Keeping your bacon warm is super easy, and retain the crispness by not using the paper towel when draining the drippings is a good idea. Draining the grease with a paper towel creates steam from the bottom up hence causing your bacon to get limped; instead, use a cooling rack.
For years, I have always wondered, "can I reheat cooked bacon?" Honestly, I had never tried heating bacon before I discovered how to make it possible. There was one time when we had a potluck, and I got bacon duty.
It was a brunch picnic for twenty-five people. I knew I had to make the bacon ahead of time. That was when I did my best to do a trial day for my make-ahead bacon recipe. And when the picnic day arrived, it worked!
Feeding a crowd is always a challenge. When this bacon trick became a success, I knew I had to share it. Whenever I talk about it, I get excited. Strangely, I do feel that way, but I genuinely think that this bacon recipe can do a lot of good to many homemakers like me.
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Anyone can cook bacon, but when you do, it is greasy, smokey, and a bit messy because of the oil splatters. This trick relieves you of all the mess and the fuss because it calls for an oven.
You may not be aware of this, but strips of bacon freeze beautifully. So, when you cook bacon this way, you can prep a large batch and freeze it.
Just take the pieces as you need them. You don't have to sigh deeply as you bring out the pan because you will only need your oven.
How to make ahead bacon
Get these tools:
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- Packages of Bacon
- Gallon-sized freezer bag
- Aluminum foil
- Large sheet pan
- Tongs
Step by step instructions
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- Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees.
- Get a rimmed baking sheet and line it with foil. You can also use parchment paper. This will help you clean up easily.
- Place oven racks on lower middle and upper middle positions.
- Line baking sheet with foil and arrange the bacon strips side-by-side to allow equal cooking, space also prevents them from sticking to each other. You can also place a cooling rack on the tray, spray it with nonstick spray and place the bacon on the rack if you don’t want the bacon sitting in its melted fat.
- I love to cook the bacon just until it starts to get crispy so when it comes to reheating, you can reheat the slices until crisp or you can reheat to your liking.
- Rotate the baking pan halfway through the cooking process. The cooking time will depend on your preferred crispiness and the thickness of the bacon.
- Once the bacon is cooked, place the bacon slices on a plate that's lined with paper towels to drain their excess oils.
- Get another baking pan, line it with wax paper, and place a bacon layer on it. Cover the layer of bacon with another sheet of baking paper. Place another layer on that new sheet of baking paper. Just keep on layering until all your strips of bacon are on wax paper layers.
- Place another sheet over the top layer of bacon and freeze the bacon strips for at least two to three hours. You can also freeze them overnight.
- Transfer your frozen bacon strips into gallon-sized freezer bags. This will make sure that you can grab the strips as you need them without dealing with strips stuck together. You can freeze the bacon for up to four months. Can I reheat cooked bacon, you ask? First, you must thaw.
- To thaw the bacon, you can either microwave them for 30 seconds in your microwave or thaw them in your fridge overnight. You can also either enjoy them as whole strips or crumble them.
How to keep bacon warm for a crowd or potluck?
When you want your bacon to retain that crispness, refrain from draining your bacon using paper towels after cooking. Doing this creates steam from the bottom up hence causing your bacon to get limped; instead, use a cooling rack.
Tips to keep your bacon warm:
1 Use a slow cooker
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- Place your warm bacon in a slow cooker and set it on a low setting.
2 Use the oven
The good news is, freezing or fridge storing doesn't create an impact when it comes to its crispiness. So, if you want to keep cooked bacon warm or crispy, the oven is the way to go.
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- Keep your warm bacon in a covered pan in your oven, set at its lowest temperature.
- Set the oven to 200° F or set it in a "warm setting."
- Using a baking sheet pan, place a single layer of paper towel, and top it with a cooling rack.
- Arrange the bacon strips on the rack and position the sheet pan in the middle of the oven.
- Use a folded towel to prop the oven door open 1 to 2 inches. You can keep the bacon crisp and warm-up for around two hours before it starts drying out.
Freezing cooked bacon for later
It's a great blessing that you can make numerous bacon batches and save it for last-minute additions to meals.
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- Line your sheet pan with baking paper. Place your cooked bacon on the sheet pan and arrange them next to each other. Make sure they don't touch.
- Freeze the bacon until each strip is semi-frozen. This usually takes 20 to 30 minutes.
Take the semi-frozen bacon strips from the pan and place them in a Ziploc bag. - Whenever you need bacon slices, pull them from the resealable bag and reheat them in the microwave or on a skillet.
- This is a fast and fantastic way to get short strips of bacon for your Crustless Quiche with Broccoli or Chicken Avocado BLT wrap. Ready-made bacon will save you so much time in meal preparation.
Easy cleanup tip:
- Let your pan cool down; doing this will cause the bacon grease to solidify.
- Lift the parchment paper or aluminum foil off and throw it away. Along with it, the grease. I typically save the bacon drippings for later use in other dishes later.
When I started doing all the freezer cooking, my life changed. One of the most fantastic perks is to have crumbled bacon to almost every dish you cook.
In no time at all, I transformed a basic side dish into something that resembled something that Guy Fieri created.
You have to say that you fried the bacon that same day from scratch to sprinkle over their meals. I recommend that you mention the effort you gave at least three times.
