Bacon

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After *Legion* supplied the idea of threads that may not deserve a topic I decided to chance this one.

Bacon

Probably one of the most delectable all day treats. Everyone likes their bacon differently but a majority of Americans and Europeans eat it, and it is the forbidden "fruit" of some cultures who look at eating bacon like an illicit act. So I was wondering how everyone enjoys their bacon and if people love bacon as much as I do.

This Thanksgiving I am cooking two turkeys. One is traditional.

The other is a turkey with a sage/herb butter under the skin, topped in thick peppered bacon, and then covered in maple syrup. The bacon flakes as the turkey cooks which will allow me to use that sweet peppered bacon in my cooked spinach salad. That is after a breakfast of bacon, and a possible BLT for lunch.

We are all connected by Bacon. Even Kevin Bacon.

Don't we already have two other bacon threads?

Though that bacon turkey dinner sounds nice. I take it after teasing us we're all invited?

Bacon is indeed one of the great discoveries of our time.

You should probably check out bacon.reddit.com.

Bacong

I do not like bacon at all. I cannot stand even the very smell of fried bacon, and avoid being near the places where it's being cooked. As the stench of burning fat and bubbling tallow fills my nostrils, I feel the cholesterol particles osmoting through the mucus membranes of my nasal passages straight into my bloodstream, and the mere thinking of this makes me shiver.

Gorilla.800.lbs wrote:

I do not like bacon at all.

You have no soul.

You know what my wife made for supper last night? Bacon, Eggs, and French Toast. Mmmmm

I have always loved breakfast foods at all times of the day, so she suprised me with it when I got home. And the kids said she was the best Mom ever. I had to agree.

Bacon Twits - A Twitter feed containing nothing but tweets about bacon

And this? I don't know.

Aries wrote:

You know what my wife made for supper last night? Bacon, Eggs, and French Toast. Mmmmm

I have always loved breakfast foods at all times of the day, so she suprised me with it when I got home. And the kids said she was the best Mom ever. I had to agree.

Mmmm Brinner... Breakfast for dinner... now that is awesome.

There are enough threads revolving around bacon, I think my arteries just clogged.
I'm actually not a huge bacon fan. I don't hate it, but I rarely like to eat it.

Gorilla.800.lbs wrote:

I do not like bacon at all. I cannot stand even the very smell of fried bacon, and avoid being near the places where it's being cooked. As the stench of burning fat and bubbling tallow fills my nostrils, I feel the cholesterol particles osmoting through the mucus membranes of my nasal passages straight into my bloodstream, and the mere thinking of this makes me shiver.

I don't like it very cooked. There's a point at which the smell takes a quick turn towards burnt fat that smells as much like sadness as yesterday's tequila.

I like bacon when its done right - extra crispy without the annoying greasy smell. Does anyone know a good way to make bacon that way?

Thirteenth wrote:

I like bacon when its done right - extra crispy without the annoying greasy smell. Does anyone know a good way to make bacon that way?

Grill it?

[edit]Also, thick bacon helps. It's difficult to get unless you go to a butchers.... damn supermarket stuff seems to be getting thinner every year and yet my family over in Canada are complaining about the thickness of their bacon compared with the 'proper' stuff we get over here! Back in my youth i used to get smoked back bacon with rind on that was 1/8th inch thick (and didn't get thinner when you cooked it!) and fry/grill that on saturday morning. It's almost impossible to get that at a supermarket these days.....

I rarely if ever eat if due to it being unhealthy, but boy is it freakin awesome!

Thirteenth wrote:

I like bacon when its done right - extra crispy without the annoying greasy smell. Does anyone know a good way to make bacon that way?

Turkey bacon in the microwave between sheets of paper towel.

Thirteenth wrote:

I like bacon when its done right - extra crispy without the annoying greasy smell. Does anyone know a good way to make bacon that way?

Buy good bacon - butcher's cut, as Duoae recommends. Good bacon has a higher meat/fat ratio, and won't shrivel away to nothing as the fat melts. I've made bacon in the microwave but it's so superior when you fry it in a pan.

Edwin wrote:
Thirteenth wrote:

I like bacon when its done right - extra crispy without the annoying greasy smell. Does anyone know a good way to make bacon that way?

Turkey bacon in the microwave between sheets of paper towel.

Thanks, I'll try that first.

Duoae wrote:

Grill it?

I'm guessing with that I'm supposed to just let the grease drip off, but it's going to be hell cleaning the oven later on. Is there a way to minimize the mess?

