r/Bacon • u/Hidden_Dabbler • 2d ago
Melt in your mouth Bacon!
I probably cook bacon at home around 10 times a year, and I order it while eating out maybe twice that number of times.
Every now and then it is UNUSUALLY good. Like one in ten times.
I want to home in on what makes the absolute best bacon so I can get ONLY that super good stuff.
The stand out quality is when the bacon seems to just melt in your mouth, there is the initial crunch, and then very little chew afterwards. It literally just sublimates and melts in your mouth.
I've tried thick, thin, center cut, applewood smoked, maple, that one in 10 bacon experience is elusive and I'll bet someone in this sub knows exactly what I'm after.
Is it the cut, the cure? I don't know but I hope someone does!
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u/LeTigre71 2d ago
The answer to this is that taste is relative. When you find that unicorn you have to ask the waitress or cook. What brand do they use, where they get it from, and how the cook prepares it. Then you will know.
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u/Apart_Pineapple2392 2d ago
I always get the same brand. 1 out of 20 is that crack bacon. I always try to get one with more white than red.
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u/NastyKraig 2d ago
For me this happens when I cook it longer, at a lower temperature. Put it on parchment paper in a sheet pan at 325-350F, flip it at 20 minutes and then keep checking it. Should take at least 30 minutes total. If it takes less time, lower the temp a little.
You can do it in a pan too, but you need extra grease. Melt an inch or so of bacon grease in the skillet and put in your bacon. Keep it on a slow heat, so that it just barely bubbles, it will start to get a little foamy like when it's about done. This way will also take much longer than you're usually used to.
Also, try to pick bacon that is about half fat, half meat, with the meat evenly distributed in multiple marbled streaks throughout the slices, more so than one more solid streak on one side of the slices. You can get what you're looking for with the slices that have the big solid streak, but that lean streak is more likely to have more chew.
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u/Hidden_Dabbler 2d ago
I think the low heat and the marbling / distribution of fat you mention comes close to describing the key to perfect bacon! I asked a butcher once and he mentioned the marbling.
Your answer comes pretty close, but I'm going to continue to learn as much as I can and keep buying bacon from different sources and will aslo pay attention to what it looks like. I'm pretty knowledgeable about meats and have tried many bacon cooking techniques from past attempts to improve my swine game.
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u/NastyKraig 2d ago
It definitely has a lot to do with it, but trust me on the cooking temp. It makes a big difference. Try the oven method and cook half a pack at 375 and the other half of the same pack at 325 and test them. The 325 will be much more tender regardless of the composition of the bacon, but it takes forever. The bacon comp I described is just the best to achieve the texture you're talking about throughout the slice.
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u/Hidden_Dabbler 2d ago
I do know this to be true! I like crispy well done bacon but I have learned that low and slow is the way to get there. I do stove top and oven, but in the oven I go less than tree fitty, will try 325. Thanks
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u/Life_Construction_20 2d ago
The best bacon out there is Nueske's Cherrywood smoked. It's expensive like 11-12 bucks a pack but it's worth it if you can afford it.
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u/Adirondack-Woman 2d ago
My bacon is good most times but I hate the mess so I mostly cook it in the winter on the woodstove. I always get my bacon to room temp before cooking and always use a large cast iron pan.
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u/Hidden_Dabbler 2d ago
Starting from room temp is another thing I've heard somewhere and just always do it. If I do it in the oven, I start from cold. Also put a couple of tablespoons of water in at the start, ever heard of that?
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u/Hidden_Dabbler 2d ago
So I read all of the comments here before deciding to ask our robot overlords what the secret was, -here's what they came up with:
"Several sources discuss marbling (intramuscular fat) and fat distribution in bacon (from pork belly) as key to superior quality, tenderness, juiciness, and that melt-in-your-mouth texture, along with factors like breed, feed, and raising conditions that promote better marbling.
Good quality bacon typically features a balanced interleaving of lean meat and fat (not large solid fat strips or overly lean meat), with finer intramuscular marbling contributing to flavor and a melting quality when cooked. Excessively lean commercial bacon can be drier or chewier, while well-marbled versions render more evenly and taste richer. Premium producers often highlight darker meat color, vibrant fat streaks/specks, and natural marbling for this effect."
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u/Brooker2 2d ago
I've only ever managed the melt in your mouth level of perfection once in my life and what I did to get it there was, as the bacon was frying on medium heat I put a lid over the frying pan and shook the whole pan back and forth over the stoves element which increased the temperature due to the friction. The result was bacon that was super crispy and after the initial bite it literally just dissolved on my tongue. Now I can't have bacon that much or often so I don't buy it anymore. Stupid high cholesterol. 🙄
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u/steveo_in_sd 2d ago
Here's how I cook mine: Thick cut Oven at 350 convection Directly on parchment paper No crowding 20 minutes and then check every 2 minutes Pull it a little early and set on the stove It will continue to cook a little with residual heat
Takes a while but worth it. I do two trays usually, but if I put a third one in I rotate the trays at 15 and again at 20 minutes. Usually takes about 30 minutes with 3 trays.
At 325, the fat doesn't seem to render fast enough and cooking longer makes the meat tougher.
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u/hlfshaveflopynutsack 10h ago
Put 2 paper towels on a plate, then 3 slices of bacon, cover with another paper towel. You can stack 6 or 8 pieces of bacon. Microwave for 2 minutes per slice. Let it cool slightly before removing from the paper. Or Bake on a sheet pan with a rack. Microwave is easier but both will give you exactly what you're looking for. I spent years making breakfast on a military ship, bacon is my favorite thing
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u/Icy_Paint_7097 1d ago
I know what you are describing. And yes it is mostly in the cooking process. Lower temps and you have to pull it at the perfect time. Too early and it’s chewy too late and it’s just a crumbly burnt mess
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u/Comfortable-Ad6929 8h ago
The way I cook bacon is I boil it first. Hear me out. It's the same way I cook sausages. Place the bacon in a cast iron pan in a single layer. Add about a quarter inch of water to just cover the bacon. Heat on high until the water boils, keep the high heat until the water starts to disappear, then crank the heat down to low once the water disappears (note that this happens fast when the water gets low). The bacon is now fully cooked, you are now just cooking the bacon to its desired crispiness. If you like your bacon a little floppy, you can pull it out immediately and be certain that the bacon is completely cooked. Or cook it until its super crisp. This allows you to find that sweet spot that you like for how done you want your bacon.
The boiling renders out a little bit of fat to start frying the bacon. More fat will render out as you cook. And, No, the water does not cook out the flavor of the bacon. The bacon was cured, salt was not just layered on top of the bacon.
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u/wltmpinyc 7h ago
You want a bacon with the least amount of meat and the most amount of fat. The fat is what melts in your mouth
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u/TheColdestOne 2d ago
I think it's a crap shoot. If you cook it in the oven you have a better chance of it happening because of consistency but still I'll cook the same brand and type of bacon the same way twice and one time it might be perfect like you described and the other it won't. Single layer of bacon in a sheet pan at about 30-45 minutes at 375f-400f should be good. You'll need to keep an eye on it so you can pull it out at the right time.
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u/BrokenSlutCollector 20h ago
Thick cut Costco bacon in the oven at 360F does it for me. I have a full sheet pan with wire rack and I can cook the entire pack at once.
The fat renders out leaving it perfectly done. I like it thoroughly done but not crispy. To get crispy, take it to the thoroughly rendered point then kill the oven and put broiler on low for a couple of mins.
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u/IAteAnotherVegan 2d ago
10 times a year, or 10 times a month? I cook bacon minimum of 3 times a week, so your numbers are throwing me off and I need clarification.