Food and Drink : We All Love Bacon but…

We All Love Bacon but…

I LOVE bacon, and who doesn't, right? But, for me, I find it perplexing why it's always a crapshoot as to its consistency of quality from purchase to purchase.

Let me explain...

After experimenting with dozens of different brands (and types/thicknesses etc) of bacon I always buy Oscar Mayer Hardwood Smoked bacon. And sometimes, it fries up absolutely perfectly; golden brown, crispy & delicious.

But sometimes, no matter what you do, no matter how carefully you cook it, that same OMHS bacon turns out to be a huge disappointment. You all know what I mean. Sometimes bacon has too much sugar in/on it and it burns; turns a nasty looking brown and it tastes horrible.

Then other times, no matter how hard you try to achieve "bacon nirvana" it turns out like...pork plastic: completely devoid of taste. Oft times there are other ways your bacon turns out to be a disappointment, but WHY is what I want to know?

Also, I've noticed that after bacon stays in my fridge for two weeks I seem to have much better results in average. Maybe those two weeks of "aging" somehow cause some kind of chemical reaction told occur, resulting in much better bacon slices. Maybe it's because by two weeks much of that sodium and other chemical have had a chance to dissipate.

I wish I knew what it is, but it seems it's always a crapshoot fir me.





"Stick with me, baby, and you'll be fartin' thru silk."

Re: We All Love Bacon but…

I buy whatever brand is on sale. I cook my bacon in the oven...20 minuits or so, at 375º. It always seems to come out good, plus cleanup is a million times easier.



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Re: We All Love Bacon but…


20 minuits or so, at 375º. It always seems to come out good, plus cleanup is a million times easier.

Really? I'll have to try that.

Recently I've read that you should take your bacon out of the fridge for a few minutes prior to cooking. It seems that allowing it to reach room temperature aids in getting better results, but sometimes it's still not enough.


"Stick with me, baby, and you'll be fartin' thru silk."

Re: We All Love Bacon but…


Recently I've read that you should take your bacon out of the fridge for a few minutes prior to cooking. It seems that allowing it to reach room temperature aids in getting better results, but sometimes it's still not enough.


General rule of thumb for any protein that you're cooking. It cooks a lot more evenly if it's at room temperature (or close to it) when you commence cooking. This is especially true when you're searing or pan frying something. If you take it right out of the fridge and toss right into the skillet, it will cook unevenly with the outsides way overdone.

Re: We All Love Bacon but…

Same here. It wasn't until my wife pointed it out (before we were married) when I learned the error of my ways. She's a keeper that one!

Re: We All Love Bacon but…


This was something that simply hadn't occurred to me for years, then once I realized it it made things come out so much better, especially chicken breasts.

I know, right? It simply had never occurred to me either, but I guess subconsciously I kinda knew it because I always had let chicken, or pork chops or steaks and such reach RT before cooking them--but until very recently, NOT bacon.

Go figure




"Stick with me, baby, and you'll be fartin' thru silk."

Re: We All Love Bacon but…


plus cleanup is a million times easier.

This worked good for us but we have only tried it this way once. Going to try it again next time we have bacon. And the clean up. Just throw the paper towels away!

All we did was put six slices in microwave oven on two paper towels. Then put two more paper towels on top of bacon. After 3 minutes we turned the bacon over and cooked for 3 more minutes. I'm guessing with thinner bacon a little less cooking time and a little more for thick bacon.

Re: We All Love Bacon but…


All we did was put six slices in microwave oven on two paper towels. Then put two more paper towels on top of bacon. After 3 minutes we turned the bacon over and cooked for 3 more minutes. I'm guessing with thinner bacon a little less cooking time and a little more for thick bacon.


Did....did you just say you "cook" bacon in the microwave? Good lord man.

Re: We All Love Bacon but…


All we did was put six slices in microwave oven on two paper towels. Then put two more paper towels on top of bacon. After 3 minutes we turned the bacon over and cooked for 3 more minutes. I'm guessing with thinner bacon a little less cooking time and a little more for thick bacon.

Hmmm...dunno if my microwave was not up to snuff or not, but when I tried nuking bacon it came out greasy & rubbery--it was anything but crisp.

And I don't how you like your bacon, but mine must be crisp. Actually I don't know how some folks can eat bacon that isn't crisp.



"Stick with me, baby, and you'll be fartin' thru silk."

