Monday, November 6, 2017

Best Bulk-Baked Bacon


Oh, My, Bacon!


For my tiny family of two, we go through a lot of bacon:


I have been trying to eat low carb for a while and one of my favorite parts of this way of eating is that BACON is not off limits. We love our bacon and have a few slices a day each. I also like to keep some on hand to toss into salads or our other meals as well but I hate to cook it. More specifically, I hate to pan-fry it. We love bacon, but we hate our house to smell like it all the time. So, I found a method that works better for us.

I buy and bake my bacon in bulk in the oven once a month and I wanted to share how I do it with you!

Prep your pan:


We'll be cooking a few pounds of bacon and a larger pan makes quick work of it. I like to use these large pasta pans from the super center. The higher sides keep most of the splatter down to help make cleanup easier and the pan is disposable so we have virtually no cleanup when we're done :-)

Unroll a length of aluminum foil about 6 inches longer than the pan and roll it up into a log the length of the bottom of the pan. Make three of these total to support the center and ends of our bacon slices.

pick one corner of the pan and pinch it into a spout so we can collect all the rendered fat after each batch has finished cooking. 


  


Add Bacon and Prep Draining Mat:


Add your aluminum logs to the pan and lay out strips of bacon. You can squeeze them in pretty close together, they'll shrink a bit during cooking. Make note of the time. Your cooking time will vary but you can use your first batch to time the subsequent batches as long as you're using the same brand/thickness. I try to flip the bacon abut 10 or 15 minutes in.

Pull out another sheet of aluminum foil a little larger than a couple of paper towels and lay it on your counter top. Add two layers of paper towels on top of the foil. This is where your cooked bacon will drain and cool until you're ready to pack. 



Prepare your Pack:


Your bacon will survive just fine in the freezer until you're ready to eat it. I store mine between layers of parchment in a freezer bag.

Start with a Gallon size freezer bag and measure and cut multiple sheets of parchment slightly smaller than the bag. I usually need about 8 sheets. Add more or cut fewer depending on how much bacon you're cooking. 

 

Finish the first batch and repeat:


Once your bacon is cooked to your liking, pull the pan out of the oven and transfer your slices onto your draining mat. Use additional layers of paper towels between each layer of bacon.

Move the aluminum logs onto your draining mat and pour the rendered bacon fat into a jar for use later. Add the logs back into the pan, add new bacon slices and repeat the cooking process until you've cooked all of your bacon. 








Store your Bacon:


Once the bacon has cooled, begin to layer it in the freezer bag separating each layer with the parchment paper sheets. This method will allow you to pull out individual slices of bacon whenever you need them. Make sure to keep the pieces separated into layers. If the bacon sticks together in the freezer it will be harder to separate without breaking. 



Cooling Bacon

 To use your bacon


I like to warm them back up again in my NuWave oven (3 minutes on each side is perfect for me) or in the microwave for 8-12 seconds. Also, you can use kitchen shears to slice the frozen pieces directly into your salads or recipes and its perfect by the time you're ready to eat.


Oh, Beautiful! 


Clean-up:


This is the fastest part of the whole process! Once you've packed away all your bacon, pile the paper towels and the aluminum sheet under it that you used to drain the bacon slices into your pan to absorb all the rest of the oil. Roll the whole thing up and you're done. 

 


 

And an added Bonus:


Once you're finished cooking you're left with some amazing rendered bacon fat. I keep mine in my fridge in the jar. Whenever I saute veggies or eggs, this is what I start with. You can also melt it into recipes that call for melted butter to give an extra salty/savory kick to your meals. 


What about you guys?:


Is there a technique that you use to get the most out of your cooking time? 
Any useful hints to make our prepping lives easier?

I look forward to hearing from you. 

Happy Crafting!