- [Amiel] Hi everyone, I'm Amiel Stanek,
Editor at Large of Bon Appetit,
and this is every way to cook bacon.
The word bacon can mean a
whole lot of different things.
Normally, we think of
it as coming from a pig,
but it can also refer to meat
that comes from a turkey or a cow.
It can come from different
parts of the animal,
like the loin or the jowel.
It can be smoked, it can be unsmoked,
it can be double smoked, but today,
we're working with some good old-fashioned
classic American bacon.
It's made from pork
belly that's been cured
with salt and sugar and
then lightly smoked,
so it needs to be cooked
again before eating,
and we're gonna cook it
every way we can think of.
[pans clanging]
Homemade bacon.
Here, we have a slab of pork belly.
You can see it's got some
of the skin still on,
plenty of gorgeous fat
and these streaks of
meat running throughout.
The first step is curing.
So, we're gonna combine
some brown sugar, some salt
and then some pink curing salt,
which is a combination of
good old sodium chloride,
aka salt, and sodium nitrate,
which is gonna help preserve
the bacon's rosy color.
We're gonna rub the cure all over our pork
and wrap it up tightly with plastic wrap,
get it onto a sheet pan, and let this sit
in the fridge for about a week.
Once our bacon's cured,
we're gonna take it
outside to smoke it.
[pans clanging]
Okay, so here we have
our cured pork belly.
Now, it's time to pop it in
the smoker and finish it off.
So, our bacon has been smoking
for about an hour and a half.
Let's take a look.
Whoo, smoky.
That looks like bacon, all right.
[dings]
As you can see, the
color of the pork belly
has really changed.
The meat has gone from
a flabby, pinkish gray
to this darker red and
the fat has taken on
a slightly more yellow color.
We're gonna remove that skin because it's
a little bit too tough for us to eat.
I'm just gonna cut a
few nice slices of this.
So what we have here
is our homemade bacon.
This is still raw.
We need to cook it
again in order to eat it
and since we have our
smoker all ready to go,
we're gonna go ahead
and smoke a few of these
pieces of bacon a second
time so they're fully edible.
[pans clanging]
Double-smoked bacon.
Once-smoked bacon about to
become twice-smoked bacon.
We're gonna check on this
in about a half an hour.
That should do it.
So here we have our
homemade twice-smoked bacon.
As you can see, the fat
didn't render out too much
at such a low heat and the meat
is even pinker than it was before.
Mmm.
Well, it's almost hard
to taste anything else
because it's so smokey.
You've got a fair amount of meaty chew
because we cut these slices pretty thick,
and the flavor is outstanding, delicious.
Let's go back to the
kitchen and get to work.
[pans clanging]
Cold start bacon.
We've got some bacon.
We've got a cast iron pan
that's cold right now.
We're gonna lay these strips of bacon
into the cast iron,
set the heat to medium,
and let that go until these crisp up.
Mmm, crispy.
So we've got nice even
browning on both sides,
a fair amount of fat rendered
so it's nice and crispy.
It just snaps.
Mmm.
Great caramelization and crunch,
really meaty.
Not too greasy.
This is a really easy, foul
proof way to make bacon
on the stove top with a
minimum of mess and fuss.
Hot start bacon.
We've gonna lay our bacon
into a preheated pan now,
and you can tell it's
immediately starting to sizzle.
It's getting a little smokey.
All right, that should be done.
So one thing you'll notice
is the fat didn't render
quite as evenly as our
cold start version did,
and that's because we didn't
get any of that low heat time.
It's definitely less
crispy but not bad looking.
Mmm.
It's definitely on the chewier side
and fattier tasting for sure.
I'm not mad at it.
The real bummer was how smokey
and splattery this method is.
So I think starting from cold
is definitely the way to go.
Low and slow bacon.
This time we're gonna
put our bacon in a cold
cast iron again, but we're
gonna turn the heat to very low
and really take our time with it.
Maybe I'll have time for a quick nap.
Oops, almost forgot to flip.
There we go.
So right off the bat, we can
see that they're some pieces
that rendered and crisped
a little bit less evenly.
It's a little bit floppy here,
crispier there.
Mmm.
It's still tasty, but even
going even lower and slower
didn't make for a more
evenly cooked piece of bacon.
