[0 - 1] - [Amiel] Hi everyone, I'm Amiel Stanek,
[1 - 3] Editor at Large of Bon Appetit,
[3 - 5] and this is every way to cook bacon.
[5 - 8] The word bacon can mean a whole lot of different things.
[8 - 10] Normally, we think of it as coming from a pig,
[10 - 11] but it can also refer to meat
[11 - 14] that comes from a turkey or a cow.
[14 - 15] It can come from different parts of the animal,
[15 - 17] like the loin or the jowel.
[17 - 19] It can be smoked, it can be unsmoked,
[19 - 22] it can be double smoked, but today,
[22 - 23] we're working with some good old-fashioned
[23 - 25] classic American bacon.
[25 - 27] It's made from pork belly that's been cured
[27 - 29] with salt and sugar and then lightly smoked,
[29 - 31] so it needs to be cooked again before eating,
[31 - 36] and we're gonna cook it every way we can think of. [pans clanging] Homemade bacon.
[37 - 38] Here, we have a slab of pork belly.
[38 - 40] You can see it's got some of the skin still on,
[40 - 42] plenty of gorgeous fat
[42 - 44] and these streaks of meat running throughout.
[44 - 45] The first step is curing.
[45 - 48] So, we're gonna combine some brown sugar, some salt
[48 - 50] and then some pink curing salt,
[50 - 52] which is a combination of good old sodium chloride,
[52 - 54] aka salt, and sodium nitrate,
[54 - 57] which is gonna help preserve the bacon's rosy color.
[57 - 59] We're gonna rub the cure all over our pork
[59 - 61] and wrap it up tightly with plastic wrap,
[61 - 63] get it onto a sheet pan, and let this sit
[63 - 65] in the fridge for about a week.
[65 - 67] Once our bacon's cured, we're gonna take it
[67 - 69] outside to smoke it. [pans clanging]
[69 - 71] Okay, so here we have our cured pork belly.
[71 - 74] Now, it's time to pop it in the smoker and finish it off.
[74 - 77] So, our bacon has been smoking for about an hour and a half.
[77 - 80] Let's take a look. Whoo, smoky.
[80 - 82] That looks like bacon, all right. [dings]
[82 - 84] As you can see, the color of the pork belly
[84 - 85] has really changed.
[85 - 88] The meat has gone from a flabby, pinkish gray
[88 - 90] to this darker red and the fat has taken on
[90 - 92] a slightly more yellow color.
[92 - 94] We're gonna remove that skin because it's
[94 - 96] a little bit too tough for us to eat.
[96 - 98] I'm just gonna cut a few nice slices of this.
[98 - 101] So what we have here is our homemade bacon.
[101 - 102] This is still raw.
[102 - 104] We need to cook it again in order to eat it
[104 - 106] and since we have our smoker all ready to go,
[106 - 108] we're gonna go ahead and smoke a few of these
[108 - 113] pieces of bacon a second time so they're fully edible. [pans clanging] Double-smoked bacon.
[113 - 116] Once-smoked bacon about to become twice-smoked bacon.
[116 - 120] We're gonna check on this in about a half an hour.
[120 - 121] That should do it.
[121 - 124] So here we have our homemade twice-smoked bacon.
[124 - 126] As you can see, the fat didn't render out too much
[126 - 128] at such a low heat and the meat
[128 - 131] is even pinker than it was before. Mmm.
[131 - 134] Well, it's almost hard to taste anything else
[134 - 135] because it's so smokey.
[135 - 137] You've got a fair amount of meaty chew
[137 - 139] because we cut these slices pretty thick,
[139 - 141] and the flavor is outstanding, delicious.
[142 - 144] Let's go back to the kitchen and get to work. [pans clanging]
[144 - 145] Cold start bacon.
[145 - 146] We've got some bacon.
[146 - 148] We've got a cast iron pan that's cold right now.
[148 - 150] We're gonna lay these strips of bacon
[150 - 153] into the cast iron, set the heat to medium,
[153 - 158] and let that go until these crisp up. Mmm, crispy.
[158 - 161] So we've got nice even browning on both sides,
[161 - 164] a fair amount of fat rendered so it's nice and crispy.
[164 - 167] It just snaps. Mmm.
[168 - 171] Great caramelization and crunch, really meaty.
[171 - 172] Not too greasy.
[172 - 175] This is a really easy, foul proof way to make bacon
[175 - 178] on the stove top with a minimum of mess and fuss.
[178 - 179] Hot start bacon.
[179 - 182] We've gonna lay our bacon into a preheated pan now,
[182 - 186] and you can tell it's immediately starting to sizzle.
[186 - 187] It's getting a little smokey.
[187 - 189] All right, that should be done.
[189 - 191] So one thing you'll notice is the fat didn't render
[191 - 194] quite as evenly as our cold start version did,
[194 - 196] and that's because we didn't get any of that low heat time.
[196 - 202] It's definitely less crispy but not bad looking. Mmm.
[202 - 203] It's definitely on the chewier side
[203 - 206] and fattier tasting for sure.
[206 - 207] I'm not mad at it.
[207 - 211] The real bummer was how smokey and splattery this method is.
[211 - 214] So I think starting from cold is definitely the way to go.
[214 - 215] Low and slow bacon.
