Everything Bacon: The best ways to buy it, bake it, and serve it.

The internet is filled with all the best ways to cook bacon. Today I will tell you my favorite way, but I’ll also talk about meal prepping bacon so it’s always on hand to lift the flavor of your dishes.

Meat Selection: Find the good stuff

Get the cleanest product you can find. Be careful, though, words like natural are not regulated by the FDA. Searching for bacon that is uncured is a good place to start. Read the ingredients before you buy and ask yourself if this is real food, or a product laced with harmful additives. Consider the difference in these products made by the same company, both with the word natural on the package.

Uncured Bacon: Pork, Water, Sea Salt, Cane Sugar, Cultured Celery Extract, Spice Extract.

Conventional Bacon: Water, Salt, Sugar, Sodium, Phosphates, Sodium Erythorbate, Sodium Nitrite.

The extra dollar I spend on the uncured bacon is worth it to me, making sure I only put real food in my body.

When I look for bacon, I search for packages that have a nice marble to the meat. Fat is what makes the bacon good and I want it beautifully distributed.

Check your local farmers market, you can usually find local farms that will sell you their products in bulk. Kroger simple truth brand is also bacon I trust, and it’s easy to access.

Baking

The most common ways to cook bacon are the stove top, the microwave, and the oven. Years ago I gave up the splattering grease and the uneven cooking of the stove top. The cleanup on the stove was terrible, and I’d find myself with burns from splattered grease while I munched a piece of bacon that was underdone in one bite and burn in the next. We have not had a microwave in our home for years- instead we use a toaster oven, so I was left to experiment with baking my bacon.

After my first batch of bacon that started out crispy, then literally melted in my mouth, I was hooked. Now I make a few pans of bacon each week so it’s always on hand, ready to make my recipes even more delicious.

Directions

Preheat your oven to 425.

You can cook as much as you want, but I do the whole package all at once. It is easier, and it means we always have a few pieces on hand for salads, breakfast, or snacks. I will literally walk to the fridge and eat a piece like others would eat beef jerky.

I like to cut the whole package right down the middle. It’s far easier to work with these smaller pieces. They cook easier and it’s also easier to store for later use.

If you like super crispy bacon that falls apart at the touch, you’ll want to use a roasting pan that has a top rack allowing the fat to drain down. I like to use a large, 11 x 13 glass pan. The bacon is still crispy, but it also takes in the oil and that renders down the fat.

My diet is unbelievably lean. I live on hardly any carbs, no sugars, no dairy, and a ton of vegetables. It’s a clean keto model that has helped heal me of many autoimmune issues like SIBO. I need the fat this bacon has to offer, so I let it cook away in the fat.

Arrange the bacon so the pieces do not overlap. Put the pan in the oven and set your timer for 20 minutes. Depending on the thickness of the bacon, it might be done, but it could also need 3-5 more minutes.

Be sure to check on it every couple of minutes after. Those last few minutes are critical. The difference between perfect bacon and burnt bacon is literally a minute. You’ll know it’s ready when the fat is cooked through, but the meat isn’t burnt. The color will have turned from pink to a deeper rich color.

Remove with a spatula and place in a dish with a paper towel. You are now ready to feast!

Read on to learn about reasons to keep the bacon fat and delicious recipes from a steady supply of cooked bacon.

Store for Later

Any bacon that has escaped our immediate mouths goes into a mason jar. In a regular storage container, the bottom bacon pieces get soggy. I like how mason jars keep the bacon upright.

I also drain the oil from the pan and save in a small mason jar. We keep this in the fridge and use it as a dairy free butter replacement. It’s amazing for frying eggs, just the way my southern Mamma would do. It also brings a rich flavor and moisture to burgers and steaks on the grill.

Adding bacon to salads happens almost daily in my home. It’s the easiest throw together lunch. Check out my Chicken Club Salad Recipe. When I’m super hungry and low on fats, I will just cut a fresh avocado and sprinkle it with bacon, salt and pepper. My Brussel Sprout Recipe also does well with a bacon topper.

Stay tuned for more recipes that celebrate the joy of perfect bacon.

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