The appeal of bacon reaches around the world. A staple of many kitchens, bacon is used as a classic breakfast ingredient, sandwich filler, or even a seasoning. As many cuts and styles of bacon as there are ways of preparing and presenting it.
As far as methods of preparing bacon are concerned, you can either fry, grill, roast, or microwave it. Do you ever cook bacon on a griddle?
Know Your Bacon
To decide how to use your bacon effectively, it is necessary to understand what it is and how it is produced. Bacon is a general term for cured pork derived primarily from the belly and back of pigs. It is an age-old method for preserving meat without the need to cook it.
The back bacon is a leaner cut of bacon that is often chosen by health-conscious consumers. Bacon that is streaky is usually from the belly and has a much higher fat content, but is often considered to be more natural. Middle cut bacon combines aspects of back and streaky bacon.
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Riskers are commonly known as bacon slices and measure approximately 1.5 millimeters thick. The thickness of bacon labeled as ‘extra thick’ generally ranges from 3 to 4 millimeters.
Cured meat is simply salted and left to cure for a few weeks. Salt is used as a preservative and discarded after its job is completed. Bacon may be seasoned with other flavorings to add additional taste. Dry curing is generally considered to have a stronger flavor than wet curing.
The wet cure is today the most widely used method of curing bacon in the food industry. Salt, preservatives, and flavorings are immersed in a solution with the pork meat.
In addition to this use of a wet cure, it is also increasingly common to inject a solution of preservatives into the meat. If you buy bacon produced this way, there will still be a substantial amount of the solution in the bacon.
It is possible that this bacon will be cheaper than the dry-cured bacon you can find in the supermarket. What type of bacon do you enjoy when it comes to cooking it?
It is also traditional to wood smoke meat, especially pork, in order to preserve it. The process can be performed in conjunction with dry curing, or as a standalone process. For this method to work, the type of wood being burned and the temperature at which it burns is of critical importance. Bacon is often smoked with apple, cherry, or hickory wood, which each impart a distinctive flavor.
Always Buy Quality
Buying high-quality dry-cured bacon is recommended. These products may be more expensive, but they will produce far better results.
Wet-cured bacon which is mass-produced and cheap has a problem with the number of fluids it retains. This fluid can be seen when cooking bacon when a creamy white substance appears as it cooks. Aside from being unsightly, this dilution of your oil-based medium affects the cooking process.
You should get the white fluid out and dispose of it as soon as possible if you have this experience.
Good Griddle Care
You have already decided which bacon you want to use. Here is some advice on how you can get the best results from it before you start cooking it on your griddle.
Use only high-quality vegetable oil when cooking. Smoking point is high – meaning they won’t burn as quickly as other options. Aside from that, they have a neutral flavor and will not interfere with anything you cook with them.
You should drain excess fat and oil from the griddle as needed, even when cooking because it can catch fire. Be sure to always clean your griddle after each use!
Getting The Sizzle!
Griddles and the sound of sizzling bacon are a big part of their appeal. What would you say if we told you to wait a few minutes to get to the sizzle after cooking? Putting your bacon directly into very hot oil or on a very hot surface is certainly not a good idea.
As a matter of fact, you should take it slowly if you want to achieve good results.
It is important that you remove your bacon from the refrigerator a few hours early so that it can come to room temperature. This approach will increase the crispness of the fat by significantly speeding up its rendering. Before cooking, the fat needs time to warm up since it stays cold for longer.
I would not recommend cooking bacon from frozen. You should allow it plenty of time to defrost and drain any excess liquid that may form as it thaws.
If you are cooking the bacon on a griddle, set the heat to low or medium. As soon as you see the bacon start to cook and you hear the gentle sizzle, it is time to turn up the heat to medium. Using too high heat will cause the meat to burn before any fat is rendered.
It’s best to let your bacon cook for a few minutes before moving it or turning it. You may notice that your bacon is sticking to your griddle during the initial stages of cooking. The bacon should only be turned once it has free movement on the griddle. When the rashers are nearing the end of cooking, turn them frequently to ensure even cooking.
You can cook a standard piece of bacon in about ten minutes if you use the correct temperature settings. Bacon that is extra thick may require an additional five minutes. It also depends on how crisp you like your bacon.
Immediately remove your rashers from the heat once they are cooked to your liking. Leaving the bacon on the griddle after turning off the griddle and leaving it to cook from residual heat means that it will still cook.
Serve your bacon with excess grease or fat removed. You can easily and effectively achieve this by patting it with some paper kitchen towels.
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What Not To Do?
Bacon isn’t hard to cook perfectly every time. Still, there can be some errors made that can ruin the results.
You should leave enough space between each rasher of bacon so that it does not overlap. When your rashers are tangled together, you can be sure that your bacon won’t be evenly cooked.
There is a thin line between beautifully crisp bacon and burned bacon, and burnt bacon is none too pleasant!
Some fat from your bacon melts while cooking and remains on your griddle. The grease will be full of flavor and will keep for a very long time in the refrigerator. Whenever we use bacon in our favorite recipes, our dishes will have the flavor of bacon, and it is particularly good when we fry eggs!
Final Thoughts
It’s gratifying and delicious to cook bacon on a griddle when you take the time to do so. It’s true that you can cook bacon in less time and with less cleanup afterward. Griddles offer the best results and the anticipation of seeing your bacon transform in front of your eyes.
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