On Bacon

For storing uncooked bacon, I like to roll up the slices individually and then freeze them in a Ziploc bag. Whenever I need a few slices of bacon for a dish, I just pull the number I need, chop them if necessary, and cook them.

Ingredients

• 1 pound bacon, thick sliced

Instructions

1. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Arrange the bacon strips so they are all flat. They can be touching. You could add some black pepper or brown sugar on the strips for flavored bacon.
2. Set the baking sheet with bacon on the lower-miiddle rack in a cold oven. Set the oven to bake at 400 F. Set the timer to 9 minutes.
3. After nine minutes, rotate the sheet in the oven and set the timer for another 9 minutes. When the timer goes off, check the bacon. You will want it pretty dark brown. Remove when it is done to your liking. Remove the bacon to a paper towel lined baking sheet or plate.
4. Once the bacon has drained and cooled, place it in a ziplock bag and refrigerate or freeze. You can cut the strips in 1/2 and they will fit into a 1 quart bag. Microwave if you are having it "straight". 
5. After the bacon grease has cooled, drain it into a glass or metal container. You can filter but the small solid bits usually settle on the bottom. Refrigerate this for when you need it for recipes like corn bread or beef stew.

Bacon Confidential: I was working in a restaurant kitchen ages ago. I had drained off the hot bacon fat from the pan into a metal ramekin and set it aside. My next task was to pull the grease traps above the grill for cleaning. I was standing on a counter and hit the ramekin of bacon grease with my foot. The very hot (that's key here) bacon grease tumbled onto my friend Pat Brown's leg. It must have been excruciating. I just kept apologizing as we worked to minimize the damage to his calf. If you are out there Pat, I'm truly sorry.