What can I make with bacon?
Bacon is the ingredient most weeknight dinners get built around, and it rewards a little technique more than a long ingredient list. Below are recipes from our library that use bacon, followed by the browning, temperature, and storage notes that make the difference between a good result and a grey one.
12 recipes with bacon
Wedge Salad
Chilled iceberg wedge with creamy blue cheese and bacon.
American10m4
Cobb Salad
Chopped salad with chicken, egg, avocado, bacon, and blue cheese.
American20m4Breakfast Hash
Skillet-crisped potatoes with peppers, onion, and eggs.
American40m4
New England Clam Chowder
Creamy potato and clam soup studded with bacon.
American45m6New England Clam Chowder
A creamy and flavorful soup made with clams, potatoes, and herbs
American75m4Colcannon
A traditional Irish side dish made from mashed potatoes, kale or cabbage, onions, and sometimes ham or bacon.
Irish75m6
Coq au Vin
Chicken braised in red wine with mushrooms and bacon.
French120m4Feijoada
Slow-cooked black bean and pork stew over rice.
Brazilian170m8
Spaghetti alla Carbonara
STEP 1 Put a large saucepan of water on to boil.
Italian4
Chicken Liver Pate Recipe
Clean livers of sinews and gall.
4
Chivito uruguayo
Crush the meat so that it is finite and we put it on a griddle to brown.
Uruguayan4
English Breakfast
Heat the flat grill plate over a low heat, on top of 2 rings/flames if it fits, and brush sparingly with light olive oil.
British4
How to cook bacon so it stays tender
- 1Pat the bacon dry and salt it 15-40 minutes ahead. Dry surface means browning instead of steaming.
- 2Preheat the pan until a drop of water skitters, then add a thin film of oil. Crowding the pan is the number one reason bacon turns grey.
- 3Brown in a single layer without moving it for 2-3 minutes per side, then build the sauce in the same pan so the browned bits dissolve into it.
- 4Cook to temperature, not time: 160F for ground meat, 130-135F for a medium-rare cut, then rest 5 minutes before slicing.
What goes well with bacon
Bacon is at its best with onion, garlic, tomato, potato, paprika and red wine. Any two or three of those, plus bacon, is already a dinner rather than an ingredient list.
Storing bacon
Keep raw bacon on the bottom shelf of the fridge and use it within 1-2 days, or freeze it flat in a bag for up to three months. Cooked leftovers keep 3-4 days and reheat best with a splash of stock in a covered pan rather than in the microwave.
Substituting bacon
If you are out of bacon, look for something that behaves the same way in the pan rather than something that tastes the same. Match the moisture level, the cooking time, and the richness, and adjust the liquid slightly if your substitute releases more water. When in doubt, describe what you actually have in the chat and Mr. Chef will rewrite the recipe around it.
Bacon recipes: common questions
- What can I make with bacon and not much else?
- Plenty. With bacon plus an onion, garlic, oil, and salt you already have the base of a skillet dinner, a soup, or a simple sauce. Add a starch - rice, pasta, bread, or potatoes - and it becomes a full meal. The recipes above are ordered so the ones needing the fewest extra items come first.
- What is the quickest bacon recipe?
- Look for the entries above marked 20 minutes or less. As a rule, anything cut small and cooked in a hot pan beats anything roasted whole, and one-pan recipes save more time in cleanup than in cooking.
- Can I substitute bacon?
- In most recipes yes, as long as the replacement plays a similar role - similar moisture, similar cooking time, similar richness. Swapping across roles (a watery vegetable for a starchy one, for instance) usually needs a change in liquid or cooking time too.
- How do I use up leftover bacon?
- Fried rice, a frittata, a grain bowl, a soup, or a quesadilla will absorb almost any leftover bacon without a recipe. If you want something specific, tell Mr. Chef exactly what is in the fridge and it will build a recipe around it.
- What temperature should bacon be cooked to?
- Use an instant-read thermometer rather than timing: 165F for poultry, 160F for ground meat, 145F for whole cuts and fish, all measured at the thickest point away from bone. Rest larger cuts for five minutes before cutting.