25
votes
Accepted
What can I use in lieu of bacon in boeuf bourguignon and coq au vin?
You could perhaps take some ideas from vegetarian recipes. Obviously, I know chicken isn't vegetarian, but if you need to avoid bacon there are vegetarian options for imparting the flavouring that you ...
22
votes
Accepted
What are the small yellow things on my cooked bacon
This looks like your meat was discovered by a female fly (probably something like a blow fly) who thought that the protein-rich “carrion” would make a great spot for her offspring and subsequently ...
22
votes
Are there different grades or styles of bacon?
In the UK there are two main cuts of bacon.
There's "streaky bacon", which is cut from the pork belly. This is mostly what you get in the US.
There's also "back bacon" which is cut from the pork ...
20
votes
What can I use in lieu of bacon in boeuf bourguignon and coq au vin?
If nitrites are the issue, make your own bacon without using any pink curing salt, or use raw pork belly or fatback. Note: using commercial "uncured" bacon wouldn't work, because that's ...
20
votes
What can I use in lieu of bacon in boeuf bourguignon and coq au vin?
Bacon adds 4 things:
Fat: In theory, any fat will do as a replacement. In practice animal fats have different characteristics than most vegetable fats as they give a different mouth feel. Butter is a ...
17
votes
Are there different grades or styles of bacon?
More explicit answer for the USA: USDA says that bacon is not graded.
Is bacon inspected and graded?
All bacon found in retail stores is either USDA inspected for wholesomeness or inspected by State ...
16
votes
Accepted
How can I render bacon fat without frying it?
Chop bacon finely...or even use a food processor. Place in a pot. Add just enough water to cover the bottom of pan and prevent initial sticking. Place on very low heat. You might even need a heat ...
12
votes
What's the difference between "English" & "American" bacon?
There are many things called bacon in many places, and all cook different. I will hit a few and hope I am mostly right, please feel free to edit where I may be speaking from mistake.
British Rashers ...
12
votes
Accepted
10
votes
Are there different grades or styles of bacon?
I am going to say that in most cases, labels like premium, artisan, etc. are marketing gimmicks. I do not know of any labeling rules that will tell you a given bacon is from a better quality pork ...
10
votes
Accepted
Is it possible to cook bacon without melting as much fat?
I'm not sure this is really a sensible answer… but it's one way…
Deep-fry it.
Should take about 15 - 30s.
That way it will come out even fattier than it went in. Any fat that comes off will be added ...
10
votes
Can you make moose bacon?
Moose have bellies, so there is no reason that you can't make moose bacon. If you like moose, there is a high likelihood you will like moose bacon. Whether or not other people like it or not is not ...
9
votes
Accepted
White residue emerging while cooking bacon
The answer is related to a similar issue appearing in this question.
Basically, that residue is mostly water, along with denatured proteins from the meat. When meat is cooked and the cells expel ...
9
votes
Method for including bacon in an otherwise vegan chili?
You have two different approaches from Catija and eckes, depending on what you favor, but you could also combine both approaches -
Start by chopping up the bacon, and then cooking it in the pot ...
7
votes
Why is bacon crispy?
A few things occur to me:
Fat content is significantly different between chuck and bacon. Chuck is generally about 15-25% fat (depending on the cut); bacon is often more than 50% fat.
The cuts are ...
7
votes
Accepted
Making Bacon Spirals
Roll the bacon into its spiral and set it on end in a muffin tin to bake. You can use the toothpicks as "spacers" to keep the edges apart, and then easily pull them out the side once everything is ...
6
votes
How do I cook large quantities of sliced bacon?
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 ...
6
votes
Is there a way to get bacon crispy if you wrap it around potatoes and stick it in the oven?
The bacon should naturally come out crispy, as the oven cooks the bacon more evenly and the heat surrounds it. You can find here an article that lists a couple of advantages of cooking bacon in the ...
5
votes
Accepted
Method for including bacon in an otherwise vegan chili?
Moving to answer for OP. If you want to save the crispiness, or a least some of it, the suggestions of sprinkling small pieces at serving time would seem the way to go. It will give you the ...
5
votes
Accepted
What is the best method for stick-free cooking of bacon in a stainless steel pan?
First of all, it is difficult to get right. Don't be disappointed if you need some time to learn how to do it well.
As for your method, there are two things in your description you can improve on. ...
5
votes
Is it possible to cook bacon without melting as much fat?
This is something i've also struggled with. I find that the traditional way of preparing bacon where I'm from (the US) sacrifices flavor and texture for "crunch". This has given me an undeserved ...
5
votes
Accepted
Is there a way to make bacon a decent substitute for pancetta in Italian dishes?
It's not the same, but it can certainly work. Guanciale is a great substitute as well if you can find it.
I just made carbonara last week with bacon. I used this recipe. It came out pretty well. ...
4
votes
What is the best temperature and method to cook bacon in a grill pan?
I use two methods for bacon, depending on how much I am trying to make:
For small batches, I use a cast iron pan. I place the bacon on the pan cold, and cook over medium heat, turning and swapping ...
4
votes
Accepted
How to make perfect crispy bacon strips?
In order to get crispy bacon you need to start with the right type. In the USA what most people consider bacon is from the belly, whereas in other parts of the world bacon is from the loin. You can ...
4
votes
Accepted
Getting Crisp Bacon In A Gas Oven
I've cooked plenty of crispy bacon in plenty of ovens— gas and electric, commercial and home, with and without convection— and I really doubt the browning of bacon could be noticeably retarded by ...
4
votes
Accepted
Why is it not recommended to microwave UK or Canadian bacon?
If we are talking about bacon in these terms:
I believe it's because of the meat content difference. American bacon has a much higher fat-to-meat ratio and it's usually thinner, so when you microwave ...
4
votes
Accepted
Remove residue from bacon grease
Fat can be filtered through a coffee filter. It's slow, but it works. Make sure the fat stays well above the temperature at which it congeals.
Alternatively, you can "wash" the fat by mixing it well ...
4
votes
What can I use in lieu of bacon in boeuf bourguignon and coq au vin?
I believe that in many traditional recipes, the main reason for bacon is to get the fat in which other ingredients are browned. Lard and bacon fat were common cooking fats in rural areas. For this ...
4
votes
If I grill a bacon-wrapped chicken skewer, does a significant amount of bacon fat seeps into the poultry?
Your cooking method will clearly increase the fat content of the dish. If the bacon is removed after cooking, I don't think it is possible to say how much bacon fat remains. There are probably ...
3
votes
Method for including bacon in an otherwise vegan chili?
I'd say you need to cook the bacon in step one with the onions, peppers et all... don't use any other oil, just let the bacon fat render out.
I recommend first cutting the bacon up in 1/2 inch (1 cm) ...
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