Ah, bacon. It’s the food trend that just keeps on giving. Thanks in part to the food’s versatility, you can find plenty of bacon recipes that make the most of this cured meat strip — from shot glasses to fried Oreos. You can even get a bacon-themed 50 Shades of Grey parody cookbook. (No, seriously. There’s a bacon tie on the cover and it’s fantastic.) And because bacon’s popularity shows no signs of slowing, it’s time to utilize some bacon cooking hacks and learn all the tricks to making it as delicious as possible.
I know. You don’t think bacon can be more delicious. But I’m here to assure you it can. Bacon cooking can go far beyond the microwave or even the frying pan. You can glaze it, mold it, and weave it to help create some next-level dishes that are sure to leave your fellow bacon enthusiasts amazed. These creations will help you win over a potential partner (provided they aren’t vegetarian, of course), gain a slew of Instagram followers, and make the tastiest BLT on the planet. Read on to learn how to cook up the crispiest, most savory bacon imaginable, and how to deploy it in everything possible meal scenario.
1
Bake Your Bacon
Bacon and frying pans seem like they’re made for one another. But by baking your bacon, you can cook more meat in less time. Not to mention baking cooks the strips evenly and leaves your stovetop free from grease splatter.
2
Glaze It
If you’d like amp up the fancy factor, the New York Times has a sweet bacon glaze will amaze everyone who tries it.
3
Weave a Bacon Blanket
If you want bacon in every bite of sandwich (and who doesn’t?), BuzzFeed recommends weaving a few pieces together to create a sandwich-sized blanket for your BLT. It’s a great way to jazz up your basic ham sandwich or level-up a grilled cheese.
4
Wrap It
You can us bacon to wrap just about anything, from a not-so-appealing vegetable to a delicious, cheesy puff pastry like Half Baked Harvest.
5
Mold It
Why have bacon in your salad when you can have salad in your bacon? Today host Al Roker uses a muffin tin to create bacon serving cups, which are a delicious way to present salad or even omelettes.
6
Cook It In Water
When you do want to cook up bacon on the stove, The Kitchn recommends cooking it in water to avoid grease splattering everywhere. It’s also a great way to get that crisp-tender consistency.
7
Rinse It
To avoid losing any of your delicious bacon to shrinkage when cooking, rinse it off with cold water first. The water will likely keep it from drying out too quickly and shrinking.
Images: Courtesy of Half Baked Harvest; Didriks, jeffreyw, Rafael Marquez, G M, cookbookman17, Kjetil Ree/Flickr
