[0 - 1] - Hi, I'm Frank Proto,
[1 - 3] I'm a professional chef and a culinary instructor.
[3 - 9] And these are the best and worst ways to cook bacon. [bacon sizzles]
[9 - 11] I'll be going over your typical frying and baking
[11 - 13] but also some unconventional techniques as well.
[13 - 16] This is bacon 101.
[16 - 18] Traditionally bacon is made by curing pork belly
[18 - 21] with salt and different types of seasonings.
[21 - 23] The Chinese accredit it as being the first people
[23 - 26] to cook salted pork belly in 1500 BC.
[26 - 28] Since then everyone's created their own version of bacon.
[28 - 31] The Americans, the British
[31 - 32] the, what was the last one?
[32 - 34] - [Woman] Canadian. - Canadians?
[34 - 35] that's not even bacon.
[35 - 36] [buzzer rings] It's ham.
[36 - 37] We got thick cut.
[37 - 38] We got thin cut.
[38 - 40] We got all the types of cuts.
[40 - 41] They all have the same thing in common,
[41 - 44] they're all fatty and delicious.
[44 - 46] It could be soft, it could be crispy.
[46 - 49] My perfect piece of bacon is crispy along the edges,
[49 - 51] just slightly chewy in the middle.
[51 - 53] I don't like that stuff that can shatter.
[53 - 56] Even though you might think cooking bacon's a simple task,
[56 - 62] even the simplest tasks can benefit from proper technique. [upbeat music]
[62 - 66] Pan frying is a tried and true method that most people use.
[66 - 68] Takes less time than turning on the oven,
[68 - 70] you don't have to warm the house up.
[70 - 72] And it's probably the best method for
[72 - 73] five to six slices of bacon.
[73 - 76] Whenever I choose to pan fry bacon,
[76 - 78] I'm always looking for a thick cut bacon.
[78 - 80] I just think that it holds up better.
[80 - 82] The slice is a little sturdier.
[82 - 83] I find that most thin cut bacon
[83 - 86] or regular cut bacon nowadays is a little too flimsy.
[86 - 88] I like to use a cast iron pan.
[88 - 90] If you don't have a cast iron pan, that's fine.
[90 - 92] I've let it heat up on about medium heat
[92 - 95] for, you know, three to five minutes.
[95 - 97] This might seem counterintuitive,
[97 - 99] but I always like to start with a little fat.
[99 - 101] I just don't like putting things in a dry pan.
[101 - 103] I think it's a bad habit to get it into.
[103 - 106] So I always just coat the bottom of my pan
[106 - 107] with a little bit of fat.
[107 - 110] Anything that's not sitting on the bottom of the pan
[110 - 112] tends to be kind of flabby and not get enough color,
[112 - 114] and anything that's sitting on the pan
[114 - 116] tends to get a little too dark.
[116 - 117] By putting the oil in there,
[117 - 120] you're kind of bringing the level up of the pan
[120 - 122] and getting everything evenly cooked.
[122 - 123] One thing I'm really conscious about
[123 - 125] is when I pull bacon off of the pack
[125 - 128] is I kind of just roll it off, right?
[128 - 129] I'm not gonna pull.
[129 - 131] And I'm gonna use this piece as an example,
[131 - 134] when you pull it off the pack, sometimes that happens.
[134 - 135] And your bacon gets stretched out.
[135 - 136] And look at that.
[136 - 139] It's like, almost like, twice the size of the pan.
[139 - 142] So when you do that, just kind roll it off.
[142 - 144] Don't give it a yank, don't pull it.
[145 - 148] So that you get nice even slices, right?
[148 - 151] And then we just go right into the pan. [bacon sizzles]
[151 - 158] I try and lay 'em flat or as flat as possible. [bacon sizzles]
[158 - 160] Right now, the bacon is touching the sides of the pan
[160 - 163] but you'll notice right away,
[163 - 165] it starts to shrink up and fit inside our pan.
[165 - 167] So we got four slices in there.
[167 - 170] One thing you want to do now is leave it alone, right?
[170 - 171] Most people start fussing with it.
[171 - 173] Don't fuss with it, leave it alone.
[173 - 174] Let it start to brown.
[174 - 175] This is probably gonna take
[175 - 179] about 5 to 10 minutes at least.
[179 - 183] All right so, I'm gonna give it a turn.