The up from cold medium is
definitely the sweet spot.
[pans clanging]
Bacon lardons.
So lardons are basically
just Frenchified bacon bits.
We have three thick strips of bacon,
and we're gonna cut these
into roughly 1/4 inch
thick battons, and then we're cook them
over medium to medium low
heat until they're nicely
browned but not too, too rendered.
We want a little bit of chew there.
Viola!
Lardons.
Browning rather than crisping
is kinda the thing here,
and the fat isn't aggressively rendered.
Mmm.
Great caramelization,
tons of myard flavors,
but not overly crispy
with plenty of meaty chew.
[pans clanging]
Bacon toaster.
It's a toaster but only for bacon.
What a world we live in.
We just have to open this thing up,
lay our strips on there.
Ooh, sizzly.
Close the pod bay doors
and push the button.
Okay, let's check this out.
Wow, that's really something.
This looks terrible.
We pulled it because the
edges were kinda starting
to burn and the rest
is no where near done.
It's all over the place.
[grunting]
Yeah, obviously I'm mad about this one.
How could something made
explicitly for cooking bacon
be so bad at cooking bacon?
It's not faster or more
convenient or better.
What a shame.
[pans clanging]
Curling iron bacon.
For the record, I don't get
hair and makeup for this show,
but the bacon does.
[spraying]
Oh, it's sizzling.
You know, it's actually
pretty disturbing to me
that this is working.
People are cooking their hair.
[dings]
If this were hair, I would say
that it did a pretty good job.
We've got a nice, tight curl here,
but aside from a few bits here and there
it doesn't seem all that cooked after all.
It's kind of, I'm kind of nervous
about eating it, actually.
Mmm, yeah, I mean, it's
bacon but it hasn't cooked
in any particularly appealing way.
I'm gonna pass on this one.
[pans clanging]
Crimping iron bacon.
Well, the curling iron was kind of a bust,
but we're gonna try our
luck with a crimper.
Doesn't really fit into
this thing all at once,
so we're gonna have to just
do a few inches at a time.
Okay, I guess that's done.
[dings]
So, it's definitely mostly cooked,
and we do have a little
bit of browning here.
Mmm, not particularly
crispy or well-cooked,
but if you're gonna
cook bacon at the salon,
this may be your best bet.
You know, it's starting to smell
like burning plastic in here.
Let's take a breather outside.
[pans clanging]
Campfire bacon, three ways.
We're gonna take these two strips
and put them right here on the coals.
Then we've got a tin foil
envelope with some bacon in it.
We're gonna put it right over here,
and then we're gonna
dangle these three strips
right over the flames
and take them all off as they're ready.
Ooh, yeah, that's on fire.
Okay, let's get those off.
That foil package should be done by now,
and let's just try to get these guys off.
Ooh, okay, all done.
[dings]
Coal-cooked bacon.
So, obviously, bacon and direct open flame
do not really mix.
There's just so much fat and it really
pretty much just caught on fire in there,
so it's burnt and sooty on one side
and kind of barely cooked on the other.
Mmm, ugh, yuck, it's really
bitter and sooty and unpleasant.
You can barely taste the bacon, gross.
[dings]
Foil-packed bacon.
You know, all things considered,
this doesn't look that bad.
You got some light browning.
It also didn't render much.
It kind of steamed up in there a bit,
and it didn't brown at all
where the pieces overlapped.
Yeah, not terrible, but nothing
to write home about, either.
[dings]
Clothesline bacon.
So, this is a mess.
I'm not sure why we thought
this was gonna work.
This part up here is just
sooty, but pretty much raw,
and this part is just
burnt and I'm not sure
if it's actually cooked at all.
This doesn't seem safe.
I mean, this is pretty much
the only piece that I can,
I'm not gonna do it, sorry.
Let's go back inside.
It's getting weird out here.
[pans clanging]
Baked bacon.
Oven time.
We've got some bacon on a
parchment-lined sheet pan
and we're gonna bake it at 400
degrees for about 20 minutes.
That looks good.
[dings]
This oven bacon is really consistent.
It looks well done without being dry
and it's nice and crispy.
