that's under it and put it into the microwave to heat it up.

 

[dcSaute]

two strips 'a batch', laid out to freeze on freezer paper, after frozen batches layered in Z-fold aluminum foil with an outer wrap of aluminum foil.

freezing it first on the freezer paper keeps the bundles from sticking to any wrapping during the freezing stage, aluminum foil is a "perfect" moisture/odor barrier so no freezer burn, etc.....

 

[Badjak]

How do you cut it? I thonk I would have trouble getting even slices. Do you have one of those slicers that they use in butcher shops?

Sharp knife
I like the slices a bit thicker anyway and quite often I cut strips (lardons) for scrambled eggs, pasta and whatever else

 

[Jennifer Murphy]

I am way too clumsy for that. I have trouble slicing carrots! ??

 

[Aunt Bea]

@dcSaute hits on a good point:
Source and quality of the bacon.
Our standard bacon was a cold smoked slab (streaky bacon). We kept it in the fridge wrapped in a tea towel and cut when needed. This would fry easy in any frying pan without oil. The fatty bits were clear firm white. These are the ones I put in the microwave

I can imagine that back bacon would do totally different, same as anything you buy pre-packed and is sort of watery soft stuff.

If you have a good source of old-fashioned slab bacon try one of the recipes for slow roasting, barbequing, or braising an unsliced chunk.

This is just one of many examples.

Cider-Braised Slab Bacon Recipe

The braised bacon and the reduced braising liquid can be refrigerated, separately, up to one day. Let the bacon stand at room temperature one hour, and reheat glaze to warm before caramelizing the bacon.

www.marthastewart.com

 

[IC 2.0]

All these posts for bacon lol

1. Aluminum sheet pan
2. Parchment paper
3. 375-400 degrees F depending on your oven

Boom. Easy peasy.

 

[Badjak]

If you have a good source of old-fashioned slab bacon

Not anymore, unfortunately.
Unless I make it myself

 

[Jennifer Murphy]

I have been testing the various suggestions here. I have come up with a method that works well for me.

• Turn on the oven at broil and more the tray near the top
• Line a baking pan (metal or Pyrex) with tin foil.
• Arrange the bacon slices (usually cut in half) on the foil.
• Set the timer for 4 minutes.
• When the oven is preheated, add the pan and start the timer.
• When the times goes off, remove the pan, flip the bacon over, and take note of how well done it is.
• Return the pan to the oven.
• Set the timer to 3-5 minutes.
• Remove pan.
• Transfer bacon to paper towel and tap with another towel.
• When pan is cool, move the foil to the sink and rinse with instant hot water.
• Recycle the foil.

The pan can usually be put away without any cleaning. If a little grease leaked onto the pan, rinse and dry.

Thanks for all the help.

 

[dragnlaw]

Jennifer, That's great! Glad you got your game on with that pesky bacon!

May I suggest, and perhaps you already do this...

here in this city, we have been asked to be careful just how much fat goes down a drain. I would like to suggest you could save your bacon fat for use later (pour into a jar), or if that is not your 'thing', mop it up with paper towel to put in the compost. Then rinse/wash with really hot water.

 

[Andy M.]

Jennifer, That's great! Glad you got your game on with that pesky bacon!

May I suggest, and perhaps you already do this...

here in this city, we have been asked to be careful just how much fat goes down a drain. I would like to suggest you could save your bacon fat for use later (pour into a jar), or if that is not your 'thing', mop it up with paper towel to put in the compost. Then rinse/wash with really hot water.

It's good practice to not pour fat down the drain. It collects on the insides of the pipes and could lead to a clogging issue down the road.

I save the bacon fat if I need it. If not, I wait until it's cool enough handle but still liquid and pour it into the trashcan. Wipe out any residue with aper towels and then wash the pan.