[215 - 217] This time we're gonna put our bacon in a cold
[217 - 220] cast iron again, but we're gonna turn the heat to very low
[220 - 222] and really take our time with it.
[222 - 224] Maybe I'll have time for a quick nap.
[224 - 226] Oops, almost forgot to flip.
[228 - 230] So right off the bat, we can see that they're some pieces
[230 - 233] that rendered and crisped a little bit less evenly.
[233 - 238] It's a little bit floppy here, crispier there. Mmm.
[238 - 241] It's still tasty, but even going even lower and slower
[241 - 243] didn't make for a more evenly cooked piece of bacon.
[243 - 248] The up from cold medium is definitely the sweet spot. [pans clanging] Bacon lardons.
[248 - 251] So lardons are basically just Frenchified bacon bits.
[251 - 253] We have three thick strips of bacon,
[253 - 255] and we're gonna cut these into roughly 1/4 inch
[255 - 257] thick battons, and then we're cook them
[257 - 260] over medium to medium low heat until they're nicely
[260 - 262] browned but not too, too rendered.
[262 - 266] We want a little bit of chew there. Viola! Lardons.
[266 - 268] Browning rather than crisping is kinda the thing here,
[268 - 272] and the fat isn't aggressively rendered. Mmm.
[272 - 274] Great caramelization, tons of myard flavors,
[274 - 279] but not overly crispy with plenty of meaty chew. [pans clanging] Bacon toaster.
[279 - 282] It's a toaster but only for bacon.
[282 - 283] What a world we live in.
[283 - 285] We just have to open this thing up,
[285 - 288] lay our strips on there. Ooh, sizzly.
[288 - 292] Close the pod bay doors and push the button.
[292 - 293] Okay, let's check this out.
[293 - 297] Wow, that's really something.
[297 - 299] This looks terrible.
[299 - 301] We pulled it because the edges were kinda starting
[301 - 303] to burn and the rest is no where near done.
[303 - 305] It's all over the place. [grunting]
[305 - 308] Yeah, obviously I'm mad about this one.
[308 - 311] How could something made explicitly for cooking bacon
[311 - 312] be so bad at cooking bacon?
[312 - 315] It's not faster or more convenient or better.
[315 - 317] What a shame. [pans clanging]
[317 - 318] Curling iron bacon.
[318 - 320] For the record, I don't get hair and makeup for this show,
[320 - 322] but the bacon does. [spraying]
[322 - 324] Oh, it's sizzling.
[324 - 326] You know, it's actually pretty disturbing to me
[326 - 327] that this is working.
[327 - 330] People are cooking their hair. [dings]
[330 - 331] If this were hair, I would say
[331 - 333] that it did a pretty good job.
[333 - 335] We've got a nice, tight curl here,
[335 - 337] but aside from a few bits here and there
[337 - 339] it doesn't seem all that cooked after all.
[339 - 343] It's kind of, I'm kind of nervous about eating it, actually.
[343 - 346] Mmm, yeah, I mean, it's bacon but it hasn't cooked
[346 - 349] in any particularly appealing way.
[349 - 351] I'm gonna pass on this one. [pans clanging]
[351 - 353] Crimping iron bacon.
[353 - 355] Well, the curling iron was kind of a bust,
[355 - 356] but we're gonna try our luck with a crimper.
[356 - 360] Doesn't really fit into this thing all at once,
[360 - 363] so we're gonna have to just do a few inches at a time.
[363 - 366] Okay, I guess that's done. [dings]
[366 - 368] So, it's definitely mostly cooked,
[368 - 371] and we do have a little bit of browning here.
[371 - 375] Mmm, not particularly crispy or well-cooked,
[375 - 377] but if you're gonna cook bacon at the salon,
[377 - 379] this may be your best bet.
[379 - 381] You know, it's starting to smell
[381 - 382] like burning plastic in here.
[382 - 385] Let's take a breather outside. [pans clanging]
[385 - 386] Campfire bacon, three ways.
[386 - 388] We're gonna take these two strips
[388 - 390] and put them right here on the coals.
[390 - 393] Then we've got a tin foil envelope with some bacon in it.
[393 - 395] We're gonna put it right over here,
[395 - 398] and then we're gonna dangle these three strips
[398 - 399] right over the flames
[399 - 401] and take them all off as they're ready.
[401 - 403] Ooh, yeah, that's on fire.
[403 - 405] Okay, let's get those off.
[405 - 407] That foil package should be done by now,
[407 - 410] and let's just try to get these guys off.
[410 - 414] Ooh, okay, all done. [dings] Coal-cooked bacon.
[414 - 417] So, obviously, bacon and direct open flame
[417 - 418] do not really mix.
[418 - 420] There's just so much fat and it really
[420 - 422] pretty much just caught on fire in there,
[422 - 424] so it's burnt and sooty on one side
[424 - 425] and kind of barely cooked on the other.
[425 - 430] Mmm, ugh, yuck, it's really bitter and sooty and unpleasant.
[431 - 435] You can barely taste the bacon, gross. [dings] Foil-packed bacon.
[435 - 438] You know, all things considered, this doesn't look that bad.
[438 - 440] You got some light browning.
[440 - 441] It also didn't render much.
[441 - 443] It kind of steamed up in there a bit,
[443 - 446] and it didn't brown at all where the pieces overlapped.
