BS: gizmo for bacon

Subject: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: leeneia
Date: 14 Nov 20 - 12:13 AM

Have you ever found a good gizmo for cooking bacon in the microwave? I'm referring to American style bacon, also known perhaps as streaky bacon.

I've seen directions for cooking it in the oven, but not for small amounts.

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Raggytash
Date: 14 Nov 20 - 03:51 AM

Place one rasher on a lightly greased baking tray, bring oven to required temperature (about 150) place tray in oven and watch carefully until rasher is cooked. :-) :-)

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Doug Chadwick
Date: 14 Nov 20 - 04:47 AM

The first microwave oven that I bought, over 40 years ago, came with a ceramic dish that was "metallised" so that it heated up when being used. It was slightly domed with a deep groove around the edge to collect any grease produced during cooking. A little oil or butter could be used if the item being cooked had no fat of its own, but othe= than that, none was required. I remember really good egg and bacon butties (if you like the egg whites crisp).

It was dropped and shattered into a million pieces. I have never seen one for sale since, but then again, I have never looked for one. I am happy enougb with a frying pan.

DC

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 14 Nov 20 - 04:47 AM

We use the grill for bacon and sausages. Fried is best, but grilled comes a decent second.

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Mr Red
Date: 14 Nov 20 - 06:39 AM

FWIW I collect all the excess liquid from frying bacon in a frying pan (never microwave). Obviously I don't fry to a crisp. I say liquids because modern bacon has been injected/soaked with water these days.

Not only does the collected mass go into a paper bag and in the food re-cycling bin, eventually, but until it does I have an excellent "paint off hands remover". Gloss paint, heavy grease, etc etc. Which can then be dissolved with washing-up liquid (I don't have a dishwasher - I am one).

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Mrrzy
Date: 14 Nov 20 - 08:37 AM

Yes, I had a wavy-topped plastic tray, you lay the bacon athwart the waves, the grease collects in the grooves and the bacon crisps on the peaks. 1mn20s per slice of bacon in my microwave, no adjustment for quantity. It was marvy. Lost it in a move.

Never add grease to anything you're cooking bacon in. Bacon creates grease you want to keep to cook other things in. The wavy-topped tray collected it beautifully.

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Nov 20 - 08:37 AM

Yes, I had one of those hard plastic "microwave safe" things for making bacon and it did okay (I think I still have it somewhere, but I usually do it in the skillet now). To describe the surface, think about having a flat surface of playdoh in front of you. Put your four fingers down on the edge and depress down about 3/4 inch and drag your hand in that position across the surface of the playdoh to the other side. Repeat again beside it until you have this surface that shows a series of depressions across the entire surface. This pan also has a channel around the outer edge of these raised/depressed lines to catch grease. You were supposed to lay the bacon across these raised lines then cover it with paper toweling. I don't remember if it needed toweling under the bacon also.

After describing that I decided to look. I see that Big Lots lists one that has a plastic cover - even better - saves on paper towels.

The bacon generally came out pretty good - crisp enough and not burned like can happen in the skillet.

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Doug Chadwick
Date: 14 Nov 20 - 08:54 AM

This Microwave bacon criisper is available from Amazon in the UK. There seem to be plenty of others around. I assume that a quick Google search should bring up similar things in the US.

DC

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 14 Nov 20 - 08:59 AM

Invest in a combi-oven-microwave..

Perfect for just about everything.
We've always bought the big capacity stainless steel cased Sharp brand;
and never needed a traditional cooker/oven.
They usually last about a decade of heavy daily use...

[We also use a 2nd smaller microwave for cooking up veg side dishes].

Unfortunately the oven/grill function of ours broke down earlier this year,
and we still haven't ordered a replacement due to covid delivery concerns.

So we're having to get adjusted to only microwave cooking everything.
No more roasts and grills.
Just big meaty stews.

Or soggy looking sausages and burgers..
.. and bacon..
Even they still taste ok hidden in bread rolls/buns..

Then there were the novelty George Forman Grills,
what a greasy mess they could be.
Many years since we stopped using them...

