Frying Bacon (Not for the Faint of Heart)

First and foremost, I do want to apologies for the pictures. Despite trying to clean my camera lens they generally came out half blurry.

Bacon. Element number one on the Periodic Table of Awesome. It is a quintessential and delicious food that improves almost everything you eat it with. There is only one method of cooking that could make bacon taste better than it already does. Yes ladies and gentlemen, we are talking about the deep fry.

Step 1 The Path of Bacon

I did not arrive at this revelation immediately, there was a process. The original idea, involved bacon wrapped cheese sticks. However there were issues regarding the relative cooking times, and the results would not have been satisfactory, or safe to eat. When salvaging the two separate snacking delicacies, some of the breading stuck to the bacon, and the light bulb went on.

There have been two attempts to fry bacon. The first one while delicious, will always be remembered as "probably worth it". The second one featured a lighter, tempura batter.

Comments

[jmartin8]

Sounds very good, only I think I would add a suggestion or two. I agree with the cutting the bacon in half. I do that now for anyway I use bacon. Secondly, I believe I would use a thicker cut bacon and would par boil it a bit to make sure it cooks to a doneness I would prefer. Thirdly, instead of using my hands to bread, I would use a chopstick to bread these almost flat pieces of meat. With some practice I do believe it would be easier to use than even tongs. MMMMMM I wonder if there is a way to combine some brown sugar in with the flour so you could create a caramelized bacon piece? Worth looking in to, eh?

[jtobara1]

I used a fork and it was fairly easy. I just got done making it, and it was so good!

[Rioexxo]

LOL everyone! I just HAD to add.....EGG WHITES only! And beer
Nice thread. ®

[burnerjack01]

As I read this I can feel my left arm going numb....
Do you have a Cardiologist in the family? Surely, you have one on speed dial.
No doubt yummy though. I may have to try this anyway.

[nax]

Not to be overly serious, but there is not really much evidence to support the hypothesis that dietary fat leads to heart disease.

A long, complicated story involving lots of well-meaning people and incomplete research and the politics of large numbers.

But the bottom line: Science doesn't actually say bacon will kill you.

Personally, if I eat a bunch of donuts, I feel icky. If I eat a lot of bacon, I feel good. And not in the mood to eat a bunch of junk food all day. So my own guess is that bacon is good for me.

[Monsterguy]

Eating saturated fat increases your LDL cholesterol levels. I've never seen any research that hasn't confirmed the fact that high LDL is bad for your health.

I think we can safely assume as always, that moderation is the best policy.

[KittyF]

eating saturated fat doesn't raise the levels of LDL's in your blood, eating carbs raises it and changes the cholesterol that your body makes on it's own into a smaller particle which clings to the interior of your arteries. Read some of the research behind low carb eating.

[Monsterguy]

There is a significant amount of research stating that saturated fats do increase LDL levels.

Either way fat is massively more calorific than carbohydrates so the chances are if you are on a high fat diet you will have significant body fat, which is the easiest way to increase your LDL levels and hurt your health as a whole.

[KittyF]

LOL I do have significant' body fat. I got that way by eating a low fat high carb diet.

I also have diabetes, thanks to the high carb diet. there is significant research in the last three or four years that says that a low carb, higher fat diet is the best way for diabetics to control their blood sugar and hopefully lose weight.
every time I eat carbs, I get hungry for MORE.

and for those who are interested, Many or most low carbers find their LDL levels falling, and their HDL rising to healthy levels.

[artist.mom]

I taste copper. Does anyone else think they taste coppery?

I'm a litte short of breath too, but that must be because deep fried bacon sounds so very delicious.

[sharper2]

It would depend on how the bacon is processed and smoked. Try a different brand of bacon or use a naturally smoked product from a local butcher.

[artist.mom]

Sorry, I was making an ineffective heart attack joke. Perhaps I've just stroked out the humor section of my brain.

[The Ice Man]

For all those worried about your LDL and pain on your left side, thanks. More fried bacon for those of us that want to stroke out with a smile and a chunk of thick slice bacon clamped between our teeth.

[kwoodham]

Sounds absolutely to-die-for... maybe literally =) I loves me some bacon!

