Bacon may save your life!

[ElleH]

http://www.wusa9.com/news/watercooler/story.aspx?storyid=65778

And you thought nitrates were bad for you...

(Don't know if they are or not...just thought I'd share! I eat regular bacon with nitrates, myself.)

[LessLiz]

I don't even care if they are bad for me. Don't eat a lot of bacon but I want the good, chemical ladened stuff when I *do* have it! Nitrates, Yum! ;)

[neverwhere]

Yeah...I eat oscar mayer lower sodium bacon. I dont care about nitrates or the small amount of sugar it may or may not be cured with. Bacon has saved my diet on many occasions, thats for sure! :yum:

[tmatrocks]

Bacon has saved me already - but now there is more reason to enjoy the porky goodness!

[ValerieL]

I don't eat much bacon, mostly because it's a pain to fry up, but maybe I should eat more!

[Daisymaiz]

:rheart: bacon.

[Wifezilla]

Yeah!!! I just bought a bunch because it was on sale at Albertsons :D

[confession]

Bacon is yummy, and it is nice to know that it can help with Nitric Oxide- one of those "feel good" compounds of the body.

[tom sawyer]

So bacon has Viagra-like properties? Excellent.

[kurt]

I love bacon, let's all get together and have a bacon party!!! :lol: Piggys are wonderful.

[NewRuth]

Thanks ElleH!

Bacon has been one of my main low carb lifesavers! It's good to know that it's better than I thought.

[BoBoGuy]

Costco has a low salt pre-cooked bacon that's great! No grease to clean up and only 45 seconds in the microwave. We have it almost everyday.

Bo

[pengu1]

I don't eat much bacon, mostly because it's a pain to fry up, but maybe I should eat more!

I found an easier way to cook it is to spread the slices out in a baking pan and pop it into the oven at about 350 or so, and just let it slowly bake for about 20 minutes or so. If you cover the pan, you will get left over pieces that don't get eaten, and you can just pop them into a plastic ziplock bag and then use them for bacon bits or even just eat one when you feel like noshing on something.

:)

[Didy]

I don't eat much bacon, mostly because it's a pain to fry up, but maybe I should eat more!

My 17 year old son taught me how to "fry" up bacon w/out the mess!! He just did it on a plate in the microwave (paper towel under and above the bacon) but I bought one of those bacon dishes for microwaves and it seriously cooks it up nice and crispy and it is sooooo easy!!! For the thick slices, I just stuck about 6 or 7 of 'em in the micro and zapped 'em for 10 minutes. They were nice and crispy and because the bacon is covered w/ several paper towels, there really wasn't any mess at all! Sad to say, I ate a whole pound of it yesterday... :yum:

[ValerieL]

Thanks for all the tips. I'll have to buy some bacon at the grocery store this weekend.

[Rachel1]

Ditto the microwaved bacon. Apparently nitrosamines (the breakdown of nitrites that aren't supposed to be good for you) are minimized by microwaving bacon rather than panfrying it, plus it's way less messy.

Rachel

[Demokat]

My 17 year old son taught me how to "fry" up bacon w/out the mess!! He just did it on a plate in the microwave (paper towel under and above the bacon) but I bought one of those bacon dishes for microwaves and it seriously cooks it up nice and crispy and it is sooooo easy!!! For the thick slices, I just stuck about 6 or 7 of 'em in the micro and zapped 'em for 10 minutes. They were nice and crispy and because the bacon is covered w/ several paper towels, there really wasn't any mess at all! Sad to say, I ate a whole pound of it yesterday... :yum:

I have to get one of those bacon dishes. Cooking it stovetop or in the oven causes a huge greasy mess. I would probably cook it more often if it wasn't for the freakin' mess! :D I love adding bacon to salads and vegetables.

[Kary]

Bacon is indeed the perfect food. Ah, I love the smell of bacon in the morning, it smells like victory (if you are old enough you will get the "quote") :) .

[Daryl]

Maybe when people are rushed into the ER with chest pains, the docs should give them 4 slices of bacon, instead of asperin.... :lol:

I lovvvvve bacon.

[tie_guy]

I might point out that although I love bacon too the article seemed rather scant on details. I wouldn't accept an article like this talking about the virtues of low fat so I don't know if I accept this article either.

