Brielle's Avalon

Making bacon in a skillet doesn’t take too long but it is dreary and the spatters can be both messy and painful. Got a rimmed baking sheet? Lay the bacon out on that and bake it. Easy, less mess, less standing around and you can be making something else (eggs, waffles, French toast…) while the bacon is baking.

Lay the bacon out on the rimmed baking sheet. A 12 ounce package of thick sliced bacon should fit nicely on a large ( 11″x17″) rimmed sheet pan. These things are also called rimed cookie sheets and rimmed baking sheets so I might call it any of these things as we go along. They’re useful for things other than making bacon so you’ll probably want to get one. Bake at 350 until it’s as done as you want it to be. Some people like it to be crispy, some like a little more life in their bacon.

When it’s done get an old mug or bowl and drain the fat into it.

When the fat is cooled you can add it to the fat in the plastic covered container you keep at the back of your fridge. What? You don’t have one? Why not? Get one. You can use the bacon fat as a kind of condiment to make your cooking taste and smell so much better, like when you go camping and cook over an open fire. I mostly use olive oil for cooking but just a little bacon fat goes a long way.

Drain the slices of bacon on a double paper towel.

Fold the bacon in half and put into another plastic container. Freeze for future use. Again, bacon makes a nice garnish or condiment so having it handy in the freezer for future use is a good thing…and out of sight, out of mind, so it might be easier to not just snack it all into oblivion.

Wipe the cookie sheet with the paper towels you used to drain the bacon. Wast not want not.

Use in cooking for breakfast, lunch, dinner or snacks. Sprinkle bacon bits (easy to break up when frozen) on salads, in quiche, meat pies, soups, stews, sandwiches…all kinds of things…including a quick bacon sandwich. Having it in the freezer makes it easy to pull out at a moments notice and look like a miracle chef.

Today I have a lot to do so I figured I’d get a good start on the day…even though (especially since?) I slept in. I made a bacon and egg sandwich. Haven’t had one of these in YEARS! So it’s about time. I spread mayonnaise and mustard on bread. I usually use whole wheat, but white, rye, sourdough or even pita bread is nice, too. If you use pita bread just open one side of it so it forms a pocket. It can be a bit tricky to spread condiments in but you’ll manage. Put the fillings in and nom to your heart’s content, knowing the pocket is containing most of the mess.

Lay on some lettuce and a fried egg. It’s OK if the yolk breaks, since that makes for a less messy sandwich. Lay 3 strips of bacon on the other side, breaking them as needed to fill ‘holes’, top with 1 or 2 slices of cheese (I used Muenster here but Swiss, Havarti, Gouda, cheddar or even *shudder* American cheese-product-slices will do) and melt under the broiler. The melty cheese will, of course, help hold the bacon in place. If you don’t do eggs, that’s OK. Tomato, onion or avocado are among other options you can consider…or just stick with bacon and cheese.

Fold the 2 halves of the sandwich together, add a bit of fruit to make it fancy and enjoy. Of course you’ll use your favourite lunch/breakfast/snack/brunch plate. Tea, coffee, juice or any beverage of your choice goes well with this.