What is bacon? What dishes can you cook with it? Bacon - what it is and how to cook it at home. How to cook bacon in the microwave.

If you've ever ordered bacon and eggs for breakfast at a restaurant, you've probably wondered how they fry the bacon so that it's perfectly crispy even when it's cold. After googling the Internet a little, I finally found several options for preparing fried bacon, one of which I will now show you.

To prepare fried bacon in a frying pan, we will need a package of thinly sliced ​​bacon. The weight of the package depends on your appetite.

Cut the bacon into manageable pieces. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Place bacon in a dry frying pan.

When the bacon begins to cook, immediately pour 2-3 tablespoons of water into the pan. There is another option when the bacon is washed under running water. I tried both options, there is no difference in the end, my option is just simpler.

Once the water has evaporated, turn the heat to low and cook the bacon until the fat has rendered.

The bacon needs to be turned over from time to time.

Place cooked bacon on a paper towel to remove excess fat.

This is the kind of fried bacon that is added to ready-made meals, sandwiches and burgers in various cafes and fast foods.

I want to say right away that before taking the final photo, I left the bacon for about an hour - I was very interested in whether it would remain crispy and what its appearance would be. In general, I was pleased with the result.

Now you know how to properly fry bacon in a frying pan. Enjoy!

And also, when cooled down, it is a perfectly crispy snack to go with beer.

Bacon is a special meat product, a part of a pork carcass without bones and cartilage, from the side of a specially fattened animal. Layers of meat in bacon are interspersed with thin layers of lard. used for preparing various dishes: scrambled eggs, sandwiches, various snacks, salads, soups, etc.

You can buy ready-cooked smoked bacon or cook it at home, so you will be absolutely sure of the cooking methods and quality.

We'll tell you how to cook bacon at home; these recipes, one might say, are traditional for our rural residents, time-tested methods and technologies.

Homemade cured bacon

Ingredients:

  • raw pork bacon with skin – about 2 kg;
  • table salt – about 500 g;
  • dry ground spices (coriander seeds, cloves, bay leaves, black pepper, etc.);
  • garlic;
  • – 10-20 pcs. (if you find it).

Preparation

We will need a container the size of the piece, preferably with a lid (enamel or plastic). If necessary, cut the meat into smaller pieces so that they fit compactly in the container. Mix salt with spices, add crushed juniper berries. Sprinkle the bottom of the container and add pieces of bacon. Sprinkle them liberally on top with a mixture of salt and spices. Add chopped garlic, cover the container and place in the refrigerator. It will be even better if you put boards with pressure. After 24 hours, drain the released liquid. Once again add salt mixture. Repeat the cycle twice more, each time draining the released juice. After 4 days, salted homemade bacon is ready.

Making baked bacon at home

This recipe is great for family gatherings.

Ingredients:

  • raw pork bacon with skin;
  • garlic;
  • dry ground spices (black and red pepper, coriander seed, etc.);
  • table salt.

Preparation

Sprinkle bacon in the form of large pieces with a mixture of salt and dry spices, stuff with garlic and pack each piece separately in foil. Bake in the oven at a temperature of about 180-200°C for 40 minutes. Even during the cooking process, a wonderful, incomparable smell will spread throughout the house, your family will happily inhale and swallow saliva in anticipation of the meal. Baked homemade bacon will still need to be cooled at least a little before slicing. Cut it into thin, wide slices and place beautifully on a serving plate. We decorate with greenery. We eat with restraint - it flies away in a moment.

Boiled homemade bacon - recipe

Ingredients:

  • raw pork bacon with skin (brisket, bacon, just lard);
  • dry spices;
  • onion peel;
  • aromatic herbs (parsley, cilantro, dill, etc.);
  • garlic;
  • salt.