To me, this is the
platonic ideal of bacon,
crunchy, still a little bit of give,
just the right amount of fat rendered out.
I mean, if you ask me, this
is the most convenient way
to cook a large quantity
of bacon in one go
and the parchment makes cleanup a breeze.
This is a win.
[pans clanging]
Rack-baked bacon.
Okay, same thing but on
a wire rack this time.
400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.
Ooh, looks good.
[dings]
So, one thing you'll notice
here is that it does feel
like it's slightly more even,
which probably has to do
with the way the air was able to circulate
all around the slices.
Yeah, really crispy, nicely
rendered, pretty much perfect.
It's a real tossup between
this and the parchment version,
but the latter is definitely
easier to clean up.
[pans clanging]
Broiled bacon.
All right, same thing but
under the broiler this time.
Ooh, gotta pull this.
It's starting to smoke.
Uh, broiled bacon, everybody.
[dings]
You know, I'm not liking what I'm seeing.
We've got this burning around the edges,
which is why we had to pull it,
but other than that, it definitely seems
a little bit less cooked than we want
and it's not particularly crisp.
Yeah, there's some bitterness
from the singed edges
and not caramelized or crispy.
Yeah, broiler is a no-go.
Bacon doesn't like high, high direct heat.
[pans clanging]
Diner-style bacon.
Now, we're gonna take a page
out of the short-order cook's handbook.
We've got six slices of bacon here
that we've submerged in a
little bit of neutral oil
in this baking dish and
we're gonna put that
under the broiler for a few
minutes until it's fully cooked.
Now, we're gonna take
our fully cooked slices
and lay them onto this cast iron griddle
and then weight them
down with this hot press.
These should be ready in no time at all.
Order up!
[dings]
The pieces really shrunk
up, and they took on
some really appealing color,
very dark and consistent.
Great crunch, just the
faintest amount of chew,
this is exactly what I want on a BLT.
This is a great method if you're making
a ton of bacon to order,
but probably doesn't make
all that much sense at home.
[pans clanging]
Oven contraption bacon.
Okay, we got this metal thingy.
It kind of looks like a dishwasher rack
and we're gonna cook bacon with it.
Into the oven.
All right, let's check it out.
[dings]
The slices actually do look pretty nice.
Great shape, you've got that
iconic, wavy thing going on,
and the color is pretty perfect,
but there's definitely
some flexibility in there.
I mean, I don't think that it's better
than our baked-on-parchment version,
and I really don't want to
have to clean that gadget,
but it definitely works.
[pans clanging]
Bacon bowl.
First, we're gonna take
one of these strips
and cut it in half.
We're gonna layer it over this mold,
which is specifically made
for making bacon bowls.
Now we're gonna bake it until
the bacon fuses together
and gets all crispy.
Well, that's something, all right.
[dings]
I mean, it didn't not work.
It's a bowl, all right.
Yeah, I mean, tastes
like bacon that's cooked.
It's definitely a gimmick,
but a cool gimmick?
[pans clanging]
Bacon straw.
We made a bowl, let's try a straw.
We're gonna take our
bacon and wrap it around
this stainless steel straw.
Oops, this is slippery.
Now we're gonna take
our bacon straws-to-be
and put them in the oven until
they're cooked and crispy.
[dings]
Now that our bacon straws have cooled,
we can slip them off these
stainless steel boys.
Very impressive.
Good caramelization, and they held
their shape pretty well too.
A little worried about
how bendy they are though.
Mmm, yup.
I mean, I know that flavor anywhere.
No surprises here, but
will they work as a straw?
Only one way to find out.
[gurgling]
They hold water, people!
The perfect non-plastic straw does exist.
[pans clanging]
Prince Harry's bacon.
So, apparently, Prince
Harry went to Disney World
when he was a kid, loved the
bacon that he was served there,
and insisted that the royal chef
cook it in a very
specific way from now on.
First, it gets put under the broiler,
and now that it's partially cooked,
but still plenty floppy and oily,
it gets cooked again
in a very un-royal way.
[microwave beeps]
Cheerio, bacon fit for a king, or prince.
[dings]
Okay, thoroughly caramelized,
handsomely rendered.
It's pretty crispy, but it has
a little more flex than I would hope for.
You know, it's good but
it's actually a bit tough.