Having said that though I must admit that for me bacon is an important part of a LC diet. I don't like eggs so bacon is even more important. I notice that Trader Joes has a complete line of nitrate free bacon. I was thinking of getting my bacon their since Dr. A recommended nitrate free bacon and they just opened a Trader Joes near where I work. Ah who am I kidding I am too lazy to do that.

You can cook bacon in the microwave between layers of paper towels. As I recall you just cook it on high for a couple of minutes and the paper towel sucks up the grease. Or you could do what I do and buy the precooked stuff. It isn't quiet as good and it is a little more expensive (did I mention that I am lazy?)

Funny how different parts of the world enjoy different bacons. It is all basically the same but depending on the area of the pig the bacon is take from (the belly or on top or on the side) you can have a vastly different experience.

As an American when I think of bacon I think of the fatty kind that most Americans like. I love American bacon but I do think that American bacon is a lot better if it is sliced much thicker than most people slice it.

Of course it is all bacon so no matter what part of the pig you get it from, or what country you are in, it is going to be good! Gotta love bacon!

[Didy]

I have to get one of those bacon dishes. Cooking it stovetop or in the oven causes a huge greasy mess. I would probably cook it more often if it wasn't for the freakin' mess! :D I love adding bacon to salads and vegetables.

I agree! The bacon dish I bought is nice and big - I found it at Bed Bath and Beyond. :thup:

[LiLiMarie]

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....bacon.....*drool........

I ate a pound of it today.

[rightnow]

I've eaten very little bacon on LC because I feel guilty about how bad it allegedly is for you, and because it's a royal pain in the butt to cook -- takes a long time, makes a huge mess, etc. It's an awesome food though, and bacon and avocado may be the divine combination. Come to think of it, bacon with almost anything is great. I have some in the fridge. I might try it tomorrow in the microwave as suggested. Well, I'm lacking paper towels, that could be a problem...

[PlaneCrazy]

I love bacon. There. I've said it. :lol:

Having strong German roots, we always had a pot of bacon grease (the rendered fat from bacon) in the fridge for cooking. I absolutely love bacon grease and onions in green beans. It makes wonderful eggs and you can't beat starting your beef stew with sauteeing veggies in bacon grease.

To gather my bacon fat when I start to get low, I will use a microwave bacon cooker and pour off the grease. For everyday bacon consumption I'll pay the little extra and buy these pre-packaged, uncooked bacon pouches from Hormel that you just pop in the microwave for 3 minutes and they're cooked without mess, without fuss, without dirty dishes. They come with four slices per pouch. They're amazing.

And for bacon afficionados (and I see that I'm far from alone), there's a wonderful new book out called The Bacon Cookbook that looks at all kinds of bacon from around the world and has some increadible recipes. Not all of them are low-carb, but I think they can at least give you some inspiration and with a little adaptation will be quite good. :yum: A friend of mine who works for the publisher was talking to me about low-carbing and mentioned the book. He gave me a copy for my birthday and I drool every time I read it. :lol:

So, here's to bacon! I dearly love those little piggies. :D

Plane

[Daryl]

Bacon, we love thee:

http://www.mcgill.ca/files/studenthealth/bacon.jpg

http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/3085295/2/istockphoto_3085295_fried_bacon.jpg

[Bat Spit]

Two Words. Bacon Wave (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00069QLEE?tag=jaybrewernet4-20&link_code=as3&creativeASIN=B00069QLEE&creative=373489&camp=211189)

I'm on my second one! Just be sure to wrap paper towels over the top.

[Demokat]

Plane,

Thank you for the cookbook suggestion. I also use bacon grease to cook with. I remember my grandmother adding bacon grease to her biscuits and spaetzle. They were delicious. :yum:

When I make almong flour parmesan crackers, I add some bacon grease for a little flavor. Delish!

[CheeseSand]

Bacon, olive oil, and cheese - where would we be without them??

I don't think a day goes by without me eating at least one of them...

[herselfNYC]

It's so easy to do in the microwave, with papertowels to absorb the extra grease. For those who like it crunchy, that's the optimal way to cook it.

[Nancy LC]

Hmmm... the day before this was published people were making the sign against the evil eye at bacon because of the nitrates. Now they're rushing to the store because of the nitrates.

[LessLiz]

As a cook I'd argue that the best way to cook bacon is very slowly in a large covered pan on top of the stove or in the oven. Do you get better bacon that way? No. But you get a lot of lovely bacon grease to use when cooking other items!