Preparation

Bacon (or whatever you are preparing), cut into large pieces, stuff with garlic and boil in a small amount of water with onion skins and salt (there should be 2-3 times more salt than in the soup). Cook for 40 minutes. 15 minutes before the end of the process, add spices and herbs. Cool in the broth, then remove and put under pressure for at least 2 hours.

Homemade marinated bacon

Ingredients:

Preparation

We fill the bacon in the form of large pieces with garlic, put it compactly in a tight container and fill it with marinade prepared from the remaining ingredients. Cover the container and place it in the refrigerator for 3 days. During the marinating process, turn the pieces over; when the bacon is ready, remove it and place it under pressure. To add a pan-Asian flavor, you can add a little soy sauce to the marinade. Marinated homemade bacon is already ready to eat, but if you want, you can now bake it (see above) or smoke it using natural fruit sawdust (smoking, in general, is a separate topic).

Bacon is a delicious American snack in the form of slices of pork. It, like other meat dishes, is characterized by high nutritional value, and, therefore, saturates the human body with the necessary energy. This product can be tried in many catering establishments, but if you know how to fry bacon at home according to all the rules, then cooking it in your own kitchen will not only delight you with its ease and simplicity, but will also make your breakfast varied and tasty.

Bacon selection

Slices with large layers of fat seem more filling, but preparing them well until a crust forms is quite difficult, especially for those who are trying this dish for the first time.

If you answer the question what kind of bacon do Americans fry, then we can say for sure that it should not be raw. When choosing a product, you should pay attention to the color of the sebaceous veins, which ideally should be white and not yellow.

Is it possible to fry smoked or raw smoked bacon? It is best to use such a ready-made semi-finished product. It has a pleasant aroma and spicy flavor, and is also moderately salted.

How long to fry bacon

How and for how long should you fry bacon in a frying pan? First, you need to hold the pork strips in running water for some time (about five minutes). This is done so that the product does not lose its shape, and also turns out moderately crispy and juicy. Then the slices are laid out on highly absorbent paper to collect excess liquid. It is better to heat the frying pan over medium-intensity heat, then lower the pieces of the desired size to its bottom. No oil is required for frying, since pork slices are capable of releasing their own fat layer when melted.

It is impossible to say with certainty how long to fry bacon cut into thin strips in a frying pan, although many believe that the thinner the slices, the more they will stick. If you do not want to spoil the dish, then monitor the intensity of the flame on the stove, change the position of the strips in time, use good utensils and follow the instructions of the chosen recipe.

How long should you fry without burning the bacon using this cooking method? The amount of time will depend on the quality of the product itself, its thickness and freshness, but on average, cooking takes about fifteen minutes. As spices, you can add ground red pepper, salt, turmeric and paprika.

How to fry bacon in a frying pan

Not only culinary experts know how to properly fry bacon, but also ordinary people who enjoy this snack. Crispy pork slices go well with vegetable side dishes, and also go well with intoxicating drinks when made on their own. The meat strips are constantly turned during cooking to ensure they cook evenly. A crispy crust is formed if you hold the strips longer at a low temperature. The final stage will be to collect excess fat using a paper napkin, on which the finished slices are laid out.

How many minutes should you cook raw bacon if you need to fry it very quickly? In this case, fresh meat needs to be cut into thin slices so that it bakes faster. You can use the oven, but it will also take time to warm up. So simply place the strips on a hot non-stick pan and cook until light brown on both sides.

Advice! If you want to try crunchy fried bacon, be sure to fry it only in a frying pan, as such a device promotes the appearance of a crust and gives the meat appetizer a special taste.

Bacon and eggs

Scrambled eggs with crispy strips of meat are a good and filling breakfast. It’s easy and doesn’t take long to prepare if you know a few nuances.

How to fry bacon in a frying pan with eggs, and how many eggs will be needed? For one hundred grams of the main product, four pieces will be enough. To prepare delicious scrambled eggs, you need to understand how to properly fry fried eggs with bacon. The procedure begins with baking the slices for five minutes until a golden layer forms on both sides, then you can add chopped onions to them, and then eggs, but so that the white and yolk do not mix. You must remember to add salt and pepper, and you can also add any seasonings you wish. It is better to close the lid and let the dish cook. This breakfast is usually served with toast and white bread.

