cookin bacon

[deadwoodbuck]

so what is the difference in taste, texture or whatever...when comes to either frying or baking bacon...if anything?  to fry in a pan or cook in the oven...that is the question.  I am making some fudge and am going to be adding bacon to it so I want the very best in taste out of the very best in bacon.  what say you?

[h20hunter]

Mmmmm bacon.

I prefer a pan fry for crispness especially if I'm going to crumble it. I find less shrink factor in the oven and possibly a leaner end product because it cooks slower and renders more fat. Less mess in the over. Also, it depends on thichkness. I would buy some extra bacon and do both. You will have more to experiment with, additional to snack on.....win win.

[NRA4LIFE]

Grill it.  Tend to it the whole time to move it off the flames.

[Goldeneye]

Grill it.  Tend to it the whole time to move it off the flames.

Got to agree with this.  The best bacon I can make does come off my Traeger.  Try it on the grill...

[jackmaster]

fry in a pan on 7, you gotta take it out at the right time so it doesnt over cook yet still crispy, its an art  bacon is gods way he says he loves us 

[vandeman17]

I cook my in my cast iron skillet on the stove. good stuff

[wafisherman]

Candied bacon.  Place on some sort of grating in the oven.  450 degrees.

I use a cast iron grill that is flat on one side and grated on the other.  The grate allows the grease to run off.

before putting in oven, sprinkle with a little brown sugar or real maple syrup.

After about 5 mins, check, once it looks about halfway done, turn on the broiler to finish it from above.  Keep a close eye on it.  I like to use extra thick bacon and cooked well, but not yet crispy.

[NOCK NOCK]

Grill it.  Tend to it the whole time to move it off the flames.

Got to agree with this.  The best bacon I can make does come off my Traeger.  Try it on the grill...

I want to try this. What temp & aprox. how long?

[Goldeneye]

Grill it.  Tend to it the whole time to move it off the flames.

Got to agree with this.  The best bacon I can make does come off my Traeger.  Try it on the grill...

I want to try this. What temp & aprox. how long?

I have done it a couple ways.  Both work fine.  The first way makes it more crispy:

1st way is 300 deg for 15 min, flipped & uped temp to 325 deg for another 15 min.

2nd way is 45 minutes at 275 flipping about halfway through.

[Houndhunter]

Every man should be able to cook bacon to just the way he likes it 

[Gamblin Guy]

First of all....you gotta start with the right kind of bacon....



 

[deadwoodbuck]

SWEET...never thought about these great ways to cook it.  Grillin sounds great cause it's outside and the wife won't complain...she hates bacon.  great idea wafshman...may work well with the fudge adding more flavor.  but gamlinguy...where can I get that kind of bacon?  looks perfect for my cause.  the crispyness of just just plain fryn it may make it easier to add to the fudge.  all great thoughts...I can see a couple different experiments in my future to see which works the best.  in any case, this weekend is makin bacon-fudge time.  thanks for the info...i'll let you know the results Monday.

[NRA4LIFE]

Looks like homemade Buckboard Bacon.  Good stuff and easy to make.

[magnanimous_j]

I’ve always thought that baking it didn’t render off as much fat. Baked bacon always seemed greasier to me.

One trick to keep it from sticking in the pan is to put it on cold on a cold pan and then heat it, slowly.

I like mine almost black.

[Gamblin Guy]

Looks like homemade Buckboard Bacon.  Good stuff and easy to make.

Yep, just put another 16 pounds in the fridge to cure, will be smoking next weekend.  This stuff is really easy to make, I don't buy bacon anymore unless I need it to wrap tenderloins.

[Mike450r]

I like it fried but sometimes use a bacon weight to keep it from curling up.  Good quality thick cut bacon is the biggest hit at parties, Xmas, etc...  fry it up and let it cool and put it out with the other snacks, it is the first thing gone and people are bummed if they didn't get any.

[Southpole]

Candied bacon.  Place on some sort of grating in the oven.  450 degrees.

I use a cast iron grill that is flat on one side and grated on the other.  The grate allows the grease to run off.

before putting in oven, sprinkle with a little brown sugar or real maple syrup.

After about 5 mins, check, once it looks about halfway done, turn on the broiler to finish it from above.  Keep a close eye on it.  I like to use extra thick bacon and cooked well, but not yet crispy.

That's what I do, except I will also sprinkle some pepper on as well. If you don't want it in your oven you can cook it that way in the bbq. If you require extra crispy bacon, this may not work for you as the bacon never really gets crispy. Still, this one of my favorite ways to cook bacon. As for pan fried vs. oven for crispiness, if the bacon is on some kind of rack I can usually get it just as crispy in the oven as I can in the pan.

[wafisherman]

For rendering the fat and getting it crispy...note the part about broiling from above.  That last step gives you full control of how much fat you want cooked off and how crispy you want it. 

[deadwoodbuck]

Just an update from the bacon fudge man...I got a choice thick cut of apple smoked slab bacon.  I then cut it into small 1/4 to 1/2 in pieces.  I then slowly rendered the pieces down to a golden brown color in my iron skillet.  After making the basic fudge base I took that off the fire and added the 1 1/2 cups of the cut up bacon and some of the grease as well.  Mix em up and put em in the spring form pan.  Then I took it to work for unbiased opinions.  Good up front flavor of bacon, very creamy fudge base with the hint of apple smoke bacon flavor throughout, nice texture of the smooth fudge and crunchy bacon.  I think I have a wheel that will go nicely with my nephews new butcher shop opening.  Thanks guys for schoolin me on the ways of bacon.  Think I may try the candied bacon next just might be to sweet with not enough savory.  More fudge in the mix...

[wafisherman]

Just an update from the bacon fudge man...I got a choice thick cut of apple smoked slab bacon.  I then cut it into small 1/4 to 1/2 in pieces.  I then slowly rendered the pieces down to a golden brown color in my iron skillet.  After making the basic fudge base I took that off the fire and added the 1 1/2 cups of the cut up bacon and some of the grease as well.  Mix em up and put em in the spring form pan.  Then I took it to work for unbiased opinions.  Good up front flavor of bacon, very creamy fudge base with the hint of apple smoke bacon flavor throughout, nice texture of the smooth fudge and crunchy bacon.  I think I have a wheel that will go nicely with my nephews new butcher shop opening.  Thanks guys for schoolin me on the ways of bacon.  Think I may try the candied bacon next just might be to sweet with not enough savory.  More fudge in the mix...

sounds great!

If you don't want the candied bacon sweet, you can cut out the brown sugar (reduce amount or just don't use any).  Also, for the candied version, you can mix in maple syrup and\or a little fresh black pepper for good results.  It's bacon, so it will be good no matter what!