Dropped my burnt bacon habit after 20 years

I used to fry bacon until it was basically charcoal because I thought crispy meant burnt. Last month my sister showed me to pull it when it's still a little soft and let it rest on paper towels - comes out perfectly crispy without tasting like ash. Anyone else grow up thinking well done was the only way?

2 comments

2 Comments

shane2441d ago

Your sister is totally right about pulling it early. But here's something nobody talks about: the type of bacon changes everything. Thick cut bacon needs way more time than the thin stuff, so that "burnt" habit might have been the right move for certain brands. I grew up on cheap thin sliced bacon that turned to ash in 30 seconds flat. Once I tried thick cut from a butcher, I realized I'd been fighting the wrong enemy all these years. Maybe your sister uses a specific bacon that cooks different from what you were used to. The texture and fat ratio between those slices is a whole different game.

derek_brown281d ago

I read somewhere that the Maillard reaction is what gives bacon its flavor, and that happens best at a certain temperature range. If you burn it, you're basically destroying all that good chemistry. My brother-in-law is a bit of a food science nerd and he explained it to me once - the sweet spot is when the fat renders down but the meat isn't brittle yet. He swears by baking bacon in the oven at 400 degrees, where you can watch it more evenly. I've tried it and you really can see when it hits that perfect crispy-but-not-charred stage.