Hopefully, they will clean up everything after dinner as you shower or soak in the tub. There should always be fairness in cooking and cleaning dishes.
This makes me but bacon in bulk. Then, I would cook it all in one night and then freeze them.
Ways to use cooked bacon
You can add more life to your breakfast sandwiches, sautéed vegetables, mashed potatoes, eggs, bacon egg toast mac and cheese, pasta salad, potato salad, English muffins, steak, bell pepper egg boats and burgers. Just add bacon to them.
3 Ways of Reheating Bacon
It's not complicated to reheat bacon. Yet, if you're not careful, your bacon strips will dry up. Worst case, you will have an overcooked, thin strip of bacon.
Remember that even the most straightforward dish will become a catastrophe if you don't know what you need to do.
Here are the well-known methods for reheating bacon:
1 Reheating in the Microwave (The Fastest Method)
It's common knowledge that microwave draws moisture out of the food, helping maintain the bacon's crispness. When you have tedious mornings, this is the fastest way to reheat your bacon:
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- Bring the bacon to reach room temperature after taking out from the freezer or fridge or freezer.
- Arrange the slices on a heat-proof plate or dish and line with a paper towel.
- Nuke the bacon slices with 20-second increments until the bacon is heated thoroughly. It will take approximately 30-seconds if using a high-powered microwave and takes about 45-seconds to a minute for smaller microwaves.
- The time depends on the watts and the model of your microwave. You should find the time to experiment to find the exact setting.
- By the time the beep sounds, your bacon is ready to eat.
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2 Reheating in the oven (The Big Scale Method)
This method is ideal for reheating a big batch of bacon. If you need to feed a crowd, this is the way to go.
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- Preheat your oven to 400º F (210º C).
- Get your baking pan and arrange your bacon in it. You can opt to use a silicone baking sheet for easy cleanup.
- With aluminum foil, cover your bacon.
- Cook until you hear sizzling. This may take five minutes.
3 Reheating in the Skillet
Considering bacon overcooked or correctly done is a subjective matter. Cooking bacon initially removes most of the grease. This requires you to put a little bacon grease on the skillet when you reheat the bacon. Saving your bacon grease helps you keep the bacon flavor, which you can also use in other dishes.
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- Add a few teaspoons of bacon grease or (your preferred cooking oil) into the pan.
- Add in the bacon and heat it at low temperatures. Cover the skillet to keep the bacon moist.
- The heating time is usually for three minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! Defrosting your bacon in your microwave depends on your microwave's model and brand. Some microwaves can defrost by weight. If this is the case with your microwave, you should weigh the strips to select the right setting. Just estimate the bacon's weight indicated on the packaging if you don't have a weighing scale.
If you have a quarter pound of bacon, it should be equal to 0.25 pounds on your microwave setting. For those without the defrost feature, just set the heat to 30 percent when defrosting the bacon.
Yes, it does. When you cook bacon, the proteins and fats could degrade and encourage bacterial and mold growth. The bacon will eventually spoil.
Using a non-stick skillet is the best method in reheating cooked bacon. For this type of skillet, you don't need to put grease into the pan. You can also reheat your cooked bacon using a grill pan or an electric grill. Be mindful of the bacon. Make sure you don't overcook the bacon to prevent charring the strips.
You can cook your bacon in advance and then reheat them the following day. Cook the bacon until the strips are crisp. This helps you regain that crispiness when you reheat the bacon. You can also use an oven toaster or oven.
Make Ahead Bacon (How to)
Pin RecipeEquipments:
- Oven
- rimmed pan
Ingredients:
- 1 lb bacon
Instructions:
- Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees.
- Get a rimmed baking pan and line it with foil. You can also use parchment paper. This will help you clean up easily.
- Place oven racks on lower-middle and upper-middle positions. Place the bacon strips in a row to allow for equal cooking. Space also prevents them from sticking to each other.
- Bake your bacon strips for about fifteen to twenty minutes. Rotate the baking pan halfway through the cooking process. The cooking time will depend on your preferred crispiness and the thickness of the bacon.
- Once the bacon is cooked, place the bacon slices on a plate that’s lined with paper towels to drain their excess oils.
- Get another baking pan, line it with wax paper, and place a bacon layer on it. Cover the layer of bacon with another sheet of baking paper. Place another layer on that new sheet of baking paper. Just keep on layering until all your strips of bacon are on wax paper layers.
- Place another sheet over the top layer of bacon and freeze the bacon strips for at least two to three hours. You can also freeze them overnight.
- Transfer your frozen bacon strips into gallon-sized freezer bags. This will make sure that you can grab the strips as you need them without dealing with strips stuck together. You can freeze the bacon for up to four months.
How to Reheat
- To thaw the bacon, you can either microwave them for 30 seconds in your microwave or thaw them in your fridge overnight. You can also either enjoy them as whole strips or crumble them.
- Get a microwavable plate and place a few sheets of paper towel on it.
- Place the bacon on the prepared microwavable plate and then place the plate in the microwave—heat for 30 to 45 seconds.
- The time depends on the watts and the model of your microwave. You should find the time to experiment to find the exact setting.
Please note that all nutrition information are just estimates. Values will vary among brands, so we encourage you to calculate these on your own for most accurate results.
