Chewey Bacon?

[Barb1965]

I like my bacon chewey not crispy. I guess I have a fear of not cooking it enough because it almost always comes out crisp as can be. Does anybody have any tips or advice for getting it perfectly chewey each time? TIA!

[mission to lose]

Re: Chewey Bacon?

Good Morning,

There is no magic formula for getting it perfectly chewy. Wish there was, because that is the same way I like it as well. You just have to keep an eye on it and don't cook it as much. Also, do you pan cook it as you go each day?

I bake mine in the oven so I have several days worth without having to spend the time to make it when I want it. And it since there is thick bacon, thin bacon, etc, all brands are different, so it is just a case of trial and error. Unfortunately, it's not like baking a cake where there is a certain time and temp to make it at...

And I usually undercook it just a little so that when I rewarm it in the microwave it won't over cook.

Hope this helps.

[Babs]

Re: Chewey Bacon?

I watch it close. Like mission to lose says, it varies with thickness, temps, etc. To get it chewy, I cook it slower without going below the temp. it says to cook it on. When I cook it crisp, it's cooked hotter and longer.

[chinadoll]

Re: Chewey Bacon?

Yep, cooking at a lower temp helps. Bacon is funny that way---seems like nothing is happening and then you turn your back and it is overcooked in a flash.

[JulieB]

Re: Chewey Bacon?

I like mine crispy..so I'm no expert. I'm just wondering if with trial & error you could perfect a microwave method? Something like "75 seconds on 70% power makes it perfect". I find that the microwave is reliably the same every time, cooking on the stove varies with the type of pan, etc and is harder to get exactly the same temp every time.

[not2late]

Re: Chewey Bacon?

Put the raw bacon in a pan. Add enough water to just cover the bacon. Cook on high heat to bring to a boil. Allow the water to almost completely cook away then turn the heat to medium high. From this point on, watch the bacon, stirring the bacon from time to time if need be. Cook until it's to your liking of chewy.

[fetch]

Re: Chewey Bacon?

I do like my bacon chewy, too. Everyone seems to have a different approach so I'll throw my out there as well.

I cook my bacon over medium/medium-high heat without any extra water or oil. I am a constant flipper, flipping my bacon about every 1-2 minutes. In the beginning, I watch for the "salt/water sweat" to tell me when to do the first two or three flips. Past that, what I watch for is the browning. As soon as it gets a universal medium (golden?) brown on both sides, I move it from the pan to the paper towel lined plate to drain. If there's a little fat that's still white at the ends or in concave areas along the body of the individual bacon strip, I don't worry about it any more. My experience is it's more cooked than I think and if I try to brown the fat in those places, I end up crisping/burning the lean portion of the bacon. As long as the fat isn't pink-white, it isn't "raw" (what repulses me).

I also nuke my bacon, too. In that instance I've found the Farmland brand regular cut bacon works really well and about 45 seconds to a minute a strip yields nice chewy browned bacon. Tyson tends to be pale and almost too chewy when nuked, OM tends to turn into crisps at an unnatural speed.