The bacon It is a common product of Anglo-Saxon breakfasts, especially American, accompanying eggs, pancakes, waffles or a simple coffee. We have often seen characters from movies and series rush out taking it with them to drink on the go like someone who eats some cookies, and it is that they triumph there in its crunchiest form and versatile.
Although it is not one of our favorite breakfasts, the technique to cook very crunchy bacon is very practical to prepare large quantities in one sitting with minimal effort, thus having reserves that we can take advantage of in a multitude of dishes. Although it is much richer freshly made, once cooked it can be keep for several days in the fridge, being a very tasty dressing to brighten up from creams and soups to salads or stews.
How to cook bacon: the traditional method
Raw bacon, or smoked bacon, must be cooked before consumption, and its traditional and most obvious form is simply using the pan or griddle, nonstick or cast iron. Since it is already a very fatty product, it is not necessary to add oil or butter to it, since the heat releases its own fats as it cooks.
It is not necessary to preheat the pan, and in fact it is better to arrange the slices directly in its cold surface, letting the progressive increase in temperature begin to release the fat. It is recommended to use a fire at medium power, turning the pieces until they are at the desired point.
But lovers of very crunchy bacon will enjoy more with the results obtained in the oven, allowing us to prepare various packages at the same time. A frying pan, no matter how large, does not offer us much cooking surface.
The best way to cook crispy bacon
Our revered culinary guru J. Kenji López conducted a detailed analysis of methods to cook bacon “for a crowd,” and concluded that the easiest solution is the best. We are in luck, there is no need to complicate this time to achieve the dream results.
We recommend to take advantage of that we turn on the oven to cook other dishes, such as roasted vegetables, roasted nuts, or if we plan to bake some sweets or bread, string together preparations.
It is not necessary to wait to preheat the oven, but we can start turning it on now, 200ºC with or without air. If we put the fan, they will take less time but we have to watch them more. In the event that our oven is very powerful, it may be advisable to lower the temperature to 180ºC, and if it lacks some strength, raise it to 220ºC.
Cover with nonstick baking paper or aluminum foil one or two refractory trays or dishes, better if they are not deep and have raised edges. Arrange the bacon slices, as many as there are without overlapping one on top of the other.
Bake until bacon is to the desired point of toasting, monitoring it after 15 minutes. Let it drain on kitchen paper to save the fat on the tray to store it in an airtight jar; it will add a lot of flavor to stews, stews, dressings and sauces.
With what to accompany the crispy bacon
Once drained of the fat, the crispy bacon can be eaten as a snack protein -and very fatty- directly with the hands, American style, although in our case we prefer to use it to enrich other dishes. It is perfect to complement salads like Chicken Cobb, and also any variant of Caesar or a Louisiana salad. When it cools down, and if we have not toasted it excessively, it is slightly flexible and will give a lot of power to the filling of hamburgers, sandwiches and sandwiches, and chopped or chopped it is perfect to top any vegetable cream, pasta or a creamy vegetable dish.
If we grind it or we crush With the mortar, adjusting the texture, we will have an intense flavor dressing ideal for enriching broths, soups, dressings, meat marinades, mayonnaise or any sauce. We can also dare with the sweet world, something very common in the United States. The bacon creates surprising pairings with desserts of chocolate, cheesecakes or buttercream toppings.
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