[183 - 185] It's not totally even right now
[186 - 189] but we can also flip it back if we want.
[189 - 191] This is one of the disadvantages
[191 - 193] I see about using a pan is that,
[193 - 195] first it doesn't fit a lot of bacon.
[195 - 198] Second, if it's not directly over the burner,
[198 - 200] like this one's directly over the burner,
[200 - 202] and we got some really good browning on that.
[202 - 205] So I'm just gonna start shuffling them around a little.
[205 - 207] You really have to tend to it, right?
[207 - 209] You need to pay attention.
[209 - 210] I love bacon.
[210 - 214] I think that even people that are vegetarians or vegans
[214 - 216] this is the one thing that they will talk about
[216 - 218] that they might miss.
[218 - 222] I think bacon is that gateway drug into meat.
[222 - 224] And I think we're getting really close here.
[224 - 225] When I drain my bacon,
[225 - 229] I like to go directly onto a tray with paper towels.
[229 - 233] You can use a rack, I just find this is a better method.
[233 - 236] I'm gonna leave most of the bacon fat in the pan
[236 - 237] and I will not throw that away.
[237 - 239] You should not throw away bacon fat,
[239 - 240] or bacon grease is something that
[240 - 242] you definitely want to keep.
[242 - 246] But you can see, we have some nice crispy spots,
[246 - 248] a few soft spots there,
[248 - 251] and it just smells absolutely delicious.
[251 - 253] This is not my favorite method of cooking bacon.
[253 - 256] On a scale of one to five, I would probably give it a two.
[256 - 258] Just for the fact that it takes a lot of tending.
[258 - 260] It takes a lot of babysitting and I don't wanna be standing
[260 - 262] in front of the stove all the time.
[262 - 264] I want to get my bacon cooked
[264 - 267] and I wanna get it in my face as fast as possible.
[267 - 273] And it's only four or five slices at a time, who wants that? [upbeat music]
[273 - 276] The baking sheet method is by far my favorite method.
[276 - 280] You can cook bulk amounts of bacon, with less space.
[280 - 282] There's no tending to the bacon,
[282 - 284] you don't have to sit over there and tend to it.
[284 - 286] It also cooks the bacon more evenly,
[286 - 288] without splatters everyone in your kitchen.
[288 - 291] The results are superior in every way.
[291 - 295] For this method, I need a sheet tray or a baking tray
[295 - 296] and some parchment paper.
[297 - 299] Do not use wax paper.
[299 - 303] Wax paper has wax, parchment paper does not have wax on it.
[303 - 305] If you use wax paper, it's gonna taste like crayons.
[305 - 307] And this is how you do it.
[307 - 309] All you're gonna do is take your slices of bacon,
[310 - 315] and I lay them side by side, nice and evenly.
[315 - 317] If you have more bacon, you can probably put 'em
[317 - 320] a little closer together but I only have a few slices here.
[320 - 323] The yield on the bacon and is better this way as well.
[323 - 325] You don't get as much shrinkage.
[325 - 330] An alternate method to using the parchment is to use a rack.
[330 - 333] I personally don't like using a rack and I'll tell you why.
[333 - 335] 'Cause I'm lazy and I don't want to clean this thing.
[335 - 336] I like cooking on the parchment
[336 - 339] because the bacon basically cooks in its own fat.
[339 - 341] I'm gonna drain all the fat off later anyway.
[341 - 343] So I'm the not really worried about
[343 - 344] there being too much fat.
[344 - 346] With the rack, all the fat drips away
[346 - 348] and I find that it's just a little bit drier.
[348 - 351] Once you have all your bacon lined up on the sheet
[351 - 355] you put it in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes.
[357 - 358] Once your bacon's out of the oven,
[358 - 360] you're gonna want to drain it.
[360 - 364] You can get a plate or a tray with some paper towels.
[364 - 366] For me this is the perfect texture,
[366 - 368] a little crunchy, a little chewy.
[368 - 370] Look at that, beautiful.
[370 - 373] Bacon is evenly baked, a little crispy, a little chewy.
[373 - 375] All right, I'm not gonna wait till the end of the episode.
[375 - 376] I'm gonna give this a try.
[380 - 381] On the Frank-O Meter,
[381 - 383] I give this a five out of five.
[383 - 389] Let's move on to chapter three, the microwave. [upbeat music]
[389 - 392] As a chef, I have zero problems with the microwave.
