Does Anyone Use a Bacon Press?

[Doofy]

Actually the low sodium varieties are manageable unless your sodium intake restrictions are severe...and it costs a little more but the "center cut" packages are really lean...

Thanks, /pine. Never even considered low sodium bacon. I know they have been removing nitrites and nitrates from hot dogs and such so maybe bacon will follow suit. Have not seen low-sodium bacon in my local store but will ask now.

Ankle's swell up with to much sodium. If I limit intake to 2300mg and drink at least 64oz of water a day, then maybe can have a slice or two. Man needs Bacon!

 

[bwalley]

Great, now I want bacon....
I prefer parchment paper to foil when baking bacon. We usually have too much bacon to fry in a pan when we have bacon. One has to look for it , but there is nitrate free bacon.

 

[Bird]

I've never used a bacon press, but always thought it would be a good idea if I had the right sized skillet. My first preference with bacon would be thick sliced, fried low and slow as others have mentioned. But as I've gotten older and lazier, I've recently changed to the Hormel Black Label already cooked bacon from Sam's Club.
Hormel Black Label Fully Cooked Bacon (9.5 oz., 72 ct.) - Sam's Club

 

[dmccarty]

We cook bacon in the oven in a big pan or in the microwave with a smaller, ceramic plate that is huge compared to our largest frying pan. For the microwave, we put down quite a few layers of paper towels to soak up the fat and make easy clean up.

Sounds like a bacon press is a uni tasker in the kitchen.

Later,
Dan

 

[oosik]

Its been so long since I've had any bacon - forgotten what it tastes like. Walk by the bacon at the grocery store - price alone is enough to curl your toes - besides what we get here that is called bacon is about 75% fat and sliced so thin you can see right thru it. I'll pass..........

 

[dgl24087]

I oven cook my bacon, preferred brand is Wright's Applewood Smoked bacon. Oven cooking isn't messy, bacon stays straight and doesn't shrink much.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I walked up to the butcher I know at a local store and said "you got any bacon that isn't so fat?"

He answered, "then it wouldn't be bacon, would it?" lol

He kinda had a point there!

SR

 

[Mace Canute]

It's been awhile since I did any bacon at home but when I did I used one of these racks designed for use in a microwave. As you can see, all the grease drips off and it's easy peasy to make the bacon as crispy as you desire.

 

[Doofy]

Why doesn't the grease splatter all over the microwave? I can't even melt butter for popcorn without it making a huge mess. I do realize there is a lot of water in butter and I would assume there is some water in bacon too.

 

[Doofy]

It's been awhile since I did any bacon at home but when I did I used one of these racks designed for use in a microwave. As you can see, all the grease drips off and it's easy peasy to make the bacon as crispy as you desire.

Dang, that looks good! Shouldn't tempt a fat man!

 

[teg]

One thing for sure.... bacon (anyway you cook it) is good. We eat too much of it but I would rather die fat and happy than skinny and starving. Most of the time it's turkey bacon fried in real bacon grease but the weekend is the real McCoy!!!

Medium heat works for me, 5-6 out of ten on electric, fast enough with only a little splatter. Unlike most of you, I love flipping bacon. Enough time between flips to get the scrambled eggs ready.

 

[jmc]

Aside from my recently learned technique of baking bacon, my former wife threw out the best bacon cooker I ever owned. I'd like to try to describe it here in case anyone knows its name, so I can buy another one.

It's electric and designed to fry anything you can fit between its upper and lower heated surfaces. (so it cooks twice as fast with no flipping required) Think flat surfaced waffle iron but with an articulated hinge to accommodate variable food thicknesses.

The bottom surface is slanted for grease to drain into a tray under it.

Thanks to the linkage between heated surfaces, the top surface will bottom out on top of the food no matter if it's a hamburger or bacon, and its weight keeps food flat/in-contact with both surfaces.

Anybody recognize such a thing?

 

[Doofy]

That sounds like a panini press. Some of them have reversible plates...smooth or ridged. Great for sandwiches too.

