Cooking Perfect Bacon

[taxlady]

...
The nitrates in the celery cure the bacon.

Oh, I realize that. Reading "uncured bacon" would have set off the alarm on my BS detector.

 

[tinlizzie]

It depends on who you choose to believe I like bacon, so I believe Michael Ruhlman: The ?No Nitrites Added? Hoax | Michael Ruhlman

Thanks for an interesting site. I don't know which is harder -- putting new stuff in my head or ridding my memory of stuff that no longer applies or has been debunked.

 

[Termy]

Anyone try the water method ?

In the usual fry pan, you put enough water to cover plus some. Turn the gas on high and let it boil vigorously. You'll notice them curling. When the water is all boiled away it fries like any other bacon, get it brown the way you like it. But you don't have pieces of rubber where a part of it didn't cook. The water fixes that and takes the work out of the first part of the cooking. You just finish.

Also the rended bacon grease is just fine. Got to have bacon grease. This stuff I think is a bit cleaner than what it would be if fried.

One reason this suits me is because I like my bacon completely done, I mean brittle. I want it to shatter when I bite it. Still it is capable of making it less done, but still done evenly.

Try it sometime, i did and it stuck to me. I always do it that way now.

T

 

[cookwewill]

Anyone try the water method ?

In the usual fry pan, you put enough water to cover plus some. Turn the gas on high and let it boil vigorously. You'll notice them curling. When the water is all boiled away it fries like any other bacon, get it brown the way you like it. But you don't have pieces of rubber where a part of it didn't cook. The water fixes that and takes the work out of the first part of the cooking. You just finish.

Also the rended bacon grease is just fine. Got to have bacon grease. This stuff I think is a bit cleaner than what it would be if fried.

One reason this suits me is because I like my bacon completely done, I mean brittle. I want it to shatter when I bite it. Still it is capable of making it less done, but still done evenly.

Try it sometime, i did and it stuck to me. I always do it that way now.

T

Interesting! Never tried that but since I fry bacon frequently for one of my sons who is obsessed with it, I will give it a try soon

 

[dragnlaw]

GG, going back to 2014 (whee, wouldn't it be fun to just go there! lol) you posted a link for Ruhlman's article of "no nitrates hoax". The site/page no longer exists. Any thoughts as to why he would take it down?

 

[GotGarlic]

GG, going back to 2014 (whee, wouldn't it be fun to just go there! lol) you posted a link for Ruhlman's article of "no nitrates hoax". The site/page no longer exists. Any thoughts as to why he would take it down?

It looks like he's reorganized his blog and gone to Substack. A lot of well-known writers have done that because it makes it easier for them to monetize it if they want to. The science has not changed.

https://ruhlman.com/blog/

 

[dragnlaw]

"gone to substack" what does that mean?

I had no trouble finding his blog. He even mentions the 'hoax' article in another article on salt (funny guy). Found another article where they were discussing his article and it still came up blank.

But I guess it all boils down to ....

 

[GotGarlic]

If you click on "Sign up for my newsletter," you get this: https://ruhlman.substack.com/ From what I can tell, he reorganized the blog, so it doesn't have the same link as the one above.

The problem with common sense is that it doesn't account for deception by the food industry done to cater to food fads and fears. Some people avoid bacon because it's cured with pink salt (nitrate) and they have unreasonable fears about it. So the bacon makers write their labels saying "no nitrates added." What they added instead is a celery derivative that contains what? Yup, nitrates. Lots of vegetables contain nitrates naturally. But it's easier to deceive customers than to educate them, which is why you see "non-GMO" on labels for things that don't contain any genes and "gluten-free" on things that never contained gluten.

 

[dragnlaw]

GG, I get all that and agree with you 100%. But common sense also means that you have to be aware that they are trying to sell things and so will say whatever it takes as long as it is not bald lie. "Truth" in labeling only means 'no lying', it doesn't mean the whole truth is there!

Don't think I'll ever forget a friend choosing 7-Up (or maybe it was Ginger Ale) because it said it was "caffeine" free! WHA??

Common Sense means also use your brain and think about it.

I truly believe that Common Sense should be taught in schools, because somehow they ain't gettin'it.

 

[GotGarlic]

GG, I get all that and agree with you 100%. But common sense also means that you have to be aware that they are trying to sell things and so will say whatever it takes as long as it is not bald lie. "Truth" in labeling only means 'no lying', it doesn't mean the whole truth is there!

Don't think I'll ever forget a friend choosing 7-Up (or maybe it was Ginger Ale) because it said it was "caffeine" free! WHA??

Common Sense means also use your brain and think about it.

I truly believe that Common Sense should be taught in schools, because somehow they ain't gettin'it.

The schools call it critical thinking and yes, there needs to be more of it.

It's so funny (not haha) to me that the same people who don't trust Big Agriculture or Big Pharma somehow think Big Grocery Stores are giving them reliable health and nutrition information

I wrote a paper in college about the psychology of advertising. That was more than 30 years ago and they've only gotten more insidious since.

 

[taxlady]

...

Don't think I'll ever forget a friend choosing 7-Up (or maybe it was Ginger Ale) because it said it was "caffeine" free! WHA??
...

Was the friend choosing the particular soft drink instead of another clear soft drink that doesn't have "caffeine free" on the label? A lot of soft drinks do have caffeine, e.g., colas, some root beer, and Mountain Dew. It's not always obvious which soft drinks have caffeine. Maybe the friend didn't want caffeine at that time of day or on that day or some other good reason.

 

[Bitser]

Prague Powder #1, Insta Cure #1 or Pink curing salt #1. It contains 6.25% sodium nitrite and 93.75% table salt.[3] It is recommended for meats that require short cures and will be cooked and eaten relatively quickly (e.g. bacon). Sodium nitrite provides the characteristic flavor and color associated with curing.

Prague powder #2 or curing salt #2. It contains 6.25% sodium nitrite, 4% sodium nitrate, and 89.75% table salt.[3] The sodium nitrate found in Prague powder #2 gradually breaks down over time into sodium nitrite, and by that time a dry cured sausage is ready to be eaten, no sodium nitrate should be left.[2] For this reason it is recommended for meats that require long (weeks to months) cures, like hard salami and country ham.

Uncured pork belly is often called side pork. Treated with plain salt it is known as salt pork. I cure, smoke, and slice our bacon at home.

 

[dragnlaw]

Was the friend choosing the particular soft drink instead of another clear soft drink that doesn't have "caffeine free" on the label? A lot of soft drinks do have caffeine, e.g., colas, some root beer, and Mountain Dew. It's not always obvious which soft drinks have caffeine. Maybe the friend didn't want caffeine at that time of day or on that day or some other good reason.

No, she actually said "oh look, this is now 'caffeine free' " It never had caffeine in the first place. And only certain types of Mountain Dew has added caffeine to give you a zap, sort of like Red Bull, I guess.

 

[taxlady]

No, she actually said "oh look, this is now 'caffeine free' " It never had caffeine in the first place. And only certain types of Mountain Dew has added caffeine to give you a zap, sort of like Red Bull, I guess.

Ah, that wasn't clear from the post. Yeah, I've come across that too.