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Monday, January 9, 2023

PUTTING UP BACON

After several of you mentioned freezing cooked bacon a while back. we started doing that.

Wow, it's wonderful and easy.

We lay on a foil/parchment lined baking sheet.  We did try it on a rack a few times but there was no real difference in the outcome and we don't want to clean a messy rack, ha.  For us, this works just fine, but feel free to use a rack.  We put it in cold and let it heat up with the oven and cook it fast at 400 degrees, about 20 minutes usually, or until your preferred doneness.

Missed the picture of pulling them off the pan after they were cooked on the batch in the first picture so the next time we did it, I got this picture.  Here they are, ready to go.  You can see, not oily or floppy, they are just how we like them.  We take them off the pan shortly after they are out of the oven and let them cool.  We also save any rendered bacon fat because, well, hello, BACON FAT!

After we pour off any fat we want to save, the heavy duty foil and parchment just fold up into a neat package, leaving the sheet pan shiny and clean and ready for another day.  Without using a rack, there is literally nothing we have to clean up after we are done.


I cut up some squares of parchment paper that are about the size of the gallon ziplock baggie and put them into layers (to prevent sticking and keep them flat).


Then I just start loading them in, layer by layer.


We ended up with three layers of bacon.  We don't vacuum seal of course (as we are fond of doing) because that would leave us with bacon bits, ha, so this is such a good way to have bacon on hand when we need it.  I popped this in the freezer on a Saturday and on Sunday morning, 2nd Man made some biscuits and I put 4 slices in the microwave for 20 seconds and we had fresh, hot, wonderful bacon.

It's the best way to keep bacon on hand.


27 comments:

  1. Great idea! I like your idea of baking the bacon. I fry it and it can be messy. I have frozen bacon, but usually just a few extra pieces when I’m already frying some.
    I also love vacuum sealing. I wonder if I froze the cooked bacon for a day or so until it’s solid, if I then vacuum sealed it, would it keep its shape or crumble. I’ll have to experiment.

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    1. And by letting it heat up with the oven it doesn't splatter in the oven like you might think it would. Hmm, good question. Probably depends on how much you cooked it. If you made it crispy, it might break even after frozen. but you know, that's a good experiment. I could actually take a few slices out and try that.

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  2. Your bacon looks perfect. We freeze bacon too, having it already cooked and on hand ready to use is so convenient. One of our Christmas gifts was a ten pound box of bacon ....lol
    Jo

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    1. A TEN POUND BOX? Be still my heart! Now that's a gift ha. It really is so convenient for cooking AND snacking ha.

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  3. That's the best way to do bacon. Having things like this prepared ahead of time really helps.

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    1. It really does and bacon is one of those things you can put in so many dishes but having to get out bacon and fry it and cook it is one of those things that this really makes it a game changer.

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    2. Next time you do this; sprinkle on just a little brown sugar before you put in the oven.

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  4. I should try that. It would be nice to have bacon on hand. Last year I made my own vanilla extract using your instructions. It's so good. It took my Christmas cookie baking to a new level.

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. Oh how wonderful to comment. Speaking of, might be time for me soon to start another bottle for 2nd Man to have it ready in the Summer. Yes, doing bacon like this makes it so easy to just use in any dish you are making.

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  5. I commend your strength. I guarantee i would begin to nibble...and nibble....well the rest would be a tragedy. I am better off cutting a chunk off the end and have little stubby pieces.

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    1. Well, now, we have to admit, not ALL of it made it to the freezer, ha.

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  6. I like Carol's idea of little stubby pieces...lol. Really, I have been meaning to bake some bacon. Maybe I will now since I want the bacon in the picture.

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    1. That is a good idea isn't it? We'll have to try that too. Enjoy your bacon!

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  7. I save bacon grease, I have a small jar in the frig and when I make bacon, I let the grease cool a bit and pour it in the jar. My Mom had a small metal canister on the back of her stove. It had a strainer in it to catch the small bits of bacon. I think most people back years ago always saved the Grease to season veggies. My daughter always saves it and my SIL said no one is to touch her bacon grease. It makes really good gravy, a little flour and some milk. We used a lot of lard as I grew up on a farm and had our own pigs to butcher.

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    1. I remember my Grandmother having a metal canister for bacon fat. We do keep ours in the fridge though, the way it solidifies and you can just scoop out what you need. It's an amazing flavor addition. And yes, gravy made with bacon fat...oh wow.

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  8. I'm really lazy and buy the partially cooked bacon that I zap in the microwave. The packaging for that is much like what you're doing to freeze your strips. Yum Bacon! Could never give it up.

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    1. Bacon is one my most favorite things. We have bought that bacon before and once we started doing this, we realized we could use our favorite bacon brands and varieties and keep it around as we need it. Someday when we have a bigger freezer, we'll have a lot more on hand, ha.

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  9. That is the way I used to do bacon. But none of it lasted long enough to make it to the freezer.

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    1. LOL, well not ALL of the package made it to the freezer here either, ha. It is so good huh?

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  10. 'Bacon is the answer; I just don't remember the question'

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  11. Looks really good, well done. Greetings!

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    1. Hello and welcome!! And thank you. It is definitely good. :-)

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  12. Guess I need to get busy and freeze some bacon as well...It's Very handy to have around!
    hugs
    Donna

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    1. Was just coming here to look at the temp we used (I forgot) and saw these comments I missed. Thanks, it's always nice to have bacon around isn't it? Ha. Hugs back to you!

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  13. What a great tip!! I've always wanted to batch cook bacon to have for later just so I can get the smelly bacon smell over with and still have "fresh" bacon another day. Going to try this!

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    1. We're not sure why we didn't do this before but now that we do, we love it. It's nice to have 'fresh' bacon without having your house smell like bacon (though that's not ALWAYS a bad thing, ha.).

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