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cooked bacon

16 years ago

How long does cooked bacon last in the fridge?

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Comments (14)

lindac
16 years ago
I don't keep it longer than 5 days....for longer, I freeze it....then microwave.
Linda C
cookebook
16 years ago
Cooked bacon never makes it to the fridge at my house, Khandi!
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I've started buying bacon for myself again when I am alone in Cathedral City for four weeks at a time. Here's how I've been cooking it. First of all, I only want two or three strips at a time, but I've been mostly cooking three. I use a medium sized T-Fal non-stick skillet, and I spray the pan with a small amount of water. I then cut the bacon strips with scissors into varying lengths so that I can fit them into the pan easily, and I put the bacon in the slightly wet cold pan. I then put the pan on high heat until the water has evaporated and I hear a bit of sizzle, and then I turn the heat down to medium low. I turn the bacon several times and cook it until it is slightly crisp. As I take it out of the pan, I press it with the back of a spoon so that the grease goes back into the pan, and I let it drain on a paper towel. For the small amount of bacon I cook at a time, half a paper towel is enough. This method gives me bacon the way I like it, and I also have leftover bacon fat that I can save for later use. I think that preserving the fat is very important, and I have many uses for it. I would not want to use any method that would not yield leftover bacon fat. Since I cook bacon only once or twice a week, I do not end up with much bacon fat. I have not taken any of my cast iron pans to Cathedral City because I do not have space to store them. The house came with a lot of T-Fal non-stick pans, and I've decided that I like them.
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Comments (22)
Another yes here, wouldn't do it any other way. No flipping, no spatters. I usually put my oven on 310° unless I'm pressed for time because it stays more flat at the lower temp, which helps it cook more evenly. More fat renders out before the meat part gets too hard. If you like sweet meats, try baking brownsugar onto bacon. Sprinkle as evenly as possible, then pat it down so it all looks wet. Bake as usual. Candied bacon. MMMmmmm!
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User
16 years ago
It doesn't make it to the fridge in our house either. And in the event that there was leftover bacon it would probably go in the garbage. Leftover bacon does not taste the same as freshly cooked.

Ann
jude31
16 years ago
I'm with you, Khandi, jude
bunnyman
16 years ago
It is going to depend on how cold and how moist. Cold dry meat will keep almost forever. A week is a fair guess for cooked bacon in a home fridge.

I never put food in the garbage. Around here that would bait 6 dogs, a family of coons, 14 possums, 12 cats, 7 crows, and a coyote to my garbage bags before the truck comes on garbage day. I see a German Shepard from down the road has a route he runs on garbage day... he knows exactly whos bags to rip into. One good chow and roll in the garbage and they come back weekly forever... love my dog but she is a dog.

: )
lyra
dgkritch
16 years ago
No such thing as leftover bacon around here. We don't eat much of it, but once it's cooked, I use it in several dishes. Crumbled into broccoli salad, quiche or scrambled eggs. Slices served as breakfast meat (sometimes for dinner).
Raw draped over a meatloaf prior to baking or stuff inside a chicken for a smoky flavor (use the bacon later in a chicken salad with the leftovers).

I have almost ZERO food waste here. I just can't stand to waste it. The rare item that is/becomes inedible gets composted (except meat) or fed to the chickens (which eventually STILL ends up in the compost pile...smile!).

Deanna
annie1992
16 years ago
I also don't think rewarmed bacon tastes the same, but I will chop it up and use it to sprinkle on soup or toss it into a pot of beans, I never throw it away. If I'm stumped, I feed it to Cooper, he's always happy to help me clean the fridge.

Because commercial bacon is so full of stuff to cure it and keep it from spoiling, I'd say that 5 days would be easily safe, maybe even a couple more. The USDA chart says 3-5 days and they are very careful.

Annie
User
16 years ago
I don't care for it rewarmed so if I have leftover, which I often do at the cottage because I cook to darn much stuff, I freeze it and use it crumbled in soups, chowder and salad dressings.
jude31
16 years ago
I'm with you, Khandi, jude
noinwi
16 years ago
I guess I'm really weird cuz I love to munch on cold left over bacon.
gldno1
16 years ago
I'm weird too noinwi. I love in on a slice of homemade bread with lots of mustard! I have never thrown out a piece of bacon in my life. In fact, I have sometimes cooked extra just to get that mustard sandwich.
cookebook
16 years ago
I love it cold too. I must be in a very different tax bracket. I can't imagine throwing away perfectly good cooked food just because it wasn't freshly cooked. And I thought I was doing so well lol! I agree that it doesn't taste the same as freshly cooked but it certainly doesn't taste different enough to throw away.
carmen_grower_2007
16 years ago
I cooked 2# of bacon yesterday just so I would have a jar of drippings for cooking other things. (Too bad somebody hasn't started to sell bacon drippings --- I sure would buy it.) I expect the 2#, which isn't all that much bacon won't last around here for more than a couple of days.
annie1992
16 years ago
COLD bacon? I love bacon, but you lost me on that completely!

I do save bacon drippings for cooking though, Elery tells me that I am the only person he knows that has a grease jar and actually keeps grease in it, LOL. I told him that I had it on good authority from the cooking forum that people besides me save bacon grease!

Annie

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