Chopped Bacon - When do you chop? (baking, potato, cookie)
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When using a recipe that calls for small bits of bacon, say in a salad or a baked potato, do you fry the bacon first then chop it, or do you cut it up first and cook it in the smaller size?
I generally cook it crispy and then crumble. I have diced and cooked. Either way will work. Thicker cuts of bacon may work better by dicing before cooking. I normally only use thin sliced for my uses.
I generally cut first, then fry. I find that cooking long strips of bacon makes it difficult to get them evenly crisp the entire length; there's always a couple of ends that sort of wrap up the side of the pan, and they stay mushy while everything else is cooked crispy-good. I also think it's easier to stir them around in bits.
At the same time, though, we generally do buy the thick-cut bacon, and as Noma correctly points out, thin-cut bacon does behave differently.
I generally dice first; I am usually in a hurry as the crew is already sitting around the table and I don't have time to wait for the bacon to cool so I can crumble it.
Thanks for the feedback everyone. I ended up chopping it first which I think I prefer but it was more difficult to get it all out of the pan.
Try scraping it all into a coarse strainer and letting the grease drain that way into a bowl. I save most of the grease for the dogs and squirrels in the winter, it's cheaper than feeding peanut butter to wildlife, and they love it. It's easy and fast, and if you want the bacon bits cooler, empty the strainer onto a paper towel to blot up more of the grease. Any little dark bits will stick to the paper.
Try scraping it all into a coarse strainer and letting the grease drain that way into a bowl. I save most of the grease for the dogs and squirrels in the winter, it's cheaper than feeding peanut butter to wildlife, and they love it. It's easy and fast, and if you want the bacon bits cooler, empty the strainer onto a paper towel to blot up more of the grease. Any little dark bits will stick to the paper.
That's brilliant! I will definitely try that next time, thanks!
I buy 3 lbs. of thick cut bacon from the butcher at a time then I bring it home lay it in single layers on cookie sheets to freeze. Separate layers with parchment paper so it doesn't stick together. Once frozen I put it in gallon zippie freezer bags then I take out what I need at a time. I load up my baking sheet and bake it in the oven around 300°. No turning, no splattering and save the grease in my crock in the fridge.
If I need to chop it for a recipe it is easy to do since it is frozen.
Keep a package of bacon in the freeaer, too. When you need bacon pieces, just get it out and cut some off cross-wise as thin as you want them. (bacon cuts easy when frozen). They will separate in the pan, and already be cut up.
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Originally Posted by Jaxson
I buy 3 lbs. of thick cut bacon from the butcher at a time then I bring it home lay it in single layers on cookie sheets to freeze. Separate layers with parchment paper so it doesn't stick together. Once frozen I put it in gallon zippie freezer bags then I take out what I need at a time. I load up my baking sheet and bake it in the oven around 300°. No turning, no splattering and save the grease in my crock in the fridge.
If I need to chop it for a recipe it is easy to do since it is frozen.
I bake mine too but I dont freeze it. I agree baking is the way to go. I hate the mess it makes when you cook it on the stove.
Basicly I make my own precooked bacon. When I bake it I under cook it just a tad. Then I lay 4-5 strips on a paper towel and stack them. These will keep in ziplocs in the frig for quite a while. . When I want some bacon I nuke some in the microwave for a min. Just like the precooked stuff only better.
Oops. I forgot. I crumble it after I nuke it.
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, and they love it. It's easy and fast, and if you want the bacon bits cooler, empty the strainer onto a paper towel to blot up more of the grease. Any little dark bits will stick to the paper.
