Bacon: salty, sizzling, delicious ambrosia that is the cholesterol fiend to the arteries of all mortal humans. Once having partaken of the crispy delight, it’s hard to live without it. However, whatever way this breakfast meat ends up on the plate in your kitchen, it’s never as lively as what you can get at a fine grease covered dining establishment.
That can be changed, and it can be changed quite easily. There are many ways to cook a slice of processed salted pork stomach rather than just slapping it on a smoking hot griddle. To be honest, a smoking hot griddle is probably the worst way to do it, so here are five methods to cook bacon:
The Tastiest: The Cold Skillet
Common culinary logic dictates that the best way to fry any type of meat is to throw it on a greased skillet heated to medium high. When done this way, most meats will hit the pan, and the outside will instantly start to cook, creating a golden crust to the meat that helps it not stick to the pan and also retain moisture inside.
With a fatty meat like bacon, this technique results in a chewy under-cooked end result. When cooked at a high heat, the fat inside the bacon does not properly render, that is to say, the fat does not transform from its solid state to its liquid one. This means that there is more fat in the meat resulting in a chewy texture.
Thus, when cooking a fatty meat, or a well-marbled ground meat, it's best to start it off on a cold skillet and turn the heat on medium high. This slowly warms the bacon and allows that fat to fully render, which in turn lets the bacon fry in its own fat. When fried in its own fat, the bacon is essentially frying throughout the entire piece of meat, effectively creating a state similar to deep frying. This will create a browned piece of meat that is crisp and ready to eat.
To start, place the bacon on a cold skillet and leave about an inch between each strip, or rash, of bacon. In doing so, the bacon has space to cook and allow the steam to escape so that the meat is properly fried. Too close together and the steam will fill in the space, causing the bacon to steam rather than fry.
If the bacon touches the edge of the pan, squeeze a small section of the strip together in the middle so that the majority of the strip is flat against the pan for even browning. Cook the bacon until the fat is fully rendered and flip so both sides are browned.
Once evenly browned or to the desired crispness, take the bacon and place it in a bowl lined with paper to mop up excess fat.
An interesting tool that can aid in this process is called the “bacon press,” also known as a flat iron. Essentially, it looks like an iron used to press clothes. By putting this weighted object on top the bacon it creates a flat surface that allows the bacon to cook evenly.
The Best All-Rounder: Grilling
Bacon is a messy thing to cook. The amount of fat present when cooking makes it so that in a normal low-wall frying pan the grease will escape from the pan and into the local cooking area. Some grease is also carried up with the steam and onto different parts of the kitchen wall and ceiling.
To avoid this, grilling is a quality alternative. While the flavor you get from the Maillard Reaction, that is browning, won't be as strong, a grill does a good job of browning. The excess fat will also drip of the meat creating a healthier product.
To start, place the bacon on a cold grill and turn the flame to medium on propane grills. From here, cook the bacon on a medium heat until the fat renders. Once rendered, flip the bacon so that each side is browned. Serve the bacon in a paper towel lined bowl.
Best For Large Batches: Baking
If you need to make a large batch of bacon, a skillet won't do. Unless you have a large grill, that won't do either. Instead, make it in an oven. This approach is similar to grilling in process. The bacon is placed on a rack/drip pan baking dish. The bacon is rested on top of the rack, and the drip pan below it is lined with tin foil to keep it clean.
The pan is placed into a cold oven which is then turned up to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. If using a convection oven, make sure to turn the fan on. Watch the bacon, and as soon as it reaches the desired crispness, take it out.
It should be noted that you can broil the bacon with a low-broil heat to get an effect similar to frying it on a skillet. I don't recommend this, it will cause the bacon to sputter and spit resulting in grease getting on the walls of the oven and the heating element. This will smoke up the entire kitchen and give the oven black spots. In general, broiling is a bad idea because of mishaps like this. It's best for finishing off and crisping dishes, not cooking them.
Microwave: Why?
Yes, bacon can be microwaved. Why should this be done? There is no reasonable explanation aside from saving time. It creates a pale chewy piece of fat that is improperly rendered and unappetizing.
Regardless, to cook bacon in a microwave, put it in a tall bowl lined with paper towels with the bacon laid up against the side of the bowl. Make sure an inch is between each of the strips. Microwave on high for a minute at a time, checking on the bacon and flipping it between minutes, until reaching the intended crispness.
Best for the Overly Health Conscious: Parboiling Bacon
Boiling bacon sounds wrong, and it is, but parboiling bacon isn't a bad option. Placing bacon in boiling water for thirty seconds to a minute will help get rid of excess fat and salt from the strip and prevent it from sputtering grease when frying it.
To parboil bacon, simply put it in boiling water for thirty seconds to a minute then take it out and drain the water off with a paper towel. The next step is to fry it. Because the bacon has been partially cooked, it will no longer render the required fat to fry itself on the skillet. Thus, oiling the skillet and preheating it in this case is required. Once on the hot skillet, cook the bacon to the desired crispness.
