Do you dream of always eating bacon? If you do, keep calm, as you are not alone. You have choices when it comes time to breaking down and preparing the bacon you have been drooling over. You can cook it in a pan or in the oven.
Should you wish to use a pan, we advise cooking bacon in stainless steel. These pans are easy to clean, and cook bacon just great. Today, we will show you the steps to cooking bacon in stainless steel and how to clean it up afterwards as well.
Steps to Cooking Bacon in Stainless Steel
Step 1: Heat Your Stainless Steel Pan for 5 Minutes
When you first begin cooking bacon, you want your stainless steel pan to be nice and hot. This implies that before adding the bacon, you should warm your pan for about five minutes.
Step 2: Perform the Water Check
A little water added to your pan can help you ascertain whether it is hot enough. Your stainless steel pan is hot if the water dances about. Should it not, you will have to wait till your pan somewhat heated for a little longer.
Step 3: Cut the Bacon in Half
Long strips of bacon might be challenging to move about on stainless steel pans. We advise cutting the bacon strips using a pair of scissors. This will also enable more even cooking of the bacon.
Pro Tip: Cook the Bacon in Batches
You cannot toss a pound of bacon in the pan and expect it to fry fast completely. Add a few pieces of the bacon and cook completely on both sides. The bacon will readily pull up from the pan to indicate it is ready to flip over. After the bacon is done, set it on a platter covered in paper towels. Then load the pan with extra bacon.
What About the Cold-Pan Method?
Cooking bacon in stainless steel is simplest if you first warm the pan. Some people, though, may advise you to gradually heat a cold pan with bacon added.
The bacon will require more time to cook, even if this will turn out great. More fat will also be burned off during the process. If you don’t get all the ooey-gooey fat included in every bite, what good is bacon?
For this reason, instead of employing this cold-pan technique, we like to cook bacon in stainless steel by first heating the pan.
Can I Cook It in the Oven Instead?
Many people prefer bacon cooked in the oven rather than on the stove as there’s no splatter, and you can cook the full bag of one pound’s worth of strips all at once. Easy cleanup with parchment paper!
To do this, reheat the oven to 350 degrees, then bake for 25 to 30 minutes. The bacon grease can also be saved for cooking or for use as oil for your cast iron pans.
Related Article: If you’re interested in exploring more unique bacon options, check out our article on Venison Bacon for a flavorful twist on your breakfast favorite.
What to Do with the Bacon Grease?
You can either save or throw away bacon grease after you’re done cooking bacon in stainless steel.
Dispose in a Glass Container
If you’re throwing it away, never dump bacon grease down the sink. The end result is never pretty. Imagine a choked drain, hiring a plumber, and paying a fortune. You get the idea.
Once it has chilled, choose to pour it into a container instead. Then, toss the container in the trash.
Pro Tip: I keep empty glass jars of marinara sauce, pickles, etc., next to the stove. This allows hot oil to be poured straight into it, enabling it to be cleaned immediately as cooking ends. Save the lids, please.
Save It To Season Cast Iron Pans
You can also stow that liquid gold in a container and save it for future cooking. The best cooking oil is bacon grease, which also gives everything you are preparing plenty of bacony taste! Far better than the previously mentioned plumber and clogged drain situation.
How to Clean Stainless Steel After Cooking Bacon
Once you have emptied the pan of all the bacon grease, it will be time to properly clean it. Just scrub it with soap-based hot water. Then, properly dry it before putting it where it belongs.
Using the dishwasher to wash stainless steel pans should never be done. That is how they can get discoloured and damaged.
Bacon cooked on stainless steel is quick and simple. Yes, you will have to wait for the pan to heat, but once it is hot, the bacon cooks rapidly and uniformly. So from now on, try cooking your bacon on a stainless steel pan; we promise you won’t prepare it any other way going forward.