[446 - 453] Yeah, not terrible, but nothing to write home about, either. [dings] Clothesline bacon.
[453 - 455] So, this is a mess.
[455 - 457] I'm not sure why we thought this was gonna work.
[457 - 460] This part up here is just sooty, but pretty much raw,
[460 - 463] and this part is just burnt and I'm not sure
[463 - 465] if it's actually cooked at all.
[465 - 467] This doesn't seem safe.
[467 - 470] I mean, this is pretty much the only piece that I can,
[470 - 471] I'm not gonna do it, sorry.
[471 - 472] Let's go back inside.
[472 - 477] It's getting weird out here. [pans clanging] Baked bacon. Oven time.
[477 - 479] We've got some bacon on a parchment-lined sheet pan
[479 - 482] and we're gonna bake it at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.
[482 - 485] That looks good. [dings]
[485 - 487] This oven bacon is really consistent.
[487 - 489] It looks well done without being dry
[489 - 491] and it's nice and crispy.
[491 - 495] To me, this is the platonic ideal of bacon,
[495 - 497] crunchy, still a little bit of give,
[497 - 499] just the right amount of fat rendered out.
[499 - 501] I mean, if you ask me, this is the most convenient way
[501 - 504] to cook a large quantity of bacon in one go
[504 - 505] and the parchment makes cleanup a breeze.
[505 - 508] This is a win. [pans clanging] Rack-baked bacon.
[508 - 511] Okay, same thing but on a wire rack this time.
[511 - 514] 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.
[514 - 516] Ooh, looks good. [dings]
[516 - 518] So, one thing you'll notice here is that it does feel
[518 - 521] like it's slightly more even, which probably has to do
[521 - 523] with the way the air was able to circulate
[523 - 524] all around the slices.
[526 - 529] Yeah, really crispy, nicely rendered, pretty much perfect.
[529 - 532] It's a real tossup between this and the parchment version,
[532 - 537] but the latter is definitely easier to clean up. [pans clanging] Broiled bacon.
[537 - 540] All right, same thing but under the broiler this time.
[540 - 541] Ooh, gotta pull this.
[541 - 543] It's starting to smoke.
[543 - 545] Uh, broiled bacon, everybody. [dings]
[545 - 547] You know, I'm not liking what I'm seeing.
[547 - 549] We've got this burning around the edges,
[549 - 551] which is why we had to pull it,
[551 - 552] but other than that, it definitely seems
[552 - 554] a little bit less cooked than we want
[554 - 557] and it's not particularly crisp.
[557 - 560] Yeah, there's some bitterness from the singed edges
[560 - 563] and not caramelized or crispy.
[563 - 564] Yeah, broiler is a no-go.
[564 - 569] Bacon doesn't like high, high direct heat. [pans clanging] Diner-style bacon.
[569 - 569] Now, we're gonna take a page
[569 - 571] out of the short-order cook's handbook.
[571 - 573] We've got six slices of bacon here
[573 - 575] that we've submerged in a little bit of neutral oil
[575 - 577] in this baking dish and we're gonna put that
[577 - 580] under the broiler for a few minutes until it's fully cooked.
[580 - 582] Now, we're gonna take our fully cooked slices
[582 - 585] and lay them onto this cast iron griddle
[585 - 587] and then weight them down with this hot press.
[587 - 591] These should be ready in no time at all. Order up! [dings]
[591 - 592] The pieces really shrunk up, and they took on
[592 - 595] some really appealing color, very dark and consistent.
[595 - 600] Great crunch, just the faintest amount of chew,
[600 - 602] this is exactly what I want on a BLT.
[602 - 604] This is a great method if you're making
[604 - 606] a ton of bacon to order, but probably doesn't make
[606 - 609] all that much sense at home. [pans clanging]
[609 - 610] Oven contraption bacon.
[610 - 613] Okay, we got this metal thingy.
[613 - 615] It kind of looks like a dishwasher rack
[615 - 617] and we're gonna cook bacon with it.
[617 - 618] Into the oven.
[618 - 620] All right, let's check it out. [dings]
[620 - 622] The slices actually do look pretty nice.
[622 - 625] Great shape, you've got that iconic, wavy thing going on,
[625 - 627] and the color is pretty perfect,
[627 - 630] but there's definitely some flexibility in there.
[630 - 633] I mean, I don't think that it's better
[633 - 634] than our baked-on-parchment version,
[634 - 637] and I really don't want to have to clean that gadget,
[637 - 640] but it definitely works. [pans clanging] Bacon bowl.
[640 - 641] First, we're gonna take one of these strips
[641 - 643] and cut it in half.
[643 - 645] We're gonna layer it over this mold,
[645 - 648] which is specifically made for making bacon bowls.
[648 - 651] Now we're gonna bake it until the bacon fuses together
[651 - 651] and gets all crispy.
[651 - 655] Well, that's something, all right. [dings]
[655 - 657] I mean, it didn't not work.
[657 - 659] It's a bowl, all right.
[659 - 661] Yeah, I mean, tastes like bacon that's cooked.
[661 - 666] It's definitely a gimmick, but a cool gimmick? [pans clanging] Bacon straw.
[666 - 668] We made a bowl, let's try a straw.
[668 - 670] We're gonna take our bacon and wrap it around
[670 - 672] this stainless steel straw.
[672 - 673] Oops, this is slippery.
