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I'm not sure how much to fry the frozen bacon I get. Should it be crisp? When do I stop?

Ocaasi
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Ashish
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    This is up to your personal preference. Do you like crisp bacon? How crisp do you like it? You should probably fry until it reaches that point. – Adam Shiemke Aug 12 '10 at 18:25
  • Where I live, people don't have bacon generally. So I've no clue. – Ashish Aug 12 '10 at 18:30
  • Answer is very subjective. Is the bacon going to be used in a recipe, or just to be eaten or breakfast? – Goodbye Stack Exchange Aug 12 '10 at 18:38
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    My initial reaction was to vote this closed, but since my votes banana-smash-close instantly I hesitated. After thinking, it's quite possible that the OP doesn't know how to cook bacon, and is unsure how done it needs to be. The objective answer to this is, "It's up to you, at least ___, up to how crispy you want it.". – hobodave Aug 12 '10 at 18:52
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    Edited to remove subjectivity. – hobodave Aug 12 '10 at 18:53
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    Thanks. It was a genuine question. I've read and heard about bacon so much that I wanted to try it. It seemed to me over-hyped when I tried it first. But turns out I was overdoing it. – Ashish Aug 13 '10 at 11:56
  • The question addresses food-doneness, cooking-times, and food-safety (if the cook isn't sure about the status of cured vs. cooked meat). I'd keep it open, preferably with some more explanation of the author's intent. – Ocaasi Aug 16 '10 at 03:22
  • Just an FYI but bacon is one food better cooked in a microwave. This makes it healthier as the curing agents when cooked with a heat source (nitrates) can be unheathy: http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/nutrition/DJ0974.html The risk is less with a microwave cooking process. And yes, I know heat source cooking tastes better (at least to me) – Mark Schultheiss Oct 22 '10 at 18:33
  • I definitely would like the health/safety aspects of the question to be addressed. I generally avoid cooking bacon just because I'm never sure if it's *done*, or cooked enough to avoid parasites. And it doesn't help, that parts curl up and appear under-cooked. – Cyclops Dec 08 '10 at 15:32
  • Experiment with one or two pieces at a time. You'll only make the mistake of burning it once or twice and you'll mitigate the damage. – Preston Oct 10 '14 at 09:54

5 Answers5

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In my experience, you'll get the best bacon if you start with a cold pan. Throwing it onto a hot pan sounds impressive (it sizzles right away), but it will also make the bacon shrink/curl up much more and faster.

I cook bacon half by look, and half by sound. After you cook it a couple times you'll see (hear) what I mean - the sizzle changes significantly as the fat renders off. I usually flip it as soon as the sound starts to change, and I flip more than once to reduce curling (unless you have a bacon press, see below).

If you don't have one, I recommend a bacon press, especially if you like crispy bacon. It also helps it cook faster. In a pinch, you can use the bottom of a smaller pan - I cook bacon in a 12" cast iron pan, and use an 8" pan as the bacon press.

If you don't have a splatter guard, you're going to want one...

...unless you wanted to cook your bacon in the oven. This is great for large batches, reducing splatter, and unattended bacon cooking. Steps to oven bacon:

  1. preheat oven to 400
  2. cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil
  3. put bacon on foil, leaving a little space between
  4. cook for 12-18 minutes depending on desired crispiness. I lean towards crispier bacon so I usually start watching at 12, pull it out at 15.

One other note, no matter which method you use, you're going to want to take the bacon off the heat a minute or so before it's at the desired crispiness - it will continue to cook slightly after you take it off. There have been a few times I've made it to my desired doneness, tasted it out of the pan, been very happy with it, moved it to paper towels to drain, tried it a minute later, and it was too crispy. So be aware of that possibility.

stephennmcdonald
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    FWIW: a bacon press will result in a more consistent texture across the rasher... something that I, personally, *hate*. – Shog9 Aug 12 '10 at 21:32
  • 400 is too hot - see my note above re: reference regarding cooking method; reference the citation and cooking temp and nitrosamines. – Mark Schultheiss Oct 22 '10 at 18:38
  • @Mark, thanks for the info, I didn't know any of that ... but I doubt I'll change my method at home, all things in moderation and such. :) When I do have bacon, I want it to be delicious, I don't think I've ever had microwaved bacon that was anything other than "ok" at best. That's not how I want my bacon experience to be when I decide to splurge and make some! – stephennmcdonald Oct 22 '10 at 21:35
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    In fact...that article (which cites a study from 1973, which is far from recent) goes on to say that nitrosamines aren't necessarily bad anyway. From the article: "It is unknown at what levels, if any, nitrosamines are formed in humans after they eat cured meat products, or what constitutes a dangerous level in meat or in humans." and "Although nitrite is a controversial food additive, recent studies indicate that nitrite can inhibit the production of malonaldehyde, which may be toxic to living cells." I'd have to see more recent data to consider changing the deliciousness of my bacon! – stephennmcdonald Oct 22 '10 at 21:39
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    @stephennmcdonald, I recall reading somewhere (not sure where now), that to cook bacon in the oven, you should put it in when the oven is cold, not pre-heat the oven. Since you mentioned putting bacon into a cold *pan*, wouldn't it be the same for an oven? – Cyclops Dec 08 '10 at 18:48
  • @Cyclops, very interesting point. I've never tried it with a cold oven, but next time I make bacon (and remember) I'll give it a shot and report back. – stephennmcdonald Dec 08 '10 at 21:33
  • [3 Kick-ass Bacon Recipes](http://www.primermagazine.com/2009/learn/3-kickass-bacon-recipes-its-not-just-for-breakfast) - found the link. The author recommends about 15 minutes also, which confuses me - 15 minutes pre-heated, should be much different from 15 minutes in an oven that is heating the entire time. (granted she says it *might* need up to 20 mins...). Then again, maybe I don't *want* a good method to cook bacon. [health graph](http://xkcd.com/418/) – Cyclops Dec 08 '10 at 22:07
  • The only way to cook bacon in my book :) – Daniel Chui Jul 28 '14 at 22:57
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It won't necessarily be entirely crisp in the pan, but will crisp up very quickly once it starts to cool. This picture - http://www.sogoodblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/cooking-bacon.jpg - looks about the right doneness when you should pull it off. It's also up to your personal preference how much you like it done (softer, in the middle, or very crispy). I would say the picture is near the middle and closer to the very crispy side than the softer side.

Chad
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As well as the subjective question (how do you like it) there are a few other factors - bacon varies a lot - cheaper bacon tends to be injected with a lot of water, so it is actually difficult to crisp up without it becoming overcooked. You can spot this by white liquid coming out in the pan while it cooks.

The proper stuff varies between lean (very little fat) and streaky (far marbled through) - generally speaking, the streaky fatty stuff is much better if you want crispy bacon (to be drizzled with maple syrup, say). Lean bacon can get a bit like leather if overcooked (lack of fats).

As you're specifically talking frozen bacon I guess the main concern is that it's completely cooked through.

JulesLt
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Bacon definitely should be fried until crisp, including the fat. It takes time and patience, but it's worth the wait. BTW, I have given up ordering bacon with anything in restaurant because you don't get nice, crisp bacon--you get a flabby slab of fat with some chewy, undercooked meat running through it.

Bacon lover
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Keep cooking till it is toasty black, then flip and repeat. Note that while the bacteria will be well and truly destroyed, the resulting carcinogens may be worse in the long run.

Seriously though you don't need to cook until crunchy, or just until soft. Even just microwaving for 1 minute on high is technically enough.

Anonymous Type
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