A post from Kelli–
One thing that’s nice about working 12 hour shifts is that I usually then have one day to get caught up on sleep and a few more days to do what I want (unless I pick up more nursing shifts at the nursing home or have something going on.) With Jason farming, I can never quite know when to expect him in. He might come in at 10 wanting lunch or to just grab a handful or two of chips. He might stop in to try and nap for 20 minutes at 4 and want a quick supper, but the next day he might leave at 6 in the morning and then come home at 11 at night.
On the days that I don’t work, it’s pretty common that he’ll stop in atleast once so I try to have something in mind to make if he wants something to eat. The other thing about Jason is that he’s a self-proclaimed picky eater, so usually it’s easy to just make whatever he requests, or something that an 8 year old would like.
Today, he came in a bit after 10 and seemed kind of bummed. I told him I was feeling a bit better (I’ve had a nasty cold for about 6 days) and he told me that one of the tractors blew up (not literally, but likely blew the motor) so he was going to town to get parts and asked if I’d make BLT’s for when he came home. I knew I had bacon in the freezer and so that’s what I started making.
A while back on facebook, I saw a post of some kind saying that if you rinsed bacon with cold water before frying it that it didn’t shrink as much. As with most things, I took this with a grain of salt, but always wanted to try it–WELL TODAY WAS THE DAY!
When I make BLT’s I usually chop the bacon in half and go from there cause it ends up being about the same size as bread. I threw the first half in the skillet and fried them up. When I flipped them, they got all shrivelly and I got annoyed. I rinsed the second half in cold water for maybe 20 seconds or so and threw them in the pan after the first batch was done. When I went to flip them, I was very pleasantly surprised! They didn’t shrivel up and stayed pretty much the same size!
The rinsed bacon is on the left and the non-rinsed bacon is on the right. The only thing that I wasn’t too excited about was that the rinsed bacon didn’t seem to crisp up as easily, but I’m not to picky about my bacon as long as it’s cooked.
So the verdict? If you like crispy bacon, maybe not, but I’ll be doing it again! Facebook wins in this case…not so much in others of course. Like a video I saw posted that people were going to do a head transplant. Obviously use a bit of discretion, but I suppose I’ll try another facebook experiment in the future!
I get annoyed with twisty, shrivelly bacon also. But I do like it very crispy, so no cold water rinse for me.
I always put mine in the oven. Some put on a rack but I like it better if it bakes in the grease. I line the baking sheet with foil and bake at 400 for maybe 20 minutes. It stays straight and flat and gets crispy. Try it. You don’t even have to turn it. pam
I agree with Pam, I put mine in the oven at 375, for about a half an hour, more or less depending on how you like it crispy or chewy. I also put it on a rack in a old cookie sheet I save for baking bacon, or line the pan with foil. It’s the best and I won’t ever go back to a skillet. Frees up the stove, don’t have to babysit the skillet, I can fit a whole pound on my rack, so I get a lot done at the same time, and doesn’t smell up the house as bad.
Yep, oven for me. I line the pan with foil for easy cleanup. No rack so it cooks in the grease for crisper bacon. I flip it about halfway through. I do a whole pound and freeze what we don’t use in a couple days. Pop in microwave to gently reheat.
You are a Hoot, Kelli Jo!! Love ya!
My husband likes to cook the bacon on foil outside on the propane grill. It turns out good but does need to be watched. No mess in the house. I grew up on a farm and lived on one for a few years after we were married. I remember those days of late evening meals. But they were almost always home at noon for a big meal. I learned at any early age how to have all the food ready at noon so they could eat and get back to work!!
The oven for sure. Put the bacon on a jelly roll type pan( cookie sheet size with sides) lined with aluminum foil, put in a cold oven set at 400 degrees and cook for 25 to 28 minutes for regular bacon and about 32 minutes for thick bacon. You roll up the foil when you’re done and it’s pretty much a no mess way to make bacon. My hubby has perfected this method and make the best BLTs!
I tried the oven method recently, and while the bacon is crispy, it does not have quite the same taste as when it is fried. I did not use foil, but used parchment paper – it worked just fine. Also in the oven – it doesn’t splatter and burn you when it cooks!
I put my cold bacon in the fry pan with some water. Turn it to high until the water cooks off and then let the bacon crisp. Love the trick :) Doesn’t shrink as much and gets crisp.