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Delicious + Bad for You = Yummy, Crispy Bacon
There are a lot of yummy foods I try to stay away from. Bacon is one of them!
So Good!
OMG, it’s so good.
From Fat …
It’s obviously not a top food choice for heart health. It’s probably 100% fat, solid fat, fat that is not liquid at room temperature. (Olive oil is liquid at room temperature and is said to be healthier than animal fat. I believe this.)
To Crispy, Melt-In-Your-Mouth …
The only way I like bacon is when it has been cooked to the point where it is crispy. I don’t like soggy, non-crispy bacon. I don’t like the texture. I don’t like burned bacon. As with other burned foods, I don’t like the taste.
Crispy, melt-in-your-mouth bacon is soooo good. Yummm!
To Fat
Unfortunately, since bacon is just about 100% fat (like mayonaise is 100% fat and butter is 100% fat), it has limited nutritional value. The nutrition pyramids have a tiny point at the top. Fats are in the tiny point at the top of the pyramid.
Where Does Bacon Go After I Eat It?
Well, in my case, I think it goes to my hips and my belly. And, I’m pretty sure it also goes to my coronary arteries and other vessels in my body. I’m sure I don’t have a direct deposit of bacon grease in my coronary arteries, but fat that can’t get out of the body fast enough stays in ways that will eventually not make us happy.
Now You Want to Cook a Pound of Bacon?
I cooked a pound of bacon yesterday. It had been in my refrigerator for a long time. I was concerned that it might go bad. Maybe it’s better to cook just one strip of bacon at a time, and use it one strip at a time, as needed. But, I cooked a pound of bacon with the idea that I’d do it, get it over with, and freeze it to use later.
Deep Fried Bacon
This method uses the stove top, an iron skillet and a lid (to contain the popping grease). I started by putting the skillet on high just long enough to heat it, probably less than one minute. Then, I turned it down to the lowest setting.
I opened the entire package of bacon, and made 4 or 5 cuts across the rows of bacon. This turned the long strips of bacon into small squares. Then, I peeled off the 2″x2″ pieces of bacon and laid them in the pan. When those pieces began to bubble up (soon), I slid them to the side (with a metal spatula or fork) and put down another round of little bacon squares.
As the bacon cooked, the bacon grease increased in the pan. As the bacon on the edges began to look crispy, I took it out and put it on a paper towel. Since it was on low heat, it was easy to take out the crispy pieces as they were done.
By the end of the process, there was so much grease in the pan that the last few rounds of bacon squares were being placed in grease. Cooking grease in grease. (I suppose you could turn on your deep fryer and cook bacon in grease!!! The only difference here was that the grease came from the bacon.)
Microwaved Bacon Strips
This method is easier, quicker, less messy and it removes more of the bacon grease. The iron skillet method is tastier, but this one is good, too. It’s just not as totally yummy, because even more of the grease has been removed. I guess we’re programmed that way: fat=yummy!
Here’s what you do: on a paper towel, lay out strips of bacon side by side. Put another paper towel on top. Roll it into a ‘tube’ (just fold one piece of bacon over the other, but with paper towel in between). Then, fold the rolled bacon-towel in half.
In a microwave safe dish, place two or three crumpled paper towels. On top of that, place the rolled and folded bacon-towels with the open ends down against the crumpled paper towels.
Cook for 3 minutes. Check it. Cook another three if needed. This part is up to you, and depends on how many strips of bacon you’re cooking and how hot your microwave is.
With this method, most of the grease goes into the paper towels, and there is not as much mess to clean up. There seems to be less grease in the cooked bacon, too. It comes out flatter and thinner, but crispy. It has the yummy bacon flavor, but without the extra punch from the crispy cooked fat from the iron skillet method.
Freeze It Before You Can Eat It!
Crispy bacon is so good, I guess it’s only knowledge of our impending deaths that keeps us from eating a pound of crispy bacon every day!
Four Glasses and One Bowl of Prevention Are Better Than a Pound of Cure(d Bacon)
If you want to be sure you’re not tempted to munch your way through a pound of bacon as it comes out of the pan, I have a suggestion. Drink about four glasses of water before you start cooking. Also, before you begin cooking, eat a bowl of oatmeal.
Why Water and Oatmeal?
Why do I say to drink water and eat oatmeal? Here is my thought process.
First, if you drink water and eat oatmeal first, you’ll be full, so you’ll not be as tempted to eat the bacon. (This is similar to eating before going grocery shopping to avoid impulse purchases.)
Second, and this is a recovery plan, if you drink water and eat oatmeal, and you still chow down on the bacon, you’ll already have a high fiber food and lots of water in your digestive tract to act as a bouncer. “Excuse me sir, you can’t go over there. The blood stream and liver don’t want you to stick around. Come with me. Right this way, sir. That’s right. It’s out the door for you.”

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