Do you dream about eating bacon ALL THE TIME?? Don’t panic if you do, because you are not alone. Bacon is that one food that everyone seems to love. And bacon-lovers can never stop at one or two pieces. An entire pound can disappear in no time at all! When it comes time to break down and make the bacon you have been drooling over, you have options. You can cook it in the oven or in a pan. If you choose to use a pan, we recommend stainless steel. These pans cook bacon wonderfully and they are simple to clean.
Today, we are going to share how to cook bacon in stainless steel and how to clean up afterwards too.
Steps to Cooking Bacon in Stainless Steel
Step 1: Heat Your Stainless Steel Pan for 5 Minutes
You will want your stainless steel pan to be nice and hot when you start cooking bacon. This means you must preheat your pan for approximately 5 minutes before adding the bacon.
Step 2: Perform the Water Check
Adding a small amount of water to your pan will allow you to determine whether it is hot enough. If the water dances around, your stainless steel pan is hot. If it doesn’t, you will need to wait until your pan heats a little longer.
Step 3: Cut the Bacon in Half
Long strips of bacon can be difficult to maneuver in stainless steel pans. We recommend cutting the strips of bacon in half using a pair of scissors. This will allow the bacon to cook more evenly as well.
PRO TIP: Cook the Bacon in Batches
You cannot throw an entire pound of bacon in the pan and hope it all cooks up quickly. Add a few pieces of the bacon and cook completely on both sides. You will know the bacon is ready to flip over when it easily pulls up from the pan. Once your bacon is cooked, place it on a plate covered with paper towels. Then add more bacon to the pan.
What about the cold-pan method?
Warming up the pan first is the easiest way to cook bacon in stainless steel. However, you will also find some people who will tell you that you can add bacon to a cold pan and slowly let it heat up.
Although this will turn out fine, it will take the bacon longer to cook. Additionally, more fat will be rendered out in the process. What good is bacon if you don’t get all the ooey-gooey fat included in every bite?!
For this reason, we prefer to cook bacon in stainless steel by first heating the pan instead of using this cold-pan method.
Can I cook it in the oven instead?
A lot of people prefer cooking bacon in the oven instead of on the stove - there's no splatter, and you can cook the entire bag of one pound's worth of strips all at once. Use parchment paper for easy cleanup!
To do this, preheat oven to 350 degrees, and bake for 25-30 minutes.
You can also save the bacon fat for other uses - such as using it to oil your cast iron pans, or use for cooking.
What to Do with the Bacon Grease??
Once you have finished cooking bacon in stainless steel, you can either save it or dump it.
Dispose in Glass Container
If you're disposing it, never pour bacon grease down the drain. The end result is never pretty. Think clogged drain, hiring a plumber, paying a small fortune. You get the idea.
Choose to pour it into a container once it has cooled instead. Then dispose of the container in the garbage.
Pro tip: I save empty glass jars from things such as marinara sauce, pickles, etc... from the grocery store and leave it next to the stove. This way hot oil can be poured directly into it so the pan once you're done cooking, so it can be cleaned right away. Save the lids!
Save It To Season Cast Iron Pans
Or do what we do… Pour that liquid gold into a container and keep it to use for cooking in the future. Bacon grease makes the best cooking oil and adds tons of bacon-y flavor to what you are cooking! So much better than the plumber and clogged drain scenario we mentioned above.
How to Clean Stainless Steel After Cooking Bacon
Once you have poured out all the bacon grease from the pan, it will be time to clean it thoroughly. Simply scrub it under hot water using soap. Then dry it completely before placing it in its rightful spot.
You should never wash your stainless steel pans in the dishwasher. They can get discolored and ruined that way.
Cooking bacon in stainless steel is quick and easy. Yes, you will need to wait for the pan to heat up, but once it is hot, the bacon cooks quickly and evenly. Try cooking your bacon in a stainless steel pan today and we guarantee you will never cook it any other way in the future.
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