It's not as crispy as some of
our other methods and more work.
This is me officially
questioning the royal taste.
[pans clanging]
Microwaved bacon.
Okay, let's cut the oven
out of the equation.
We're gonna take our bacon,
layer it between a few
pieces of paper towel,
and pop it in the ol' science
box for three minutes.
Easy does it, okay.
[dings]
So, fans of the show will know
that I have very little
love for the microwave,
but this actually looks pretty perfect.
Damn, that's a good piece of bacon.
Could be a hair crispier,
but it took three minutes
and there was pretty much zero cleanup so,
what's not to like?
[pans clanging]
Wow bacon.
Now we're gonna use this
gadget called the WowBacon,
which kinda looks like a Brita filter
but apparently it cooks bacon.
Pop it in the microwave, and
set it for three minutes.
Wow, that is something.
[dings]
This kinda looks like a dorm
shower in a horror movie.
It's all kinda misty and foggy and then
there are these pieces of dangling meat.
Yeah, not bad but also why?
[pans clanging]
Plastic tray bacon.
Yet another microwave device.
We're gonna lay our strips down,
cook it for two minutes and 45 seconds.
[beeps]
Okay.
[dings]
Well, more bacon cooked in trash.
It looks really wrecked up.
I don't know what happened here.
It looks weirdly burnt but isn't crispy
and also smells like melting plastic.
Something is very wrong here.
It's like it steamed and fried
and also tastes like chemicals.
[pans clanging]
Bacon Wave.
But wait, there's more.
Gah, this instruction manual
is a little bewildering.
We're gonna weave our
strips into the Bacon Wave,
secure them with these plastic pegs
which I guess keep the
bacon from falling down.
Okay, into the box it goes.
Wow, all right then.
[dings]
So, it seems like these pieces kinda
popped right off the peg and shrunk up.
So much for keeping their shape.
Strong melting plastic smell,
borderline burnt bacon.
I mean, it's plenty crispy,
but the weird plasticy aftertaste
is a serious disqualifier.
The microwave works.
Why do you have to make
it more complicated?
[pans clanging]
Bacon butter.
We've cooked a whole lot of bacon so far,
which means we've produced
a whole lot of bacon fat,
which we've been saving because there are
a lot of great things
that you can do with it.
First, we're gonna make some bacon butter.
We're gonna take some warm bacon fat,
strain it to get any bits out,
and then we're gonna fridge
it until it firms up.
Now that it's more solid,
we're gonna get it onto this
plastic wrap, fold it over,
and tighten it to form a
cute little torchon, voila!
[dings]
So, clearly bacon butter
is just a nice way
of saying bacon fat, but it's not
the worst rebrand in history.
It's very soft, softer than butter even,
and has this milky, pale color.
Yup, that's pork fat all right.
You get some of the
smoke and salt and sugar,
but it's not overwhelming.
Obviously it's not much on its
own, but I'd gladly use this
like butter in, say, a grilled cheese.
Yum.
[pans clanging]
Bacon mayonnaise.
We've got an egg yolk, a little bit
of dijon mustard, some lemon juice.
It's really hard to make a
mayonnaise with all bacon fat,
so we're gonna start with vegetable oil,
adding it a little bit at a
time until the emulsion forms
and then finally, whisk in our bacon fat
and hit it with plenty of salt,
and there's our bacon fat mayo.
[dings]
All right, let's get this jar opened.
It's a little darker
than your standard mayo
and it's got a nice,
gelatinous consistency.
Mmm, you know, that
mustard and lemon and salt
really bumped up the bacon flavor.
I'm really tasting it.
This would make for the best BLT ever.
[pans clanging]
Bacon caramels.
We're gonna get some bacon
fat into this small pot
with some cream and get
the heat going under that,
combine some corn syrup, water,
sugar, and salt in this pan,
and cook that until everything dissolves.
We get a nice amber color going.
We're gonna whisk in
our bacon cream mixture,
and then get a candy thermometer in there
until it gets up to 230 degrees.
Transfer it to a greased and
parchment-lined loaf pan,
hit it with some flaky salt,
and then we're gonna let this cool.
[dings]
Porky bonbons.
These look so cute and
feel nice and pliable.