The famous American dish spread throughout Europe. It has become popular due to its taste and nutritional value, although it is considered high in calories. To prepare such a product correctly, you need to know a few secrets that will make the process easier and the taste of the finished breakfast richer.

Men should know how to cook, period. We're not talking about layer cakes and hummus, we're talking about meat and fat, preferably cooked over an open fire and served with alcoholic beverages (read whiskey and beer, no exceptions). And the first thing a man should do is learn how to cook bacon.

There are several acceptable ways to cook bacon. Choosing the best one depends on what you have on hand and how lazy you are. If you want to taste the best bacon of your life, cook it in a cast iron skillet. If you're lazy and just want to smell the bacon, bake it in the oven. If you're in a hurry, use the microwave.

How to Cook Bacon in a Cast Iron Skillet

This is the best way to cook bacon. Cast iron is courageous. This type of pan will break anything it lands on if dropped, and doesn't need to be washed after use. Detergents damage cast iron—so think of cooking bacon like washing a frying pan. What's more, the cast iron surface produces the crispiest, tastiest bacon, and the fat helps keep the pan in good condition.

First, remove the bacon and let it come to room temperature. This should be done with any meat before cooking it, especially on the grill.

Place bacon in skillet and heat over medium heat. Don't heat the pan before you put the bacon on it! You'll want to do this, but a cast iron skillet doesn't heat up empty. Plus, if you cook bacon at a low temperature, it releases its fat more slowly, resulting in a tastier meal.

Turning the bacon occasionally is the best way to avoid burning it.

Don't pour out the fat!

When the bacon is cooked to your liking, remove it from the pan and place it on a paper towel. If you're cooking multiple batches, you can turn the burner to the lowest setting and leave the bacon on it to keep warm.





Why drain the fat? You're not the one cooking the bacon. It's the bacon grease that cooks the bacon. Think about it: you can fry bacon in runny bacon. If you pour out the fat, the magic will disappear.

Finally, drain the bacon grease into a jar and store it in the refrigerator so you can fry something with it later.

How to cook bacon in the oven

A cast iron skillet on the stove is the best way, but it's worth trying to cook bacon in the oven - if it's, say, breakfast and you're too lazy to stand at the stove. This method produces moderately good bacon.

You'll need either a cast iron skillet, a glass baking dish, or something else that can hold the bacon. Do this and make sure that the pieces do not overlap each other.

Place the pan in the oven.

Heat it to 200 degrees and the fat will begin to melt. Don't preheat the oven before you put the bacon in - a few extra minutes of cooking will kill the dish.

Mind your business. Come back in 20 minutes and see what happened. What you should see is the following: pieces of bacon drowning in fat. Again, don't pour out the fat!

When the bacon is cooked to your liking, place it on a paper towel. Pour the fat into a jar and store it carefully.



How to cook bacon in the microwave

Hopefully, if you chose this method, you're late for work, but also too much of a man to leave home without your daily helping of bacon. All you have to do is wait 10 minutes and then rush to where you absolutely must not be late (because it’s better to be late than to cook the bacon poorly).

Take a glass baking dish. Line the bottom with a paper towel. In previous methods we've emphasized how important it is to let the bacon float in its fat, but the microwave is a different story. It prevents you from cooking the bacon slowly and draining the grease.

Place the bacon pieces in the pan so that they do not overlap each other.

Cover the bacon with a paper towel to protect the inside of the microwave.

Heat bacon on high for three minutes. Check if he's ready. Microwaves are so different - you will discover the most favorable cooking method through experience.

Now grab your bacon and run. Eat it in the car on the way to work. Dream about the delicious bacon you could have eaten if you had gotten up a few minutes earlier.