 

[lostcreekranch]

Aside from my recently learned technique of baking bacon, my former wife threw out the best bacon cooker I ever owned. I'd like to try to describe it here in case anyone knows its name, so I can buy another one.

It's electric and designed to fry anything you can fit between its upper and lower heated surfaces. (so it cooks twice as fast with no flipping required) Think flat surfaced waffle iron but with an articulated hinge to accommodate variable food thicknesses.

The bottom surface is slanted for grease to drain into a tray under it.

Thanks to the linkage between heated surfaces, the top surface will bottom out on top of the food no matter if it's a hamburger or bacon, and its weight keeps food flat/in-contact with both surfaces.

Anybody recognize such a thing?

Sounds like a George Foreman Grill?

Basic Grills | George Foreman

 

[mjarrels]

We have a small mom and pop country store just down the road that sells country ham, salty but good. I like the cured side meat, you have to slice it at home and about 80% fat but the good kind of fat, makes a great sandwich with a little mustard.

mark

 

[Doofy]

mjarrels, you are killin' me! My mouth is watering just thinking about that ham. The only things that are fresh in Alaska are the fish and wild game. 99% of the food we eat is shipped up and beyond super fresh. There are a few guys butchering beef and hogs locally but the prices are outrageous.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I learned something today. Never heard of a bacon press! Now I know��

Me neither.

Googled it, now i know what that is called.

 

[JRobyn]

Aside from my recently learned technique of baking bacon, my former wife threw out the best bacon cooker I ever owned. I'd like to try to describe it here in case anyone knows its name, so I can buy another one.....

I have one very much like that - it's a 1960's vintage Hamilton-Beach electric waffle grill with reversible cooking griddle plates. One side is a double waffle, the other a flat grill. Little groove all around the edge with a "drain spout" in one corner. The "hinges" are big u-shaped springs.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I just recently started using a bacon press which I bought from Amazon Amazon.com : Update International New 8" Barbecue BBQ Grill Steak Weights, Heavy-Weight, Hamburger Bacon Sausage Grill Press, Commercial Grade, Cast Iron : Grill Accessories : Patio, Lawn & Garden for around $10.
I've started making pickled sauerkraut and my first batch I used a mallet to beat the cabbage in a metal pan every 15 minutes for 4 hours. Was about to give up making more until I pondered and decided to try something different to get the juice out of the cabbage. I found a plastic deep pan about 12" x 20" and bought the bacon press. I chopped my cabbage (2 heads/7lbs with 4 table spoons of mixed well pickling salt) and put it in the plastic pan spread out and placed the bacon press on top and leaned forward with my weight and worked down the pan till I had it all pressed (the bacon press reached across the pan and about 5 times down had it all pressed). I did this every 20 minutes or so for 2 hours and had so much juice I had to pour some off after filling my 2qt jars with large lids packed and a leaf of cabbage covering the cut cabbage and then placed a glass weight (glass candle holder filled with glass pebbles) on top then put the lid on with the air lock vent device Amazon.com: Fermentology 3-Piece Airlock For Mason Jar Fermentation, Preservation, Pickling, Homebrewing, Kimchi, Sauerkraut, Wine and Beer Making - 4 Pack: Kitchen & Dining and waited 10 days. Best sauerkraut ever made and wish there was a judging contest and certain I'd win. A couple of small hot peppers can be added later if one likes it that way.
I give most of the credit to the perfect size and weight and handle of the cast iron bacon press which is waiting (after washing salt off when finished and drying on the stove top) for the next batch. So, if you give up on making the perfect bacon or want to use it for double duty the bacon press has lots of uses and pressing cabbage to make sauerkraut iis one of them.:cool2:

 

[Gunny]

We bounce around, sometimes we use a bacon press in a square skillet, sometimes we use a George Forman. If we're having BLTMBs (Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato and More Bacon), I lean towards the skillet and press method, it just seems that it tastes better on a sandwich. For breakfast meals, we mostly use the George Forman.