[KnitNut]

Bacon is so good when you just need that little " something " and it really takes care of those hunger pangs. I could never be a vegetarian because of it!

[joylorene]

I put bacon on a broiler pan and bake in the oven - I cover the bottom of the pan with foil so when it catches all the grease just toss out the foil or save the grease for frying eggs later.

YUMMY

[tom sawyer]

The issue of nitrates helping in event of a heart attack is moot for LCers since they have already removed the dietary cause of vascular disease.

Alton Brown advocated baking bacon on a sheetpan as the best means of cooking. And for Heaven's sake don't throw out the grease, it is invaluable.

We cook bacon, crumble it up and keep it in the frig for use on salads, beans, etc. I think the nitrates do allow it to be stored for long periods without spoiling.

[cartersg1]

The words of Emeril - PORK FAT RULES!

Bacon - 425 for 10 minutes on a baking sheet - line it with foil for easier clean-up. I make it a couple times a week but sometimes, I crave it so it doesn't last long. Cheers!

[MizKitty]

Another bacon lover here.
I love the pre-cooked too, for the convenience. Sam's Club sells a big package (Hormel Black Label), 72 slices for about $9, always consistently good, 70 calories for 4 slices, and I can pop the number of strips I want in the microwave for 20 seconds and have my bacon.
I really like that I can have 2 slices anytime, on a sandwhich, in a salad, etc. I never would have gotten out the frying pan and gone through the time and mess for 2 strips of bacon, before. So I often ended up throwing away partially used pkgs of bacon that went bad while I was too lazy to cook it.
So this indulgence doesn't really seem to cost much more, all things considered.

[treefrog]

I put bacon on a broiler pan and bake in the oven - I cover the bottom of the pan with foil so when it catches all the grease just toss out the foil or save the grease for frying eggs later.

YUMMYI do it the exact same way. I turn my oven on about 400°F and bake for 15 minutes, then flip each piece and cook another 5 minutes (unless the slices are thin, then use less time).

I save bacon grease too for using in other things.

[deb34]

http://lennthompson.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/bacon.jpg

bacon on a sided baking sheet on the barbeque: absolutely delicious, effortless and almost entirely messfree!!!!!! I highly recommend it! even in the winter! Just let the bacon cook away in its own fat and you get crispy straight bacon without much effort at all. No splatter to cleanup and you can reuse the grease for other things after it cools down a little.

http://www.ogormans.co.uk/images/EGL4400X---5-Burner.jpg

[KarenJ]

The words of Emeril - PORK FAT RULES!

Bacon - 425 for 10 minutes on a baking sheet - line it with foil for easier clean-up. I make it a couple times a week but sometimes, I crave it so it doesn't last long. Cheers!

That's how I do mine, too.

Another thing I do often is nuke the jar of bacon fat until melted. That way, the sediment that accumulates between batches settles to the bottom of the jar.

I've been spending oodles of money on Wellshire Farms and Niman Ranch bacon. At first it was because the nitrites/nitrates, but it later morphed into a humane issue. I wanted bacon from happy pigs.

Now that I've found a local farmer who actually raises happy pigs, I want to learn how to make my own bacon.

[rightnow]

I like the idea of happy pigs. I'd happily pay more for a happy pig with a decent life rather than contribute to the alternative. Unfortunately I don't think I'm very near anything like that.

[fujiwara]

I have a microwave pan with raised spines so the grease collects below the bacon. Bacon is a staple of my diet ever since Dillons started carrying nitrate free bacon.

Do you have to refrigerate grease for future use, or is it safe to eat the grease that has been stored in a can on the stove?

[rightnow]

Well I don't know what the bacteriologists say, but I've eaten bacon grease that sat in a can next to the stove for days, and in my family history that was the norm. I put mine in the fridge out of paranoia, but I sometimes do use the same pan to fry eggs in it for a couple of days. I'm not dead yet.

[Demokat]

Well I don't know what the bacteriologists say, but I've eaten bacon grease that sat in a can next to the stove for days, and in my family history that was the norm. I put mine in the fridge out of paranoia, but I sometimes do use the same pan to fry eggs in it for a couple of days. I'm not dead yet.


Same thing with my family, PJ. Both my Grandmother and my Mom kept a can of bacon grease by the stove, and none of us kids ended up with food poisoning. Like you, I keep mine in the fridge.

