Everyone Around the Table

Here’s a great bacon trick for cooking it with a minimum of shrinkage and grease splatter: 

I wish I could take credit for this bacon trick but I heard about this method on America’s Test Kitchen and it’s brilliant –

1. Put bacon in a cold skillet and add enough water to just cover the bacon.
2. Turn the heat on to Medium-High and cook until the water has evaporated. This helps prevent the bacon from shrinking and has the majority of the cooking happening “under water,” with no splattering.

Once the water is gone, let the bacon start to brown a little and then turn it over to brown the other side. Remove the bacon from the heat when it’s done and let it drain on paper towels. Now this part, I WILL take credit for – take a clean kitchen scissors and cut the bacon into little bite-size pieces and then follow the method above. This makes it easier to turn, means all the bacon fits in the pan, and leftover bacon will be ready for adding to scrambled eggs, salads, chicken dishes, or just sprinkling directly into your mouth, my personal favorite.

I tend to purposely undercook the bacon just a tad because, after draining it on a paper towel, I put it in a zipper bag in the fridge. When I want some bacon, I take out a little and reheat it in the skillet, therefore cooking it more to my desired doneness.

The other benefit of cutting up the bacon and putting it in a bag like that is that you get a lot of bacon flavor in your eggs, salad, pasta, whatever – without overeating it. Turns out, you don’t need three pieces of bacon – you just need the equivalent of one, distributed out in your dish for maximum flavor.

Just wait until you try the method above. You’re going to thank me. In advance, you’re so welcome!