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Mrrzy
Date: 14 Nov 20 - 10:23 AM

No paper towel under, the grooves collect the grease. A paper towel would just get in the way.

Bacon and corn on the cob are the only things I've found a mw cooks better than a stovetop.

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 14 Nov 20 - 12:52 PM

We've had a microwave for 25 years. In all that time I've only ever used it for making porridge and softening little pats of too-hard butter to spread on my butty.

For a bacon butty you need unsmoked streaky, a grill, butter and prepacked sliced pap. I have known people to indulge in the abhorrent practice of putting ketchup in a bacon butty. My advice to such people is to stop being silly and use twice as much butter in future. The ideal bacon is just short of going totally crispy but with the fat nicely rendered. If your cooking method can manage that it doesn't matter how you did it.

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Jos
Date: 14 Nov 20 - 01:06 PM

Definitely no ketchup. Definitely plenty of butter.
But I would use a good-quality, maybe home made, crispy fresh white loaf.
No pap, no way.
And I would keep the fat rendered out of the bacon to cook mushrooms.

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 14 Nov 20 - 02:57 PM

There should be nothing crispy about the bread in a bacon butty. But the very worst bread should always be reserved for the chip butty. Bacon butty bread shouldn't be too good. You don't want the bread to take the stardom away from the bacon. This is a serious matter of balance...

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 14 Nov 20 - 03:10 PM

I would suggest Sainsbury's "Taste the Difference" thick cut back bacon grilled as said above just short of crispy, with Sainsbury's Taste The Difference Multiseed straight from the supermarket.

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Jos
Date: 14 Nov 20 - 03:20 PM

You don't need to worry about the bread taking the stardom away from the bacon. The bacon can hold its own.

Bonzo, have you got shares in Sainsbury's?

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 14 Nov 20 - 07:46 PM

Back bacon my arse. Boring. It simply has to be streaky.

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 14 Nov 20 - 07:56 PM

Would cured human arse rashers be indistinguishable to the unsuspecting in a sarnie..

Cannibalism may have to be an option if the lockdowns endure far too long...

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: EBarnacle
Date: 14 Nov 20 - 08:01 PM

I have used the same black iron skillet for more than 25 years. the bacon always comes out crispy with minimal attention. The bread gets done on the grille and gets put directly under the bacon or sausage and eggs. Excess grease is picked up by the bread and just richens the flavor.
Steve, add one item to your microwave list: We use it for about 20 sec to soften hard ice cream just enough to ease scooping.

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 14 Nov 20 - 08:35 PM

Mrs Steve always forgets to take the bloody ice cream out in time. I shall definitely pass that tip on to her. This has caused many conflicts. You may have saved our marriage...

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: leeneia
Date: 14 Nov 20 - 10:33 PM

I have ordered a gizmo from Amazon. The selection turned out to be easy, because only one was small enough to fit in our little microwave.

It's good to know they work. Thanks.
----------
Chicken paprikash

Cook some bacon
Cook some chicken in the bacon grease.
Set some sour cream on the counter to warm up, but not for too long.
Stir some paprika into the sour cream.
Add it to the chicken, but don't overheat it.
Serve with noodles.

Play Czech music while dining.

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Jos
Date: 15 Nov 20 - 05:07 AM

Leeneia
I assume you put the bacon in with the chicken as well - or is it there only to produce the bacon fat to cook the chicken in?

Any suggestions for the Czech music?

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 15 Nov 20 - 06:43 AM

I think I might use creme fraiche, or just some double cream. Sounds very nice does that. I might use thinly-sliced pancetta, snipped up. Render it in a tablespoon of olive oil, fish out the bacon and set aside. Stir-fry the diced chicken breast for five minutes in the same pan then throw the bacon back in. Pour in a small glass of white wine and evaporate the alcohol. Turn down the heat and stir in the cream. A ribbon pasta seems to be inviting itself into that. I imagine that the chicken/bacon sauce may need loosening with a bit of pasta water, or maybe not (I always save a mugful just in case), and it would benefit from lashings of freshly-ground black pepper. I'd mix the pasta and sauce thoroughly, dish out into warm bowls and grate Parmesan on top. Comfort food! For an even richer variant, add a handful of chunks of Gorgonzola piccante after the wine stage, to melt in, then the cream. Works well with Dolcellatte or Gorgonzola dolce if you prefer a bit less cheesy bite.

