PRE-COOKED BACON

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Pre-Cooked Bacon image

Pre-cooked bacon is convenient for using a slice at a time. This is great when you are cooking for one or two or when you need a bit of cooked bacon to flavor a chowder or garnish a salad. Store bought packages of pre-cooked bacon are quite expensive. Baking a full package of bacon and freezing the results means you can have the convenience of pre-cooked without the added cost. The math (using current prices for the same brand of bacon at a local supermarket): 1 pound of raw bacon, which cooked using this method is reduced to 6.9 ounces, is $7.99 or $1.16/oz. A 2.10 ounce package of fully cooked bacon is $3.99 or $1.90/oz. Pre-cooking the bacon at home costs a few extra cents in energy, paper towels, foil and wrapping but you save almost 40% on the cost per strip of the bacon and have larger quantities of pre-cooked bacon at hand. Waiting until regular bacon is on sale or BOGO will increase your savings.

Provided by Heidi Hoerman @heidicookssupper

Categories     Other Side Dishes

Number Of Ingredients 1

1 pound(s) bacon (about 18 slices)

Steps:

  • Line two large, rimmed baking sheets with foil. Make sure the rims are deep enough to prevent bacon fat dripping.
  • Lay the strips of bacon on the foil in a single layer.
  • Put on racks in the middle of a cold oven and turn the oven on to 400F. Bake for 10 minutes.
  • After 10 minutes, turn the sheets around and switch shelves to encourage even cooking. Bake a second 10 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure you are not overcooking the bacon.
  • Remove the bacon to plates or baking sheets lined with paper towels to drain.
  • When sufficiently cooled, layer with freezer paper, parchment, or waxed paper in between and freeze.
  • To serve, briefly microwave between layers of paper towels or pan fry. Used as-is for dishes that will be further cooked such as chowders and casseroles.

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