On Tuesday, December 24, 2019 at 1:39:37 AM UTC-10, Nemo wrote:
> On Mon, 23 Dec 2019 17:58:29 -0500, jmcquown wrote:
>
> > On 12/22/2019 2:30 PM, U.S. Janet B. wrote:
> >>
> >> I got a couple of packages of bacon in my meat Christmas present. From
> >> a ranch in state, smoked and approx. 3/8 inch thick. It reminds me of
> >> pork belly. The slices are overall huge.
> >> How do I cook this bacon? Big frying pan? Sheet pan in the oven/ A
> >> lot of fat -- I'm afraid that I will smoke up the oven and house if I
> >> do it in the oven. Help please.
> >> Janet US
> >>
> > Do you have a broiler pan with a rack? Bake the bacon on that so the
> > fat drips into the pan rather than just pool around the bacon on a sheet
> > pan. (Line the broiler pan with foil, if you don't intend to save the
> > drippings, for easy cleanup.)
> >
> > Jill
>
> I have a rather unorthodox method of cooking bacon that works well if
> if you don't care about the slices coming out flat. It also requires
> minimal cleanup. I put the slices in a 3 qt. boiler and add a little
> water. Bring the water to a boil and continue stirring as the volume
> of water increases. This separates the slices. As the water boils off,
> the amount of grease increases. You don't need to stand there and stir
> continuously as it does take a fair amount of time, perhaps 30 to 40
> minutes from start to finish depending on how high you have the heat.
> At a certain point, the grease will begin to foam. This is a critical
> point. If you like your bacon crispy, you have to watch it closely and
> stir almost continuously to keep from burning it. When the foam covers
> the bacon, it's done. I then lay it out on layers of paper towels and
> smush it down with wads of more paper towels and put what I feel like
> eating on buttered toast. I always cook at least a 12 oz. package and
> don't do this very often. I realize this is a rather plebian way of
> cooking bacon but it certainly is tasty!

My brother-in-law recommended cooking a pound of bacon by dumping the entire thing in a big pan and separating them as they cook. He was a cook in the merchant marines so he knows a thing or two. The bacon ends up being deep fried in the end. That seemed goofy as hell to me but if I need a bunch of bacon cooked, that's the way I do it.