[673 - 675] Now we're gonna take our bacon straws-to-be
[675 - 680] and put them in the oven until they're cooked and crispy. [dings]
[680 - 681] Now that our bacon straws have cooled,
[681 - 685] we can slip them off these stainless steel boys. Very impressive.
[685 - 687] Good caramelization, and they held
[687 - 688] their shape pretty well too.
[688 - 692] A little worried about how bendy they are though. Mmm, yup.
[692 - 694] I mean, I know that flavor anywhere.
[694 - 698] No surprises here, but will they work as a straw?
[698 - 702] Only one way to find out. [gurgling]
[702 - 703] They hold water, people!
[703 - 708] The perfect non-plastic straw does exist. [pans clanging]
[708 - 708] Prince Harry's bacon.
[708 - 711] So, apparently, Prince Harry went to Disney World
[711 - 713] when he was a kid, loved the bacon that he was served there,
[714 - 715] and insisted that the royal chef
[715 - 718] cook it in a very specific way from now on.
[718 - 720] First, it gets put under the broiler,
[721 - 723] and now that it's partially cooked,
[723 - 724] but still plenty floppy and oily,
[724 - 729] it gets cooked again in a very un-royal way. [microwave beeps]
[729 - 734] Cheerio, bacon fit for a king, or prince. [dings]
[734 - 737] Okay, thoroughly caramelized, handsomely rendered.
[737 - 739] It's pretty crispy, but it has
[739 - 741] a little more flex than I would hope for.
[741 - 746] You know, it's good but it's actually a bit tough.
[746 - 747] It's not as crispy as some of
[747 - 750] our other methods and more work.
[750 - 755] This is me officially questioning the royal taste. [pans clanging] Microwaved bacon.
[755 - 757] Okay, let's cut the oven out of the equation.
[757 - 758] We're gonna take our bacon,
[758 - 761] layer it between a few pieces of paper towel,
[761 - 763] and pop it in the ol' science box for three minutes.
[764 - 767] Easy does it, okay. [dings]
[767 - 768] So, fans of the show will know
[768 - 770] that I have very little love for the microwave,
[770 - 772] but this actually looks pretty perfect.
[772 - 775] Damn, that's a good piece of bacon.
[775 - 777] Could be a hair crispier, but it took three minutes
[777 - 779] and there was pretty much zero cleanup so,
[779 - 781] what's not to like? [pans clanging] Wow bacon.
[782 - 784] Now we're gonna use this gadget called the WowBacon,
[784 - 786] which kinda looks like a Brita filter
[786 - 788] but apparently it cooks bacon.
[788 - 790] Pop it in the microwave, and set it for three minutes.
[790 - 793] Wow, that is something. [dings]
[793 - 796] This kinda looks like a dorm shower in a horror movie.
[796 - 799] It's all kinda misty and foggy and then
[799 - 802] there are these pieces of dangling meat.
[802 - 808] Yeah, not bad but also why? [pans clanging]
[808 - 809] Plastic tray bacon.
[809 - 811] Yet another microwave device.
[811 - 812] We're gonna lay our strips down,
[812 - 818] cook it for two minutes and 45 seconds. [beeps] Okay. [dings]
[818 - 820] Well, more bacon cooked in trash.
[820 - 821] It looks really wrecked up.
[821 - 823] I don't know what happened here.
[823 - 825] It looks weirdly burnt but isn't crispy
[825 - 829] and also smells like melting plastic.
[829 - 832] Something is very wrong here.
[832 - 834] It's like it steamed and fried
[834 - 838] and also tastes like chemicals. [pans clanging] Bacon Wave.
[838 - 839] But wait, there's more.
[839 - 843] Gah, this instruction manual is a little bewildering.
[843 - 845] We're gonna weave our strips into the Bacon Wave,
[845 - 848] secure them with these plastic pegs
[848 - 850] which I guess keep the bacon from falling down.
[850 - 852] Okay, into the box it goes.
[853 - 856] Wow, all right then. [dings]
[856 - 857] So, it seems like these pieces kinda
[857 - 859] popped right off the peg and shrunk up.
[859 - 861] So much for keeping their shape.
[861 - 866] Strong melting plastic smell, borderline burnt bacon.
[866 - 868] I mean, it's plenty crispy,
[868 - 872] but the weird plasticy aftertaste is a serious disqualifier.
[872 - 874] The microwave works.
[874 - 878] Why do you have to make it more complicated? [pans clanging] Bacon butter.
[878 - 880] We've cooked a whole lot of bacon so far,
[880 - 883] which means we've produced a whole lot of bacon fat,
[883 - 885] which we've been saving because there are
[885 - 886] a lot of great things that you can do with it.
[886 - 889] First, we're gonna make some bacon butter.
[889 - 891] We're gonna take some warm bacon fat,
[891 - 893] strain it to get any bits out,
[893 - 896] and then we're gonna fridge it until it firms up.
[896 - 897] Now that it's more solid,
[897 - 900] we're gonna get it onto this plastic wrap, fold it over,
[900 - 906] and tighten it to form a cute little torchon, voila! [dings]
[906 - 908] So, clearly bacon butter is just a nice way
[908 - 910] of saying bacon fat, but it's not
[910 - 912] the worst rebrand in history.
[912 - 915] It's very soft, softer than butter even,
[915 - 917] and has this milky, pale color.
