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This question is pretty straightforward. Are there ways to take a sliced slab of bacon (i.e. a whole large package) and effectively cook all the slices to be used in standard scenarios, like breakfast? Non-microwave methods are strongly preferred.

Cascabel
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Skyler
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  • I probably should have mentioned that by large quantities I mean about 20 lbs or so I want to quickly complete multiple batches – Skyler Dec 14 '16 at 18:47

6 Answers6

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It really depends on how you're planning on using the bacon:

  • If you're going to be crumbling it anyway, you can cut it across the strips, and drop it into a pan and slowly render it, then turn up the heat to let it crisp. You might also need to drain the grease part way through.

  • If you're willing to take a loss in flavor ... you can separate it into slices and simmer it. It won't crisp up, but you can par-cook it, and then finish it using some other method.

  • If you have the time & equipment to sous-vide it as moscafj mentioned, I suspect you'd get a similar effect as simmering, but wouldn't lose as much flavor. I'd also recommend splitting it up some to increase the surface-to-mass ratio as much as possible while still fitting in the bag, to decrease the cooking time.

  • If you want strips, the easiest bulk method is cooking it in the oven. If you have multiple sheet pans and cooling racks (or use a broiler pan), you can cook a whole pound of bacon at once. It can take an hour if you're cooking it slowly, but it's mostly unattended. (although using a broiler pan requires flipping them over a few times).

If you do go with the simmer method, save the water for some other meal later (eg, beans & rice).

Community
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Joe
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    Oven has usually been my go to method for up to 1.5 lbs of bacon. Here I'm going to have to deal with a whole lot more bacon, upwards of 10 lbs, though at the final point of serving a large skillet top is available so I can always do the final browning there. This still presents the challenge of getting 10 lbs of bacon cooked and prepared and still warm previous to that point – Skyler Jan 13 '16 at 10:26
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    @Skyler : you could par-cook it in the oven, so that it at least shrinks so that you can fit more on per tray. Most people don't complain about room temp bacon if it's cooked crispy (if it's flabby, that's its own problem). You can also cook it stove-top, and then move it to a tray in the oven on warm to hold it 'til you're ready to serve people. – Joe Jan 13 '16 at 13:54
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I must say... Although my method still takes some attending I cook about 900 grams of bacon in approximately 4 minutes. It gets crisp but not brittle. "How?" you ask... I deepfry it. It's amazing!

Dennis Börjesson
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If you mean to cook it together as it comes out of the package rather than by separating each piece, then I would say no you don't want to do this. The pieces will get glued together, and the finished product will be more like salt pork rather than bacon that you are accustomed.

Escoce
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When making bacon for a group, I generally just take about half the slab, drop it into a pan, and separate it with a fork while the pan heats up. If you had a big enough pan and don't mind crowding, you can use the entire slab at once, but I find half at a time simpler. Maybe grab two pans?

Yamikuronue
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    If you're going to cook large batches in a pan, I find it useful to cut the slices in half (so they're shorter) before cooking -- it allows me to fit them better into the pan to make the most of the surface area. – Joe Jan 12 '16 at 15:00
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Cooking bacon at high temperatures causes the fat and muscle to contract at more divergent rates, yielding crinkly bacon. Plus, bacon has plently of fat, none has to be added! So, for large batches, I usually just place a large wire wrack of bacon in the oven over a pan to catch the drippings. 425 F for 20 minutes, plus/minus 2-3 minutes depending on the cut thickness.

aikramer2
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Try a double griddle. The middle is not going to cook as fast but just let it cook a little longer. As you lay them down you can overlap a bit as they will shrink. Overlap with fat side on the grill for faster shrinking. Start on far side for less grease splatter on you. Thick slices will be less slices for the same weight. enter image description here

paparazzo
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