They smell a little bit bacony.
You know, honestly, it doesn't
taste that strongly of bacon.
It's just like a really
good salted caramel
with a little bit of a
smoky, porky aftertaste
which is probably a good thing.
[pans clanging]
Bacon bourbon.
Hold on to your hats, folks.
We're making bacon-infused bourbon.
First, we gotta pour some of this out.
It's two o'clock somewhere, right?
Then, we're gonna pour in our bacon fat,
good to the last drop, put our lid on
and shake it up real good.
Then, we're gonna let this
hang out for a few days
and come back to it.
Okay, we refrigerated this
for a few hours just now
so the fat would become
solid and rise to the top.
Now, we're gonna pour it
through a coffee filter
to clarify it.
Looks good, bottoms up.
[dings]
So, it just looks like regular bourbon.
There's nothing floating around in there,
which is a good thing.
It definitely smells
like there's something
kind of a little bit smoky,
a little bit fatty going on.
Whoa, the flavor isn't super strong,
but there's a rich, round quality
and definitely a bit of smoke.
You know what, let's take
this one step further
and get our handy, dandy bacon straw.
Well, that worked better
than I thought it would
and it definitely tastes
baconier that way,
though I'm not sure that's
a good thing or not, yeah.
[pans clanging]
Water-method bacon.
We're gonna lay these slices down
in this cold cast iron pan,
and then we're gonna add just enough water
to cover the bacon.
Now, we're gonna crank the heat
and come back when the
water is fully boiled.
[sizzling]
Okay, so now that most of
the liquid is evaporated,
we're gonna turn down the
heat and finish it off.
Give it a flip, and done.
[dings]
So, I'm seeing some bits
at the ends of the strips
that didn't take on any color,
and while the pieces look fairly crisp,
there's more than a little flex to them.
Totally fine, could be a lot crunchier.
I just don't think that
the pre-cooking in water
added anything to the equation.
[pans clanging]
Poached bacon.
Well, we kinda have to, right.
We got a pan of simmering water here.
We're gonna lay our strips in there.
Oh boy, oh boy.
Yeah, and there we have our poached bacon.
[dings]
As you can see, it's totally floppy.
The fat seems to be the thing
that changed the most, texture-wise.
It's pretty stringy.
You know, even though I'm not
getting any of the browned,
crispy, crunchy flavors
I associate with bacon,
it's definitely pretty interesting.
It's chewy but not in a bad way
and it did lose some flavor
in the water, I think.
Trying to keep an open mind here.
[pans clanging]
Steamed bacon.
We're gonna open this bad boy up,
put our pieces right in
there, close the lid,
and come back when it's finished.
I guess that looks done.
[dings]
So, very similar looking
to our poached bacon
with no color, although
some of these pieces
have a slightly brighter pink color,
but yeah, Floppytown U.S.A.
Again, not what most people think of
when they think of breakfast bacon,
but it has more flavor
than the poached bacon did.
[pans clanging]
Car engine bacon.
Uh-huh, all right.
We got some bacon, we
got a hot car engine.
We're gonna wrap this bacon up in foil
and slide it right into
this little crevice here
and hopefully the bacon will cook.
[hood slamming]
Okay, it's been 45 minutes.
We're gonna call it.
[dings]
You know, it's kind of hard to tell
whether it's cooked or not.
There's definitely some
liquid that came out
and some fat that rendered.
It's kind of warm and it's kinda
changed shape a little bit.
I'm feeling very nervous
about whether or not
this is gonna poison me, but
I'll give it a try anyways.
Yeah, I probably shouldn't have done that.
This bacon is barely, hardly cooked.
That was unwise.
Let's take this party back inside.
[pans clanging]
Bacon jam.
We're gonna chop our
bacon up nice and fine,
cook it in this non-stick skillet
until it's browned and rendered somewhat,
spoon off some of that fat,
add some diced onion,
and once that's golden,
some brown sugar, a smidge of vinegar,
and let that cook for a half
hour until it's nice and saucy.
Transfer to our jar and
we've got our bacon jam.
[dings]
Open this bad boy up,
this looks really cool.
We've basically turned
our bacon-onion mixture
into kind of a caramel.
It's a little sticky, a little oily.
It's so good.