Re: We All Love Bacon but…

I buy Smithfield's center cut bacon. For each slice, I cook 45 seconds; so if I have six slices, I'll cook the entire batch 5.75 seconds. If it needs a little more, just do so by 15 second intervals. Never fails. Sometimes it's the fat content from batch to batch that makes cooking times so inconsistent.

I've also purchase uncured bacon from the specialty shop, and it needs a little more time.

I usually go through a pound of bacon in 12 days; sometimes sooner. Yes, we all love our bacon!


Life can be arbitrary and comes without a warranty.

Re: We All Love Bacon but…

Try baking it. It's consistency is a little different, but it's a totally acceptable substitute. It's also the easiest way to cook a lot of it.

Re: We All Love Bacon but…

not all

Re: We All Love Bacon but…

It's only a crapshoot when you buy mass produced cellophane wrapped bacon from a large brand. Find a reputable butcher that sources and supplies good quality dry cured bacon and you'll get consistently good quality bacon 100% of the time.

Hearing someone mention cooking bacon in the oven, one favourite way of mine is break up a ciabatta loaf into small chunks by hand, just tear it into irregular chunks, place on a baking tray, drizzle with evoo and then just lay rashers of pancetta over the top, bake until the pancetta is crisp and bread turning golden at the edges, then let cool for a minute and tear the bacon up into smaller pieces, add the bacon and croutons to your favourite warm salad. Delicious with some rocket (arugula), red onion and tomato tossed through served with a poached egg on top.

Re: We All Love Bacon but…


Find a reputable butcher that sources and supplies good quality dry cured bacon and you'll get consistently good quality bacon 100% of the time


Not to mention at 3 times the cost...a price increase I can't afford. I'll stick to whatever's on sale.



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Re: We All Love Bacon but…

I just checked a local supermarket website, they sell two packs of 16 rashers (240g) of their premium dry cure streaky bacon for £5 (or £3 a pack each). 32 rashers of streaky dry cure bacon at my local butchers certainly doesn't cost anywhere near £15 which would be triple that, more like £7-8 max. There is always one constant though, you get what you pay for. I'll stick to quality and eat less.

Re: We All Love Bacon but…

Quality over quantity 10 times out of 10.

Re: We All Love Bacon but…

What I don't understand is WHY, after two weeks in my fridge, does bacon cook up much, much, better than it normally does? Could it be that some of the preservative chemicasl in it have somehow dissipated? Because after the two weeks it came out almost perfectly brown, crispy and delicious.




"Stick with me, baby, and you'll be fartin' thru silk."

Re: We All Love Bacon but…

They inject cheap bacon with saline, this has commonly been a method used globally for decades to produce cheaper bacon, most bacon on your local supermarket shelf has been injected with saline, it's cheaper because water increases the weight, the saving the consumer makes is therefore redundant.

Refrigerators speed up the evaporation process due to the fundamental nature of how they work, this is why you should never place bread (amongst other things) in a fridge, it will dry out and go hard very quickly. This same process will remove the saline from the bacon making it cook better, saline injected bacon cooks horribly as the saline leaks out as soon as you start trying to fry it, causing a nasty frothing mess in the pan.

Re: We All Love Bacon but…

I buy the Oscar Mayer Hardwood Smoked too! And I've also tried all kinds up to very expensive. Sometimes I find the more expensive to be too dy tasting or not salty enough.
One time when I bought the Oscar Mayer it was cut so perfectly, and so uniform you can't imagine my excitement! Lol. It turned out so beautiful, I wanted to serve it room temp on an antipasto platter with other delicacies..I didn't..but I did enjoy that bacon that day immensely. It was cut extra wide, 2x as wide as usual.
One thing I have found is the room temperature thing and I cook it slow, at medium low. And then the pan your using makes a difference too. Im thinking of buying an electric griddle just for bacon but I will research to see if thats a good idea first.

Re: We All Love Bacon but…

This morning I cooked up a generic brand that I found for $2.55 for a 1 lb package. It was delicious. I'll still always look for the best deals I can find.



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Re: We All Love Bacon but…


I buy the Oscar Mayer Hardwood Smoked too! And I've also tried all kinds up to very expensive. Sometimes I find the more expensive to be too dy tasting or not salty enough.