As for the music, there are many riches among the works of Dvorák, Smetana and Janácek...if you play the Sinfonietta at full volume whilst making the dish, you'll drink twice as much "chef's treat" white wine!

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 15 Nov 20 - 06:50 AM

Janácek... Let's see if Mudcat won't let me put the accent over the c...

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 15 Nov 20 - 06:50 AM

No it won't...grrr...

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Jos
Date: 15 Nov 20 - 07:39 AM

How about adding some chopped chives?

Well the accent works in the preview - let's see

Janácek

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Jos
Date: 15 Nov 20 - 07:40 AM

It didn't.

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 15 Nov 20 - 08:37 AM

Chopped chives would be good I reckon. There's also supposed to be an accent over the r in Dvorák, but my iPad keyboard doesn't even possess it!

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Jos
Date: 15 Nov 20 - 08:56 AM

I can't find it in the ALT codes chart, and copy and paste didn't work.
I'm going to use mushrooms as I haven't got any chicken at the moment.

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Mrrzy
Date: 15 Nov 20 - 09:58 AM

2 things: why Czech music while cooking Hungarian paprikás, and Lamb Bacon.

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 15 Nov 20 - 10:55 AM

We wouldn't touch streaky bacon with a bargepole, too fatty and little taste.

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: EBarnacle
Date: 15 Nov 20 - 03:07 PM

Leenia, you left out a step in the chicken paprikash recipe--Steal a chicken.
If you really want to add accents over [or under] letters copy and paste from your word processing program works.

et voila: c !

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Jos
Date: 15 Nov 20 - 03:18 PM

I tried copy and pasting from a Word file. It worked in the preview but not in the post itself.

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 15 Nov 20 - 04:13 PM

"We wouldn't touch streaky bacon with a bargepole, too fatty and little taste."

Bejaysus, you've got to be kidding! Bwahahaha!

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: leeneia
Date: 16 Nov 20 - 12:06 AM

Jos, we leave the snipped bacon in the pan while the chicken cooks. But now that you mention it, it might be good to take the bacon out and return it to the skillet just before dining.

This recipe came from a cookbook we bought in the Czech capital of Texas, a town whose name I forget. It had a tragic fire a few years ago.

When we visited (long before the fire), I took a picture of my husband standing in the bakery there, in front of a sign which said "Buchty are sold warm from the oven." The sign had white plastic letters on a black background and looked like a sign in front of a church. One got the feeling that one had better not ask for buchty NOT warm from the oven.   

For Czech music we have an LP of chamber music by little-known composers from Prague.
===========
Steve: the Joy of Cooking forbids adding black pepper to dishes with paprika. The pepper overwhelms its delicate flavors.

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: EBarnacle
Date: 16 Nov 20 - 12:33 AM

Interesting, Leenia. Sane thing seems to have happened to what I did above.

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Jos
Date: 16 Nov 20 - 05:31 AM

EBarnicle,
If your "Sane thing" refers to the accent appearing in the preview but not in the post itself, that message was probably addressed to me, not Leeneia.

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Mr Red
Date: 16 Nov 20 - 07:46 AM

Would cured human arse rashers be indistinguishable to the unsuspecting in a sarnie..

Cannibalism may have to be an option if the lockdowns endure far too long...

as in long pig ?


I know, I know, a bum joke......................

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 16 Nov 20 - 07:53 AM

Well I've never heard that, leeneia. In fact, I made Yotam Ottolenghi's baked cauliflower with chorizo on Friday in which he specifies two teaspoons of sweet smoked paprika and "a good grind" of black pepper. Delicious. I won't argue with the mighty Yotam!