[917 - 922] Yup, that's pork fat all right.
[922 - 924] You get some of the smoke and salt and sugar,
[924 - 925] but it's not overwhelming.
[925 - 928] Obviously it's not much on its own, but I'd gladly use this
[928 - 934] like butter in, say, a grilled cheese. Yum. [pans clanging] Bacon mayonnaise.
[934 - 936] We've got an egg yolk, a little bit
[936 - 938] of dijon mustard, some lemon juice.
[938 - 941] It's really hard to make a mayonnaise with all bacon fat,
[941 - 942] so we're gonna start with vegetable oil,
[942 - 946] adding it a little bit at a time until the emulsion forms
[947 - 948] and then finally, whisk in our bacon fat
[948 - 950] and hit it with plenty of salt,
[950 - 953] and there's our bacon fat mayo. [dings]
[953 - 955] All right, let's get this jar opened.
[955 - 957] It's a little darker than your standard mayo
[957 - 960] and it's got a nice, gelatinous consistency.
[961 - 964] Mmm, you know, that mustard and lemon and salt
[964 - 965] really bumped up the bacon flavor.
[965 - 967] I'm really tasting it.
[967 - 972] This would make for the best BLT ever. [pans clanging] Bacon caramels.
[972 - 974] We're gonna get some bacon fat into this small pot
[974 - 977] with some cream and get the heat going under that,
[977 - 981] combine some corn syrup, water, sugar, and salt in this pan,
[981 - 983] and cook that until everything dissolves.
[983 - 985] We get a nice amber color going.
[985 - 988] We're gonna whisk in our bacon cream mixture,
[988 - 990] and then get a candy thermometer in there
[990 - 994] until it gets up to 230 degrees.
[994 - 996] Transfer it to a greased and parchment-lined loaf pan,
[996 - 998] hit it with some flaky salt,
[998 - 1003] and then we're gonna let this cool. [dings] Porky bonbons.
[1003 - 1007] These look so cute and feel nice and pliable.
[1007 - 1009] They smell a little bit bacony.
[1010 - 1015] You know, honestly, it doesn't taste that strongly of bacon.
[1015 - 1017] It's just like a really good salted caramel
[1017 - 1020] with a little bit of a smoky, porky aftertaste
[1020 - 1024] which is probably a good thing. [pans clanging] Bacon bourbon.
[1024 - 1025] Hold on to your hats, folks.
[1025 - 1027] We're making bacon-infused bourbon.
[1027 - 1029] First, we gotta pour some of this out.
[1029 - 1031] It's two o'clock somewhere, right?
[1031 - 1033] Then, we're gonna pour in our bacon fat,
[1033 - 1036] good to the last drop, put our lid on
[1036 - 1038] and shake it up real good.
[1038 - 1040] Then, we're gonna let this hang out for a few days
[1040 - 1042] and come back to it.
[1042 - 1044] Okay, we refrigerated this for a few hours just now
[1044 - 1047] so the fat would become solid and rise to the top.
[1047 - 1049] Now, we're gonna pour it through a coffee filter
[1049 - 1051] to clarify it.
[1051 - 1053] Looks good, bottoms up. [dings]
[1053 - 1055] So, it just looks like regular bourbon.
[1055 - 1056] There's nothing floating around in there,
[1056 - 1057] which is a good thing.
[1057 - 1059] It definitely smells like there's something
[1059 - 1062] kind of a little bit smoky, a little bit fatty going on.
[1064 - 1067] Whoa, the flavor isn't super strong,
[1067 - 1069] but there's a rich, round quality
[1069 - 1071] and definitely a bit of smoke.
[1071 - 1074] You know what, let's take this one step further
[1074 - 1077] and get our handy, dandy bacon straw.
[1078 - 1081] Well, that worked better than I thought it would
[1081 - 1085] and it definitely tastes baconier that way,
[1085 - 1090] though I'm not sure that's a good thing or not, yeah. [pans clanging] Water-method bacon.
[1090 - 1092] We're gonna lay these slices down
[1092 - 1094] in this cold cast iron pan,
[1094 - 1096] and then we're gonna add just enough water
[1096 - 1097] to cover the bacon.
[1097 - 1099] Now, we're gonna crank the heat
[1099 - 1102] and come back when the water is fully boiled. [sizzling]
[1102 - 1104] Okay, so now that most of the liquid is evaporated,
[1104 - 1106] we're gonna turn down the heat and finish it off.
[1107 - 1111] Give it a flip, and done. [dings]
[1111 - 1113] So, I'm seeing some bits at the ends of the strips
[1113 - 1115] that didn't take on any color,
[1115 - 1117] and while the pieces look fairly crisp,
[1117 - 1119] there's more than a little flex to them.
[1121 - 1125] Totally fine, could be a lot crunchier.
[1125 - 1127] I just don't think that the pre-cooking in water
[1127 - 1130] added anything to the equation. [pans clanging] Poached bacon.
[1130 - 1132] Well, we kinda have to, right.
[1132 - 1134] We got a pan of simmering water here.
[1134 - 1136] We're gonna lay our strips in there.
[1136 - 1138] Oh boy, oh boy.
[1139 - 1144] Yeah, and there we have our poached bacon. [dings]
[1144 - 1146] As you can see, it's totally floppy.