[LittleMonkeyMojo]

Bacon is safe to eat straight from the package. It's smoked and safe to eat. Not particularly appealing to most, but your could have prepared it as you had with the cheese sticks and it would have been safe.

[angelhut]

that is really a sure shot HEART STOPPER..... ha ha ha

Need to get a stroke in a hurry?
Need to get a heart attack?
Need to gain weight after that tough overseas trip to africa?

EAT THIS!!

[greggle]

Pork. Yummy.

It kind of reminded me of this recipe, which features pork belly, which of course is the precursor to bacon.

http://burntlumpia.typepad.com/burnt_lumpia/2009/02/lechon-kawali.html

[Rowen27]

When I saw this project in the newsletter, I thought it might be similar my own preparation of simply dropping (carefully!) the whole frozen brick into the deep fryer, which brings it from that icy state to crisp and delicious in about 5 min. but it's so much more than that... *gapes in awe* I do believe this is an even more hell worthy project than my own feeble attempts, I can't wait to try it. Bravo!

[KittyF]

Coconut oil has a higher smoking point.

[firefly68]

Ooooooo, blue cheese too? I am definitely going to try this in the summer with fresh tomatoes from the garden. Tempura BLT--yummmm!! Add some chicken or turkey for a tempura club...the possibilities are endless! Great 'ible.

BTW, most oil is absorbed at the beginning of frying and is caused by the oil not being hot enough. You want that tester blob to really sizzle so that the batter is quick-sealed and no oil can get in.

[sharper2]

YEAH! a nice chunk of Blue Cheese, wrapped 4 ways around in a batter or double breaded... OMG!!! Literally to die for. LOL!

[holzmanj9]

I'd used some sauteed cabbage and scallions. But I totally want to come by and have breakfast at your house!

[bbartholomew]

Use cold beer instead of water. Makes for a very light batter.

[holzmanj9]

Beer-battered bacon! I'm coming to your house! You are my new best friend.

[chikid68]

looks tasty and I can feel my arteries hardening just reading this lol

[slayerofgoliath]

Bacon. Element number one on the Periodic Table of Awesome.
AKA: King of Meats, the cure for vegetarianism, Tastiest substance in our known universe, edible sex, the food of the Gods, Meat. Candy,

[Ram270]

Sodolak's Steak House in Snook, Texas has been serving fried bacon as an appetizer for many years......they serve it with a bowl of cream gravy for dipping. Very tasty !

[phugedaboudet]

sould the bacon be slightly greasy or damp to get the flour to stick in the "dredge" step?

[danny6114]

If you hold the head of lettuce with the stem side up and strike the core with the heel of your hand and drive the core deeper into the head, it will release the entire core in one piece. Just reach in and pull it out!

[CtrlAltDrew]

Why in the world hadn't I ever thought of that? I was taught at a very early age to put the core side down and *THUMP* the core up into the head of lettuce against a solid surface. Either way works, and both have their advantages at times. A sincere thanks for your perfectly obvious alternative!

[danny6114]

You're most welcome. It's my pleasure!

[dfabian]

Ah ha! joe.esq1 makes an important point about drinking a beer to make this a truly healthy food item. The alcohol in the beer breaks down the grease in the bacon, so that it can't be absorbed by your body; it just passes right through. Beer has a lot of calories, which are immediately used up in the process of breaking down the grease! Perfect!

[tooday11]

WoW now thats a heart KILLER will have to try this

[mooseo]

"Despite trying to clean my camera lens they generally came out half blurry" 'cause, for some weird reason, I seem to have bacon grease all over my fingers! Yum.

[Chicken Spit]

OH MAN! I've got a project in Living Skills due where I need to make something from a recipe, I think I'll use this!

[joe.esq1]

if you wash it all down with a nice cold beer you stomach should be able to handle the sheer awesomeness of this triumph of human inventiveness...

[Aprositus]

The only thing that improves batter-fried bacon is gravy on it. Manna from heaven.

[maclinfuehr]

fried bacon, mother of god (in super trooper cop voice)

[servantofelyon]

Nice 'ible! I tried it (with turkey bacon so I'm sure that changed the taste) and found that if you stuff it with shredded cheese after it is deep fried it tastes even better! But I mean come on, what bacon and cheese combo doesn't taste good?

[mrmerino]

irony: it's delicious as hell.