Speaking of alleged clashes, some Italian chefs suggest avoiding putting onion and garlic in the same dish. A ragù usually requires onion but the garlic can always be left out. My family go berserk if I leave garlic out of bolognese, so I compromise by throwing in a few whole cloves that I've squashed with the flat of knife. The garlic stays sweet instead of adding the harsh notes of minced garlic and everybody's happy. I must say that I stopped buying jars of sauce for pasta decades ago. I can't stand the clagginess of tomato purée mixed with onion. I generally use canned plum tomatoes for ragùs which go in after I've made a soffritto with pancetta, onion, carrot and celery, all finely chopped, and I don't go mad trying to break up the tomatoes.

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Donuel
Date: 18 Nov 20 - 09:40 AM

There are even gizom gizmos. According to Photenhauer, semen has amazing texture and cooking properties, plus it's good for you. He compares the taste of semen to fine wine and cheese and characterizes its taste as both complex and dynamic. Fried, microwaved or baked there are recipees if you look. So if you are ever short on egg whites...

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Thompson
Date: 18 Nov 20 - 10:40 AM

The gizmo I want is something that would hold down the popper of a pressure cooker so I don't have to stand there like a noo-nah holding a long wooden spoon on it to steam away the pressure when I want to release it.

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: leeneia
Date: 18 Nov 20 - 01:05 PM

Actually, I don't want to get accents in my posts. Google says that 2,000,000,000 people speak English. If 2,000,000,000 English speakers can figure out how to read their language without accents, so can everybody else.

I recently learned that a French word with an accent might be pronounced the same as another French word with an accent. What!?

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: leeneia
Date: 18 Nov 20 - 01:16 PM

The Texas town where I bought the cookbook is West, Texas. Not to be confused with West Texas.

West has been recognized as the “Czech Heritage Capital of Texas” and “home of the official Kolache of the Texas Legislature”. They don't get them warm from the oven.

Texas is so big that it is informally subdivided. For example, I saw a billboard there that said that such-and-such a hospital was the best in South Texas. North Texas, I think, is centered on Dallas. I would like to hear from a Texan what all the informal subdivisions are.
========
The plastic gizmo for cooking bacon in the microwave has arrived, but I haven't tried it yet because we only eat bacon on Sunday along with blueberry pancakes.

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Donuel
Date: 18 Nov 20 - 04:59 PM

That sounds strict. We allow blt's to exist any day of the week.

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Mrrzy
Date: 18 Nov 20 - 05:38 PM

There is no figuring out how to read a language without accents if the language has no accents.
English and French writing systems are so far from phonetic they are the only languages for which dyslexia is a handicap.

I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough
Others may stumble, but not you
On hiccough, thorough, laugh, and through.
And cork and work and card and ward
And font and front and word and sword
Well done! And now if you wish, perhaps
To learn of less familiar traps,
Beware of heard, a dreadful word
That looks like beard and sounds like bird.
And dead: it’s said like bed, not bead–
For goodness sakes don’t call it deed.
Watch out for meat and great and threat,
They rhyme with suite and straight and debt.
A moth is not a moth in mother,
Nor both in bother, broth in brother.
And here is not a match for there,
And dear and fear for bear and pear.
And then there’s dose and rose and lose–
Just look them up–and goose and choose,
And do and go, then thwart and cart.
Come, come, I’ve hardly made a start!
A dreadful language? Man alive!
I’d mastered it when I was five.

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Neil D
Date: 18 Nov 20 - 05:50 PM

I don't see a need for cooking bacon in the microwave. It really doesn't take all that long in the skillet.

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 18 Nov 20 - 06:44 PM

Same here, Neil. Whack it in the pan or stick it under the grill!

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Jos
Date: 19 Nov 20 - 04:05 AM

I could have done with one when I stayed in an Airbnb, which was a lovely place but where the cooking facilities consisted of a small microwave, a toaster and an electric kettle.

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 19 Nov 20 - 06:16 AM

We had a cat called Gizmo. He was definitely for bacon.

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 19 Nov 20 - 06:53 AM

You baked your cat??

Subject: RE: BS: gizmo for bacon
From: Jos
Date: 19 Nov 20 - 07:14 AM

Or was he called Gizmo because when he was given a bit of bacon he said (in a pussy-cat way) "Gi' us mo'"?