[ValerieL]

I'm sold (and not because of the article, I never have worried about nitrates). From everything I've read, it sounds like I need to pick up a Bacon Wave, some paper towel, a pound of bacon, an avocado and some eggs to fry in the saved bacon grease.

[Demokat]

All this talk about bacon inspired me to throw 4 pieces in the microwave with lots of paper towels. It was still chewier than I like, but I like mine lamost burnt. I think next time I'll finish it off in the frying pan.

[rightnow]

Those "Bacon Wave" things that people are raving about, I checked the price at amazon.com. Basically, everything is around 20-25. Many say they are 11.95 but then they add 7.95 or more shipping! It's the moral of it -- I'll pay more for something that has a reasonable shipping rate, than which advertises a superlow price but then tacks on a ton in shipping. Anyway, over on eBay there is this woman selling 2 of them for $20 (FREE shipping) on several separate buy-it-now auctions, says she bought a huge case of them so got them cheapy. She says they can be stacked in the microwave to make twice as much at once.

The ability to cook 28 slices of bacon perfectly in a matter of minutes, neatly pour out the grease into a container for frying eggs, without having the long messy yucky stove or oven results I normally do, sounds awesome!

I just thought I'd mention it to anybody who's been thinking about bacon but doesn't make it because of the time/mess, which is my reason.

[joylorene]

Those "Bacon Wave" things that people are raving about, I checked the price at amazon.com. Basically, everything is around 20-25. Many say they are 11.95 but then they add 7.95 or more shipping! It's the moral of it -- I'll pay more for something that has a reasonable shipping rate, than which advertises a superlow price but then tacks on a ton in shipping. Anyway, over on eBay there is this woman selling 2 of them for $20 (FREE shipping) on several separate buy-it-now auctions, says she bought a huge case of them so got them cheapy. She says they can be stacked in the microwave to make twice as much at once.

The ability to cook 28 slices of bacon perfectly in a matter of minutes, neatly pour out the grease into a container for frying eggs, without having the long messy yucky stove or oven results I normally do, sounds awesome!

I just thought I'd mention it to anybody who's been thinking about bacon but doesn't make it because of the time/mess, which is my reason.

Hey thanks for doing the "leg work" I'll check into it!!

[Wolfram]

I don't care about the mess. I cook bacon in an iron skillet and babysit it--turning it over and over until it's crisp (and even melt-in-your-mouth if it's fatty enough and I always look for the fattiest package). Then I fry up a couple of eggs, then as a final reward, I throw a handful of shredded cheese into the fat and fry it up into a crispy, crunchy "pancake." Ah, weekend breakfasts...

I pour water into the skillet after I take out the cheese and it soaks while I eat. Nothing sticks to it that way and clean up's a breeze. A few squirts of Windex and a paper towel and the stove is clean, too.

I wouldn't do that on a workday, but then I don't eat breakfast on workdays anyway.

[KarenJ]

Wolfram,

Can you make easy over eggs in your cast iron pan? I'm having trouble with mine, even though it's 20 years old and well seasoned.

Sorry to change the subject. It still somewhat bacon-related. ;)

One thing I realized a few years ago is that bacon (or pork fat) is a superior fat for seasoning cast iron. This would have been the fat our grandmothers and great great grandmothers used without even thinking, because it was the only fat around.

[LarryAJ]

Can you make easy over eggs in your cast iron pan? I'm having trouble with mine, even though it's 20 years old and well seasoned.. My memory of doing easy over - which I love! - is that the amount of grease in the pan had a lot to do with how easy they could be turned. More grease, easier to turn. Another reason to save every bit of bacon grease.

Of course, with a lot of grease you can do sunny side up that is almost like easy over. Just keep splashing the hot grease up on the egg to cook the egg white that is on the top. DON"T splash it on yourself, that hurts !!

[Wolfram]

Can you make easy over eggs in your cast iron pan? I'm having trouble with mine, even though it's 20 years old and well seasoned.

I'd have to agree with Larry. My skillet is smallish and after frying four pieces of thick bacon (I cut the slices in half so they fit better), there's a lot of grease. If it's hot enough, the edges of the eggs get nice and crisp quickly but the yolks are still soft; getting my flat metal spatula under them is fairly easy and after I flip them, I don't leave them in there very long.

I'm getting hungry.