The dark caramel flavors
really play nice with the fat
and the smoke, big umami energy.
This would be a killer edition
to a burger or a cheese plate
or something like that.
[pans clanging]
Candied bacon.
This one's easy enough.
We're gonna rub our strips
down with brown sugar,
hit them with some black pepper,
do the same to the other
side, and then pop this
in the oven at 350 degrees
for about 20 minutes.
[oven door clicking]
Ooh, glossy.
[dings]
We got a little bit of
burning around the edges
because of all that added sugar,
but these pieces look really pretty.
Mmm, delicious.
I generally think bacon
desserts are kind of gimmicky,
but the whole sugar, fat,
salt, smoke thing always hits.
[pans clanging]
Bacon ice cream.
Well, you can't make bacon ice cream
without making a bacon creme anglaise.
We're gonna add cream, milk, butter,
and bacon fat to this saucepan,
bring that up to a
simmer over medium heat.
While that's working,
we've got egg yolks, sugar,
and a pinch of salt, and we're
gonna whisk them together
until they're light and fluffy.
Now that our dairy's hot, we're
gonna add it a bit at a time
to our eggs to temper them and then
whisk it all in until it's smooth.
Then we're gonna transfer
this back to our saucepan,
cook it just until it's
thick, and then strain it
to make sure it's smooth.
We're gonna let this
cool down in the fridge
until it's cold and thick.
Okay, now that our ice
cream base is chilled,
we're gonna pour it into this
ice cream machine and let 'er rip.
[whirring]
Now that it's almost finished,
we're gonna add some
bacon bits for texture,
and let that finish freezing.
Now, we're gonna scrape
it into this loaf pan,
top it with more bacon bits,
and cover it in plastic
and then let it freeze solid overnight.
All right, our bacon ice
cream is ready to go,
and while we could build our
sundae in a regular bowl,
why not in a bacon bowl?
Tada, the porkiest sundae that ever was.
[dings]
Not sure how I feel about cold
bacon, but here goes nothing.
Wow, very bacony, very salty.
Good chew from the bacon bits.
You know, this is actually
way better than I thought,
but I don't think I could eat
more than one small scoop, personally.
Let's get a little fresh air, shall we?
[pans clanging]
Grilled bacon, two ways.
This side of the grill is good and hot
and this one over here is on very low.
We're gonna oil our grill grates first
then lay our slices down carefully,
close the lid and come back to flip.
We're just gonna take
these off as they're ready.
[funky music]
[dings]
High heat grilled bacon.
Flareups are always an issue
with something this fatty,
so we've got a bit of
charring in addition to
a few spots that could have
definitely cooked a little longer.
Definitely on the chewier side,
but the grill flavor is really killer.
It can be tricky to grill bacon properly
without setting something on
fire, and this tastes great.
[dings]
Low heat grilled bacon.
So, our low and slow grilled bacon
definitely cooked more evenly
and there was more time
for the fat to slowly render,
so the pieces shrunk a bit more.
Definitely crispier, actually
a bit more grill flavor
since it had more time over heat,
and the texture is really cool.
I prefer this to the hot
and fast bacon, honestly.
[dings]
Skewered bacon.
Now, we have a couple of skewers
that we've threaded strips of bacon onto,
and we're gonna grill
these over medium-low heat,
turning them every once in a while.
Mmm, that smells so good.
Loving the crisping and
browning around the edges
and there's definitely some contrast
between the peaks and
valleys of these folds.
This wavy texture is really cool.
Loving the grill flavor and
the variety of textures.
I'd love this even more with a
soy sugar glaze of some sort.
Really cool.
[pans clanging]
Searzall bacon.
We got our bacon, we got our Searzall,
which is basically just
a modified blowtorch,
and we're gonna cook it all
the way through with this.
This is gonna take a minute.
[roaring]
Well, good enough for who it's for.
As we've seen before, high direct heat
does weird things to bacon.
These slices are kind of
singed and all seized up
but not rendered nicely
or even browned, really.
Mmm, really chewy and definitely cooked,
but not all that much going on.
It's cold out here, I'm
ready to head back inside.
[pans clanging]
George Foreman bacon.
We're gonna lay our strips down, shut it,
and let it do its thing.