[1146 - 1147] The fat seems to be the thing
[1147 - 1150] that changed the most, texture-wise.
[1150 - 1151] It's pretty stringy.
[1153 - 1156] You know, even though I'm not getting any of the browned,
[1156 - 1158] crispy, crunchy flavors I associate with bacon,
[1158 - 1161] it's definitely pretty interesting.
[1161 - 1163] It's chewy but not in a bad way
[1163 - 1166] and it did lose some flavor in the water, I think.
[1166 - 1170] Trying to keep an open mind here. [pans clanging] Steamed bacon.
[1170 - 1173] We're gonna open this bad boy up,
[1173 - 1175] put our pieces right in there, close the lid,
[1175 - 1177] and come back when it's finished.
[1177 - 1180] I guess that looks done. [dings]
[1180 - 1181] So, very similar looking to our poached bacon
[1181 - 1184] with no color, although some of these pieces
[1184 - 1186] have a slightly brighter pink color,
[1187 - 1189] but yeah, Floppytown U.S.A.
[1190 - 1192] Again, not what most people think of
[1192 - 1194] when they think of breakfast bacon,
[1194 - 1197] but it has more flavor than the poached bacon did. [pans clanging]
[1197 - 1198] Car engine bacon.
[1198 - 1199] Uh-huh, all right.
[1199 - 1202] We got some bacon, we got a hot car engine.
[1202 - 1204] We're gonna wrap this bacon up in foil
[1204 - 1207] and slide it right into this little crevice here
[1207 - 1210] and hopefully the bacon will cook. [hood slamming]
[1210 - 1211] Okay, it's been 45 minutes.
[1211 - 1213] We're gonna call it. [dings]
[1213 - 1214] You know, it's kind of hard to tell
[1214 - 1215] whether it's cooked or not.
[1215 - 1218] There's definitely some liquid that came out
[1218 - 1219] and some fat that rendered.
[1219 - 1223] It's kind of warm and it's kinda changed shape a little bit.
[1223 - 1225] I'm feeling very nervous about whether or not
[1225 - 1229] this is gonna poison me, but I'll give it a try anyways.
[1229 - 1232] Yeah, I probably shouldn't have done that.
[1232 - 1235] This bacon is barely, hardly cooked.
[1235 - 1238] That was unwise.
[1238 - 1242] Let's take this party back inside. [pans clanging] Bacon jam.
[1242 - 1245] We're gonna chop our bacon up nice and fine,
[1245 - 1246] cook it in this non-stick skillet
[1246 - 1249] until it's browned and rendered somewhat,
[1249 - 1251] spoon off some of that fat,
[1251 - 1254] add some diced onion, and once that's golden,
[1254 - 1257] some brown sugar, a smidge of vinegar,
[1257 - 1260] and let that cook for a half hour until it's nice and saucy.
[1260 - 1265] Transfer to our jar and we've got our bacon jam. [dings]
[1265 - 1267] Open this bad boy up, this looks really cool.
[1267 - 1269] We've basically turned our bacon-onion mixture
[1269 - 1270] into kind of a caramel.
[1270 - 1273] It's a little sticky, a little oily.
[1274 - 1276] It's so good.
[1276 - 1279] The dark caramel flavors really play nice with the fat
[1279 - 1281] and the smoke, big umami energy.
[1281 - 1284] This would be a killer edition to a burger or a cheese plate
[1284 - 1286] or something like that. [pans clanging] Candied bacon.
[1286 - 1287] This one's easy enough.
[1287 - 1289] We're gonna rub our strips down with brown sugar,
[1289 - 1291] hit them with some black pepper,
[1291 - 1293] do the same to the other side, and then pop this
[1293 - 1296] in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.
[1296 - 1301] [oven door clicking] Ooh, glossy. [dings]
[1301 - 1302] We got a little bit of burning around the edges
[1302 - 1304] because of all that added sugar,
[1304 - 1308] but these pieces look really pretty. Mmm, delicious.
[1308 - 1311] I generally think bacon desserts are kind of gimmicky,
[1311 - 1316] but the whole sugar, fat, salt, smoke thing always hits. [pans clanging]
[1316 - 1317] Bacon ice cream.
[1317 - 1318] Well, you can't make bacon ice cream
[1318 - 1320] without making a bacon creme anglaise.
[1320 - 1322] We're gonna add cream, milk, butter,
[1322 - 1324] and bacon fat to this saucepan,
[1324 - 1326] bring that up to a simmer over medium heat.
[1326 - 1329] While that's working, we've got egg yolks, sugar,
[1329 - 1330] and a pinch of salt, and we're gonna whisk them together
[1330 - 1333] until they're light and fluffy.
[1333 - 1335] Now that our dairy's hot, we're gonna add it a bit at a time
[1335 - 1337] to our eggs to temper them and then
[1337 - 1340] whisk it all in until it's smooth.
[1340 - 1342] Then we're gonna transfer this back to our saucepan,
[1342 - 1345] cook it just until it's thick, and then strain it
[1345 - 1347] to make sure it's smooth.
[1347 - 1348] We're gonna let this cool down in the fridge
[1348 - 1350] until it's cold and thick.
[1350 - 1352] Okay, now that our ice cream base is chilled,
[1352 - 1353] we're gonna pour it into this
[1353 - 1357] ice cream machine and let 'er rip. [whirring]
[1357 - 1358] Now that it's almost finished,
[1358 - 1361] we're gonna add some bacon bits for texture,
[1361 - 1363] and let that finish freezing.
