Use It Up...Baking and Freezing Bacon


We love bacon, and use it in small amounts to enhance a lot of recipes.  Because there is usually just two of us for meals, I don’t want to cook bacon every time I would like to use it; as a garnish for meat, soup and vegetables, or in a recipe that calls for bacon that is cooked separately.
When I buy a package, especially on sale, or in the case of our photos, I’ve been given wonderful smoked bacon from my brother-in-law Don’s hogs, I like to cook all of it, and freeze it to use later.  No waste, no worrying about using it all up, and one mess instead of a lot of small ones.
Myrna and I both cook bacon this way…and save that bacon fat for cooking!
Baking and Freezing Bacon
Lay out your cooked bacon on a foil-lined quarter or half sheet rimmed pan, size depending on how much bacon you want to cook while your oven preheats to 400°. 
Bake the bacon for 15 minutes for thin slices and 20 minutes for thick slices if you want to freeze it.
If you want to use it immediately, add 5 minutes, or until done to your taste.
Drain and cool on several layers of white paper towels. 
Pour off your bacon fat into a canning jar with a lid or a covered measuring cup. 
Lay your cooked, cooled bacon on sheets of parchment paper cut the length of the bacon slices.  Leave a little on one end, and use it to start folding up the parchment, including the cooked bacon.  Store in plastic freezer bags.  Freeze for up to 3 months.
To use, remove the number of pieces you need, and microwave them on a paper plate lined with paper toweling (I put 2 thicknesses under the bacon and one thickness over it.) 
Microwave times vary with your oven and the amount you cook.  For thin slices, I cook 4-6 slices for 1 minute, and then add time as needed to get the crispness I want, in 10-15 second increments.  Your bacon will burn in the microwave if you cook it too long.
Use your bacon for garnishing, like our potato soup, liver or asparagus.  You can even  make spontaneous bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches when you get that first wonderful garden tomato.
Here are a couple of recipes that I use bacon from the freezer in.
 



















2 comments:

  1. Hmmmm, I know not of this leftover bacon you speak of! Just kidding, I like to freeze my leftover bacon for another day or use. Happy Thanksgiving, Ladies!

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    Replies
    1. Well, you do have to guard that bacon to actually get it in the freezer! Happy Thanksgiving to you too.

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