That looks done to me.
[dings]
We've got these cooked but
still chewy looking bits here,
and then these borderline
burnt parts here.
Yeah, that part's kinda
on the edge crispy,
and that's more cooked but
chewy and tastes kinda hammy.
I can't recommend it.
[pans clanging]
Air fryer bacon.
I cannot even tell you how
sick I am of this air fryer.
[dinging]
It dinged, guess it's ready,
and already unimpressed.
[dings]
So, the bacon took on decent color,
but the fan that blows around in there
folded the pieces onto themselves,
which didn't help matters.
It's hardly crispy.
Mmm, yup, not getting
the crunch I'm after.
This one's a bust.
[pans clanging]
Waffle iron bacon.
So, we're gonna place our
strips in a little lattice,
and let's call it there.
[dings]
So, yeah, pretty uneven.
Yeah, the crispy bits are
crispy, the chewy bits are chewy.
I just can't think of any real reason
to cook bacon this way to be honest.
[pans clanging]
Powdered bacon.
All right, we have our dehydrator.
We have three strips of fully cooked bacon
and let this go at a low
temperature overnight.
That looks very dry.
Now I'm gonna break these
strips into a few pieces,
put them in our spice grinder,
close it, and buzz it up.
That's bacon powder.
[dings]
It definitely feels a little bit tacky.
It's not as free flowing
as you might want it to be
for a powder sort of application.
Oh, but it has kind of
a burnt egg aftertaste.
Not good at all.
[pans clanging]
Stir fried bacon.
Okay, gonna cut these
into one-inch pieces,
get a little oil into our smoking hot wok.
In goes the bacon, keep things moving,
just a minute, stir fried bacon.
[dings]
We're looking at some pieces here
that are more cooked than
others but it smells great.
This feels completely different
from our other methods.
That's actually delicious.
There's so much of that smoky wok flavor
which really complements the
bacon's natural characteristics
and the chew is really
appealing in this context.
This would be a great jumping-off point
for some stir fried Chinese broccoli
or bacon fried rice or
something like that.
Yum.
[pans banging together]
Deep-fried bacon.
Bacon, meet bubbly pot of hot oil.
Well, it's definitely working.
I think I gotta pull it.
This cooked crazy quickly,
but the pieces curled
up in a really weird way
that I'm not really happy with.
Even color all around,
and it's really crispy.
Mmm.
Love the texture, but
the fry oil seems to have
dulled the flavor somewhat,
and it's kinda greasy.
Not bad, but deep-frying
at home is a pain.
[pans banging together]
Bacon bits.
We're gonna line up
our strips and cut them
into the smallest pieces possible,
lower those gently into some hot oil,
and homemade bacon bits.
Crispy bits of bacon confetti.
I want a baked potato.
You've definitely got some
distinct pieces of meat
and fat mixed in here.
Forget it.
I'm just gonna use my hands.
Mmm.
I really feel like I'm
tasting the fry oil here,
and I kinda wish I just cooked
the bacon in a cast iron pan
and chopped them up afterward.
[pans banging together]
Country-fried bacon.
We've got some all purpose flour
and beaten egg here.
I'm just gonna season each
one with a little bit of salt,
and then we're gonna
dredge our bacon in flour,
then egg, then back into the flour,
and then carefully place
it into the hot oil.
Repeat with the rest of our bacon
and take them out when
they're golden brown,
and that, my friends,
is country-fried bacon.
So just like a country-fried steak,
it kinda has this nice
puffy, crispy exterior,
which looks really nice,
but the bacon inside itself
is not crispy at all.
It smells really good.
Mmm.
You know, with the
breading, it kinda tastes
like a bacon donut or something like that.
More county fair novelty
than anything else,
but not bad at all.
All right, we cooked
bacon just about every
way we could think of.
What did we learn?
Well, for one, we learned
that lower and less direct
forms of heat are the
key to maximizing bacon's
crispiest, crunchiest potential, but also
that in some cases, a little
chew isn't a bad thing,
and though there are a whole lot of
bacon specific gadgets out there,
none of them produced a
product that was better
than any our straight forward methods,
and were often a whole lot worse.
Have a favorite method that
you didn't see here today?
Drop it in the comments.
