Time Savers: Bakin' yer Bacon

 

 

I can bring home the bacon...I can fry the bacon...I even know how to save my own bacon (usually), but baking bacon? That just sounds unnatural, so of course I had to give it a try. Here is what I learned, and a step by step tutorial on doing it yourself.

 

Step 1: Set oven to 350 degrees 

 

Step 2: Cut entire slab of bacon in half with kitchen shears. I use kitchen shears because I can cut through the whole slab much easier than with a knife.

 

Cutting your bacon in half is not strictly necessary, but I wanted sandwich-sized bacon.

 

Step 3: Lay a sheet of parchment paper (if available) on a cookie sheet with edges (you don't want hot grease rolling off the sides into your oven.) Now lay out your bacon in whatever arrangement works best for your pan and your purposes. You can see I reuse my paper until I have all my bacon baked.

Step 4: Put your bacon in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes depending on how crisp you like it. (Ok, so this is a picture of me taking it out, but doesn't it look yummy?)

Step 5: Use a spatula to move the cooked bacon to a paper-towel covered plate to drain.

Step 6: Yum! Drool a little...and then sneak a piece when no one is looking. From this point, you can devour all the yummy goodness or save some for later.

Step 7: We made a couple of sandwiches and put the rest (I cooked 2 lbs) into a Ziploc bag with another paper towel to catch any extra grease. Store it in the fridge, so it's available for sandwiches, bacon bits, a quick breakfast, or just to sneak a piece now and then.

 

Warning: You may need to hide the bacon or put it in a tub marked {insert something your family hates to eat}--to keep it from disappearing too quickly.

Step 8: Don't throw out that bacon grease! Save it for the next time you make eggs, fried potatoes, cornbread, or whatever else you might want to flavor with bacon grease. My grease jar today used to be a baby food jar, and it just barely holds the grease. Learn more about grease jars here.

 

Step 9: Throw out your parchment paper and put your clean pan back in the cupboard. Or, if you didn't have parchment paper, buy some for next time and then take dish soap and squirt a good amount on your pan. Use your hand to make sure the entire pan is covered, including corners. Let the pan sit for an hour or two and then wash off with a sponge.

 

Step 10: Tell all yer friend's about my "Bakin' yer Bacon" post so they can try it too!

 

Now, wasn't that easy? No more bacon splatters from skillet frying either!

What on earth is a Grease Jar?

Grease Jars:

Hillcreek Pottery sampling of Grease Jars at +Silver Dollar City Attractions 

Perhaps you have heard the term grease jar before, and perhaps you have not. To be honest, I don’t recall ever hearing the term growing up, but I am aware that my grandmother used one and most likely yours did too. 

A grease jar is just a jar of bacon grease which is going to be used later for something else. They are especially popular with people who enjoy cooking with cast iron because they help to keep the cast iron well-seasoned.

My grandmother kept her grease jar beside the stove, and used her grease often enough that it did not go bad. Some people still keep them next to the stove but I worry about spoilage and keep mine in the fridge.

Okay, my current grease jar is an old canning jar, but I love this one 

from Hillcreek Pottery at +Silver Dollar City Attractions 

When you are ready to use your grease, bring it out of the fridge and scoop it out like shortening--or you can warm it up a bit to use it as a liquid.

I had planned to write an entire post dedicated to grease jars and their use, but there is someone else who has already done it—and probably better than I could. Christy Jordan at SouthernPlate.com is who originally taught me (through her posts) the wonders of bacon grease. 

Sure, I had reused grease to fry eggs but that was about the extent of it. Christy showed me what I was missing.

Read about grease jars here and here on her website and look around at all of the other great recipes and stories she shares. 

Do you have a grease jar? Did your grandma have one?