I know what you mean. It seems it's always a crapshoot no matter what kind of bacon you use. I'm grateful to have at least learned that. Heck, I even bought some bacon that cost $18.00 a pound once, thinking I was in for a sublime bacon experience, but...it was just okay, nothing special.

And then you read about the success No Socks Here has had with bargain bacon and all you can do is shake your head and wonder why.




One time when I bought the Oscar Mayer it was cut so perfectly, and so uniform you can't imagine my excitement! Lol. It turned out so beautiful,

Same here, but regrettably that only seems to happen only every once and a great while--like maybe once every 12 purchases for me.




One thing I have found is the room temperature thing and I cook it slow, at medium low. And then the pan your using makes a difference too. Im thinking of buying an electric griddle just for bacon but I will research to see if thats a good idea first.

All those things: cooking @ room temperature; cooking it low & slow; cooking on an electric griddle, have been on my mind as well in my "quest" for good-bacon-consistency.

I think the electric griddle may be a good idea because it gives you lots of room to cook the bacon. And we're told we're NOT to "crowd the pan" but to give the bacon plenty of room to "breathe" while cooking.



"Stick with me, baby, and you'll be fartin' thru silk."

Re: We All Love Bacon but…

I'm fortunate to have a local store with an old fashioned butcher. He always offers bacon for a good price and slices it right in front of you.

I'm not sure why it cooks better after being in the frig after a while. I'll ask the butcher next time I'm buying bacon.

To do is to be - Socrates
To be is to do - Descartes
Do be do be - Sinatra

Re: We All Love Bacon but…

I wonder if it's because it starts to dry out once the package is opened. Maybe having less moisture helps it to cook up crispier than when it is fresh out of the package.

I only think of this because i was watching a cooking show and they suggested blotting meat before roasting it to help it form a crust on the outside.



Fraaaank. FRANK! Get my jean bin. Susie wants my jeans.
No she doesnt.


Re: We All Love Bacon but…


I wonder if it's because it starts to dry out once the package is opened. Maybe having less moisture helps it to cook up crispier than when it is fresh out of the package.

I only think of this because i was watching a cooking show and they suggested blotting meat before roasting it to help it form a crust on the outside.

Who knows? I remember seeing some fellow who owned a meat company saying that most people overcook their bacon.

He goes on to say (paraphrased) that:

"If you drape a piece of cooked bacon over your index finger and the two ends DO NOT almost touch, then you've overcooked your bacon."


Well, I'll tell you, if that's his idea of proper bacon then I hope I'm never invited to breakfast at his house. Maybe it's this kind of thinking by some of the people responsible for our bacon is what leads to all this inconsistency?



"Stick with me, baby, and you'll be fartin' thru silk."

Re: We All Love Bacon but…


"If you drape a piece of cooked bacon over your index finger and the two ends DO NOT almost touch, then you've overcooked your bacon."


Nope, I can't (and won't) eat soggy, limp bacon. When I put a bacon strip on my sammich or on my plate next to my fried eggs it'd better be very stiff! LOL



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Re: We All Love Bacon but…


Nope, I can't (and won't) eat soggy, limp bacon. When I put a bacon strip on my sammich or on my plate next to my fried eggs it'd better be very stiff! LOL

Right? Just the thought of slimy, soggy, bacon makes me slightly nauseous.

When I order bacon & eggs I always tell the waitress "two eggs, over (easy), bacon...crisp, but not like 'tree bark' crisp..."

And you know, (the thought just occurred to me) whenever I order B&E for breakfast at a diner, or someplace like Dennys or The Waffle House et al. it's ALWAYS PERFECT!

What do they know that we don't I wonder?



"Stick with me, baby, and you'll be fartin' thru silk."

Re: We All Love Bacon but…


What do they know that we don't I wonder?


LOL If we knew, we'd be them!



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Re: We All Love Bacon but…

Life is too short to eat soggy bacon.

I'm guessing that Denny's and diners cook it perfect because they have that extremely hot flat top grill and don't care if the stuff splatters, so they don't cover it.

Fraaaank. FRANK! Get my jean bin. Susie wants my jeans.
No she doesnt.


Re: We All Love Bacon but…

nosocks has the right idea. Bake your bacon in the oven...I place the strips on a flat baking sheet with a one inch border to make sure the grease doesn't run. I like mine crispy and when done, I drain the grease and pat the strips with a paper towel. Baking it is the right idea...
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