[1363 - 1365] Now, we're gonna scrape it into this loaf pan,
[1365 - 1368] top it with more bacon bits, and cover it in plastic
[1368 - 1370] and then let it freeze solid overnight.
[1370 - 1372] All right, our bacon ice cream is ready to go,
[1372 - 1375] and while we could build our sundae in a regular bowl,
[1375 - 1377] why not in a bacon bowl?
[1377 - 1381] Tada, the porkiest sundae that ever was. [dings]
[1381 - 1384] Not sure how I feel about cold bacon, but here goes nothing.
[1386 - 1390] Wow, very bacony, very salty.
[1390 - 1391] Good chew from the bacon bits.
[1391 - 1394] You know, this is actually way better than I thought,
[1394 - 1395] but I don't think I could eat
[1395 - 1398] more than one small scoop, personally.
[1398 - 1401] Let's get a little fresh air, shall we? [pans clanging]
[1401 - 1403] Grilled bacon, two ways.
[1403 - 1404] This side of the grill is good and hot
[1405 - 1408] and this one over here is on very low.
[1408 - 1410] We're gonna oil our grill grates first
[1410 - 1412] then lay our slices down carefully,
[1412 - 1414] close the lid and come back to flip.
[1414 - 1420] We're just gonna take these off as they're ready. [funky music] [dings]
[1420 - 1421] High heat grilled bacon.
[1421 - 1423] Flareups are always an issue with something this fatty,
[1424 - 1426] so we've got a bit of charring in addition to
[1426 - 1427] a few spots that could have
[1427 - 1429] definitely cooked a little longer.
[1430 - 1432] Definitely on the chewier side,
[1432 - 1434] but the grill flavor is really killer.
[1434 - 1436] It can be tricky to grill bacon properly
[1436 - 1440] without setting something on fire, and this tastes great. [dings]
[1440 - 1441] Low heat grilled bacon.
[1441 - 1443] So, our low and slow grilled bacon
[1443 - 1445] definitely cooked more evenly and there was more time
[1445 - 1447] for the fat to slowly render,
[1447 - 1449] so the pieces shrunk a bit more.
[1449 - 1454] Definitely crispier, actually a bit more grill flavor
[1454 - 1456] since it had more time over heat,
[1456 - 1457] and the texture is really cool.
[1457 - 1462] I prefer this to the hot and fast bacon, honestly. [dings] Skewered bacon.
[1462 - 1463] Now, we have a couple of skewers
[1463 - 1465] that we've threaded strips of bacon onto,
[1465 - 1467] and we're gonna grill these over medium-low heat,
[1467 - 1469] turning them every once in a while.
[1469 - 1472] Mmm, that smells so good.
[1472 - 1475] Loving the crisping and browning around the edges
[1475 - 1476] and there's definitely some contrast
[1476 - 1479] between the peaks and valleys of these folds.
[1479 - 1482] This wavy texture is really cool.
[1482 - 1486] Loving the grill flavor and the variety of textures.
[1486 - 1492] I'd love this even more with a soy sugar glaze of some sort. Really cool. [pans clanging] Searzall bacon.
[1492 - 1495] We got our bacon, we got our Searzall,
[1495 - 1497] which is basically just a modified blowtorch,
[1497 - 1500] and we're gonna cook it all the way through with this.
[1500 - 1502] This is gonna take a minute. [roaring]
[1502 - 1503] Well, good enough for who it's for.
[1503 - 1506] As we've seen before, high direct heat
[1506 - 1507] does weird things to bacon.
[1507 - 1510] These slices are kind of singed and all seized up
[1510 - 1514] but not rendered nicely or even browned, really.
[1514 - 1517] Mmm, really chewy and definitely cooked,
[1517 - 1519] but not all that much going on.
[1519 - 1524] It's cold out here, I'm ready to head back inside. [pans clanging]
[1524 - 1525] George Foreman bacon.
[1525 - 1526] We're gonna lay our strips down, shut it,
[1526 - 1528] and let it do its thing.
[1528 - 1530] That looks done to me. [dings]
[1530 - 1533] We've got these cooked but still chewy looking bits here,
[1533 - 1536] and then these borderline burnt parts here.
[1536 - 1539] Yeah, that part's kinda on the edge crispy,
[1539 - 1543] and that's more cooked but chewy and tastes kinda hammy.
[1543 - 1545] I can't recommend it. [pans clanging]
[1545 - 1546] Air fryer bacon.
[1546 - 1550] I cannot even tell you how sick I am of this air fryer. [dinging]
[1550 - 1554] It dinged, guess it's ready, and already unimpressed. [dings]
[1554 - 1556] So, the bacon took on decent color,
[1556 - 1558] but the fan that blows around in there
[1558 - 1559] folded the pieces onto themselves,
[1559 - 1561] which didn't help matters.
[1561 - 1562] It's hardly crispy.
[1562 - 1565] Mmm, yup, not getting the crunch I'm after.
[1565 - 1567] This one's a bust. [pans clanging]
[1567 - 1569] Waffle iron bacon.
[1569 - 1572] So, we're gonna place our strips in a little lattice,
[1572 - 1575] and let's call it there. [dings]
[1575 - 1577] So, yeah, pretty uneven.