I'll sprinkle a generous layer of pepper before grilling, and wrap them around, oh, let's say asparagus. Couple that with some hearty over-medium... Man, breakfast tomorrow can't come quickly enough.

For those who don't know -- Bacon Salt.

"We think that everything should taste like bacon."

Thirteenth wrote:
Edwin wrote:
Thirteenth wrote:

I like bacon when its done right - extra crispy without the annoying greasy smell. Does anyone know a good way to make bacon that way?

Turkey bacon in the microwave between sheets of paper towel.

Thanks, I'll try that first.

I have to link to my favorite food blog here. You know, just in case it's too advanced :P.

Brennil wrote:
Thirteenth wrote:

I like bacon when its done right - extra crispy without the annoying greasy smell. Does anyone know a good way to make bacon that way?

Buy good bacon - butcher's cut, as Duoae recommends. Good bacon has a higher meat/fat ratio, and won't shrivel away to nothing as the fat melts. I've made bacon in the microwave but it's so superior when you fry it in a pan.

I think Ralph's has some decent quality, thick bacon. They're slightly pricier than the generic brands, but it'll be all worth it once I get a handle on preparing them the right way. I'll have to locate a butcher's place nearby too.

KrazyTacoFO wrote:

I rarely if ever eat if due to it being unhealthy, but boy is it freakin awesome!

IMAGE(http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/stove_ownership.png)

Gorilla.800.lbs wrote:

For those who don't know -- Bacon Salt.

"We think that everything should taste like cheap artificial bacon flavoring."

FTFY.

Gorilla.800.lbs wrote:

For those who don't know -- Bacon Salt.

"We think that everything should taste like bacon."

The only thing better than bacon salt:

Baconnaise

KrazyTacoFO wrote:

I rarely if ever eat if due to it being unhealthy, but boy is it freakin awesome!

Same here. Pork is out of my diet. Being from Jersey, the grandson of a German immigrant, I was raised on smoked bacon, Taylor Ham, and dozens of different types of sausages, wursts, etc.

Now it's all beef bacon, beef short ribs, smoked beef brisket, etc.

But man do I miss it.

Oh, I should also note that I have made actual chocolate-covered bacon and tried this candy bar. They work pretty well, but it is very dependent on the quality and type of ingredients you use. Dark chocolate + smoky bacon is not all that tasty.

Ah I love the bacon I get from my local butcher. She doesn't even cut it, so I get to decide how thick to make it. To make it even better she leaves the skin on as well :).

bacon wins every time

Also, I tend to do mine up in a frying pan, but add brown sugar so that it becomes what I affectionately call candy bacon. It is a bit of a sticky mess when placed on paper towels to get rid of grease and I usually end up with a couple shreds of paper towel added to my meal, but it's ooohhh so good!

Edwin wrote:
Thirteenth wrote:

I like bacon when its done right - extra crispy without the annoying greasy smell. Does anyone know a good way to make bacon that way?

Turkey bacon in the microwave between sheets of paper towel.

But turkey bacon is not bacon. It's just bacon-flavored turkey!

A secret to cooking bacon is to put away that frying pan and get out a baking sheet (with sides) and a metal cooling rack. The rack goes on the baking sheet and the bacon goes on the rack (you can add some foil at on the baking sheet to make clean up easier).

Pre-heat your oven to about 400 degrees and pop in your bacon for 15 to 20 minutes, depending how chewy or crispy you want it. All the delicious bacon fat falls away from the bacon as it cooks, so you end up with a less greasy final product. The added bonus is that all the pieces of bacon are perfectly flat, making them ideal for sandwich construction.

I cook bacon by putting a cooling rack on a cookie sheet and putting it in the oven, it takes it bit longer than frying (about 20 minutes) but the fat falls off into the cookie sheet annd you can do a good job of getting it soft or crunchy depending on your tastes.

Zaque wrote:

Ah I love the bacon I get from my local butcher. She doesn't even cut it, so I get to decide how thick to make it. To make it even better she leaves the skin on as well :).

Agreed the uncut bacon from a butcher is nice. You can slice it as you see fit. Also I found for perfect softer bacon if you have you get the store brand, add a little butter to the cooking process making it a little softer and as you can guess a whole lot healthier. If anyone wants that bacon wrapped turkey recipe I can post it here or PM ya....or if you're on the Xmas trade list I'll send you the leftovers!

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