Boiled Bacon Anyone?

[wdfifteen]

I have tried it a couple of times. I like the texture better than simply fried or baked. It's crispy on the outside, but still has some texture in the center. But I haven't gotten the right level of Maillard on it yet. It looks kind of pale. After the water boils away it browns, but not enough.

So far I've tried putting about 1/4 inch of water in the pan, getting it boiling, and dropping in the bacon. The fat renders out while the bacon is boiling and it's left spread thinly all over the pan once the water is gone. I cranked up the heat, but there just wasn't enough fat left to brown the bacon properly. Next time I'm going to add some vegetable oil after the water is gone to see if I can get the nice texture AND get it to brown.

Any one else tried boiling bacon?

[masraum]

I've tried cooking it with a little water in the pan, and it worked well. It's been a while and I can't remember the details. I don't think I started with the bacon submerged. I think there was just a layer of water but the bacon was still peaking out. But I'm not positive.

[stevej37]

I've never had it boiled...might have to try it.

I never fry it in a pan anymore....baking it in the oven works best for me.

[masraum]

https://www.americastestkitchen.com/articles/3347-how-to-cook-bacon-skillet-add-water

[stevej37]

I'm trying it....looks good.
I love bacon.

[Bill Douglas]

I only cook it on the Weber BBQ. I get the BBQ hot so it cooks (Maillard) well on the outside but doesn't dry out the inside. Hot and fast I guess.

[stomachmonkey]

Boiled Bacon just sounds so wrong. I don't care how it tastes, it's just something I never want to hear.

[stevej37]

^^^ It sounds like the trick is to get right amount of water in the pan.
Boiling sounds like a pot o pasta.....this is only calling for tablespoons.

[flatbutt]

Can I still stir my tea with boiled bacon?

[masraum]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Boiled Bacon just sounds so wrong. I don't care how it tastes, it's just something I never want to hear.

At least how I've heard and done it, you're not actually boiling the bacon. There's some water in the bottom of the pain. This helps get the bacon completely cooked, the fat thoroughly rendered and greatly reduces the amount of popping and grease mess outside of the skillet.

There's a little water in the pan in the beginning, but by the time you're finished the water has completely evaporated and all that's left in the pan is what would normally be in the pan, cooked bacon and rendered bacon fat.

Originally Posted by flatbutt

Can I still stir my tea with boiled bacon?

You can still cook it so it's crispy (without burning it).

The addition of water keeps the initial cooking temperature low and gentle, so the meat retains its moisture and stays tender as the fat renders. Plus, since the water helps render the fat, there will be significantly less splatter as your bacon finishes in the pan.

Also, by the time the water reaches its boiling point, the bacon fat is almost completely rendered. This will help keep the meat bacon from burning, since you now don’t have to wait for the fat to cook off like you would if you cooked it the traditional way, instead of in water.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by stevej37

I've never had it boiled...might have to try it.

I never fry it in a pan anymore....baking it in the oven works best for me.

Yep, we've cooked it in the skillet, cooked it in the skillet with water, and baked it in the oven. If we're just making a couple/few pieces we'll use a skillet (probably forget about the water). If we're making a normal amount then we bake it in the oven. I usually use a baking sheet and line it with foil and then sit a wire rack in the pan. The grease ends up in the pan under the rack after having dripped off of the bacon. The bacon is much more evenly cooked, and with the foil, you pour the grease out of one corner of the pan and then trash the foil and the pan is still clean.

[stevej37]

I'm trying thin sliced bacon done this way tomorrow.
I'd buy some eggs along with...but my cc limit is too low.

[Gogar]

Cut into big ol chunks and boil it.

Let it cool and very lightly flour it, deep fry it for crisp, and then hit it with some hot wing sauce.

[fanaudical]

Couldn't resist - One of my favorite scenes from "Better of Dead":

[masraum]

Originally Posted by fanaudical

Couldn't resist - One of my favorite scenes from "Better of Dead":

LOL! I love Better Off Dead, but had forgotten about that.

[berettafan]

Well heck never heard of that. I do boil sausage links and like to get a touch of browning when the water is gone. Sounds kinda like the same concept.

[stevej37]

Tried it this am using about a quarter package of thin sliced bacon. Only 3 tablespoons of water was enough to cover the bacon. After about 4 minutes, flipped them and the water was about gone by the 6 minute mark. Left them in the pan for another minute or two to brown them.
Placed them on paper towels and they looked normal.

The flavor and texture was good, comparable to pan frying...a lot less mess than pan frying.


I will prob stick with doing them in the oven. Very easy and just throw away the tin foil when done.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by stevej37

Tried it this am using about a quarter package of thin sliced bacon. Only 3 tablespoons of water was enough to cover the bacon. After about 4 minutes, flipped them and the water was about gone by the 6 minute mark. Left them in the pan for another minute or two to brown them.
Placed them on paper towels and they looked normal.

The flavor and texture was good, comparable to pan frying...a lot less mess than pan frying.


I will prob stick with doing them in the oven. Very easy and just throw away the tin foil when done.

It's been years since we tried it with water, but that's about what my vague recollection is when we tried it. And yes, we've stuck with baking in the oven as being much easier most of the time.

Like I said, if you were only going to make 2-4 slices for some reason, then the water in the skillet method would probably be far better than the oven. But if you're going to cook a lot, then the oven method is our favorite because it's less messy, more thorough/consistent, and easier.

[stevej37]

And also...I noticed that the boiled bacon had lost some of it's saltiness from the boiling.
Not enough to bother me....but it was just a little different.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by stevej37

And also...I noticed that the boiled bacon had lost some of it's saltiness from the boiling.
Not enough to bother me....but it was just a little different.

the hot water probably removes salt from the bacon, so that makes sense.

I've gotten some "country ham" which is salt cured the old fashioned way. And even though the ham is fully cured and can be eaten as is (like a proscuitto) some folks because of the saltiness recommend soaking that ham in water before cooking/eating to remove some of the saltiness.