[1577 - 1582] Yeah, the crispy bits are crispy, the chewy bits are chewy.
[1582 - 1584] I just can't think of any real reason
[1584 - 1588] to cook bacon this way to be honest. [pans clanging] Powdered bacon.
[1588 - 1590] All right, we have our dehydrator.
[1590 - 1592] We have three strips of fully cooked bacon
[1592 - 1595] and let this go at a low temperature overnight.
[1595 - 1597] That looks very dry.
[1597 - 1600] Now I'm gonna break these strips into a few pieces,
[1600 - 1604] put them in our spice grinder, close it, and buzz it up.
[1604 - 1606] That's bacon powder. [dings]
[1606 - 1609] It definitely feels a little bit tacky.
[1609 - 1612] It's not as free flowing as you might want it to be
[1612 - 1614] for a powder sort of application.
[1616 - 1620] Oh, but it has kind of a burnt egg aftertaste.
[1620 - 1623] Not good at all. [pans clanging]
[1623 - 1624] Stir fried bacon.
[1624 - 1627] Okay, gonna cut these into one-inch pieces,
[1627 - 1630] get a little oil into our smoking hot wok.
[1630 - 1632] In goes the bacon, keep things moving,
[1632 - 1636] just a minute, stir fried bacon. [dings]
[1636 - 1637] We're looking at some pieces here
[1637 - 1640] that are more cooked than others but it smells great.
[1640 - 1643] This feels completely different from our other methods.
[1644 - 1645] That's actually delicious.
[1645 - 1648] There's so much of that smoky wok flavor
[1648 - 1651] which really complements the bacon's natural characteristics
[1651 - 1653] and the chew is really appealing in this context.
[1653 - 1655] This would be a great jumping-off point
[1655 - 1657] for some stir fried Chinese broccoli
[1657 - 1660] or bacon fried rice or something like that. Yum.
[1660 - 1661] [pans banging together] Deep-fried bacon.
[1661 - 1663] Bacon, meet bubbly pot of hot oil.
[1667 - 1670] Well, it's definitely working.
[1670 - 1672] I think I gotta pull it.
[1672 - 1674] This cooked crazy quickly,
[1674 - 1676] but the pieces curled up in a really weird way
[1676 - 1677] that I'm not really happy with.
[1677 - 1679] Even color all around,
[1679 - 1683] and it's really crispy. Mmm.
[1683 - 1685] Love the texture, but the fry oil seems to have
[1685 - 1687] dulled the flavor somewhat,
[1687 - 1688] and it's kinda greasy.
[1688 - 1692] Not bad, but deep-frying at home is a pain.
[1692 - 1693] [pans banging together] Bacon bits.
[1693 - 1695] We're gonna line up our strips and cut them
[1695 - 1697] into the smallest pieces possible,
[1697 - 1700] lower those gently into some hot oil,
[1700 - 1703] and homemade bacon bits.
[1703 - 1705] Crispy bits of bacon confetti.
[1705 - 1706] I want a baked potato.
[1706 - 1708] You've definitely got some distinct pieces of meat
[1708 - 1711] and fat mixed in here. Forget it.
[1711 - 1715] I'm just gonna use my hands. Mmm.
[1715 - 1717] I really feel like I'm tasting the fry oil here,
[1717 - 1719] and I kinda wish I just cooked the bacon in a cast iron pan
[1719 - 1720] and chopped them up afterward.
[1720 - 1723] [pans banging together] Country-fried bacon.
[1723 - 1724] We've got some all purpose flour
[1724 - 1726] and beaten egg here.
[1726 - 1728] I'm just gonna season each one with a little bit of salt,
[1728 - 1730] and then we're gonna dredge our bacon in flour,
[1730 - 1733] then egg, then back into the flour,
[1733 - 1736] and then carefully place it into the hot oil.
[1736 - 1737] Repeat with the rest of our bacon
[1737 - 1740] and take them out when they're golden brown,
[1740 - 1743] and that, my friends, is country-fried bacon.
[1743 - 1745] So just like a country-fried steak,
[1745 - 1748] it kinda has this nice puffy, crispy exterior,
[1748 - 1749] which looks really nice,
[1749 - 1752] but the bacon inside itself is not crispy at all.
[1752 - 1756] It smells really good. Mmm.
[1756 - 1758] You know, with the breading, it kinda tastes
[1758 - 1760] like a bacon donut or something like that.
[1760 - 1763] More county fair novelty than anything else,
[1763 - 1765] but not bad at all.
[1765 - 1767] All right, we cooked bacon just about every
[1767 - 1768] way we could think of.
[1768 - 1769] What did we learn?
[1769 - 1772] Well, for one, we learned that lower and less direct
[1772 - 1775] forms of heat are the key to maximizing bacon's
[1775 - 1777] crispiest, crunchiest potential, but also
[1777 - 1780] that in some cases, a little chew isn't a bad thing,
[1780 - 1782] and though there are a whole lot of
[1782 - 1784] bacon specific gadgets out there,
[1784 - 1786] none of them produced a product that was better
[1786 - 1787] than any our straight forward methods,
[1787 - 1790] and were often a whole lot worse.
[1790 - 1792] Have a favorite method that you didn't see here today?
[1792 - 1793] Drop it in the comments.