[392 - 394] It's a great tool.
[394 - 396] Not if you're cooking a steak, right?
[396 - 398] If you're cooking a steak in the microwave
[398 - 399] it is not a good tool.
[399 - 402] If you need to get your bacon done in a matter of minutes
[402 - 405] and you only need about two or three slices,
[405 - 406] the microwave is the way to go.
[406 - 408] This is the method with the least amount of cleanup.
[408 - 410] All you really need is a few paper towels
[410 - 412] and a microwave safe plate.
[412 - 414] All you gotta do is take your bacon
[414 - 417] put it on the paper towel and then cover it with
[417 - 421] two or three more pieces of paper towel.
[421 - 425] Not only does a paper towel soak up the excess fat
[425 - 428] but it'll also help with a little steam to cook our bacon.
[428 - 429] I don't know who puts a microwave
[429 - 432] under the counter like this, but excuse my back.
[435 - 437] Now, all we have to do is put this in the microwave on high
[437 - 439] for about four to six minutes.
[441 - 443] All right, this got super crispy.
[443 - 445] This is about five minutes.
[445 - 447] If you want it a little less crispy,
[447 - 448] you can just go back a little,
[448 - 450] maybe go like three to four minutes,
[450 - 454] but it's a really great way to do just a few slices.
[454 - 455] If you just want some for a sandwich
[455 - 467] and maybe to crumble over a salad, but look at that. [bacon crunches] Mm. Crispy. Delicious. Fabulous.
[467 - 470] On the Frank-O Meter, this gets a four out of five.
[470 - 473] This is one way of cooking bacon in the microwave
[473 - 474] but there are other ways.
[474 - 479] Chapter 3.5, sort of terrifying microwave bacon gadget.
[479 - 482] If you take a few seconds to search the internet
[482 - 486] you can find gadgets for all sorts of things.
[486 - 487] Look for about two seconds
[487 - 489] and you'll find the WowBacon cooking gadget.
[489 - 493] Wow, bacon. [laughs]
[493 - 496] All right, let's load this puppy up, okay.
[496 - 498] It's a bacon carousel.
[499 - 500] That kinda sounds like fun, right?
[500 - 501] A bacon carousel.
[505 - 507] The instruction say four to six minutes for a full carousel.
[507 - 519] Let's put it in the microwave. All right.
[519 - 520] Here's our bacon pitcher.
[520 - 522] Our Pitcher O' Bacon.
[523 - 525] Ooh, the big reveal.
[525 - 527] It kind of looks a little flabby.
[527 - 529] It is really definitely not crisp
[529 - 532] because I think the steaming happened there.
[532 - 534] And we got not only bacon fat,
[534 - 537] but we got some strange kind of bacon juice.
[537 - 540] This is more like, wow, I don't want to eat this bacon.
[540 - 542] [rimshot sounds] [laughs]
[542 - 545] So, if you like the texture of
[545 - 548] burnt plastic wrap you might like this texture.
[548 - 550] This is definitely a method I'm not gonna try.
[550 - 555] And on the Frank-O-Meter, this gets a zero or negative one.
[557 - 559] Can you go lower than zero?
[559 - 560] 'Cause that's what I'm thinking of it.
[560 - 563] Who wants to take a sip? Anyone?
[563 - 564] - [Man] How much?
[564 - 567] - Well you get bragging rights.
[567 - 568] I've been warn not to do this
[568 - 572] but I'm doing this of my own accord, okay.
[572 - 574] I just want to taste it, I'm a chef.
[574 - 576] I see something like this, and I'm like, what is it?
[576 - 577] What can I do with it?
[577 - 578] Let's give it a taste.
[581 - 584] Oh wow, it's actually really good.
[584 - 586] I would probably cook that down and use it in a vinaigrette.
[586 - 588] That is not half bad.
[588 - 590] Weird bacon, negative one.
[590 - 593] Weird bacon juice, gets a 0.5. [crowd cheers]
[593 - 596] Now that you know all the proper ways to cook bacon
[596 - 597] you never have to suffer through
[597 - 600] a floppy elastic piece of bacon ever again.
[600 - 604] Keep away from the gadgets. [laughs]
[604 - 607] No matter which technique you choose to use,
[607 - 610] at the end of the day, you still got some bacon.
[610 - 611] What's not to love about that?