Many of us like bacon so much that we often ask ourselves how to preserve and extend its shelf life for future use. Bacon is a meat derived and preserved from pigs. It is quite very famous in the kitchen as we women often feed it to our family. The question some of you may be asking yourselves now is, can you freeze cooked bacon? Or should bacon be frozen in a raw state only? What if you have leftovers from the family dinner and want to preserve the cooked bacon? Is bacon safe if stored in the freezer?
Fortunately, you can freeze both the raw and cooked bacon. Freezing meat can actually help in preserving its shelf life and will absolutely make it more delicious. You can buy lots of bacon and cut it into strips before freezing it, or you can also cook it before freezing it. If you have bacon leftovers from your family breakfast or dinner, you can safely store it in the freezer and just heat it in the microwave oven in the future.
How To Freeze Cooked Bacon?
Do you wonder on how to freeze the cooked bacon properly? Well, you put the strips of bacon in an airtight Tupperware or container and just put it directly in the freezer. However, there are some necessary tips you should know to secure the food safety in your home.
The Process
What is the best way to preserve bacon?
First, we must go through the steps in freezing cooked bacon.
- Cook the bacon. Let the bacon slightly undercooked if you will freeze it later. The cooking process will continue once the bacon is reheated in the future.
- Cut the cooked bacon into smaller pieces.
If you have leftovers, just cut it directly into strips. If you have newly cooked bacon, pat the oil dry with a paper towel before cutting it.
- Let it cool for few minutes.
- Wrap it tightly with the foil or cling wrap.
- Put it into a container that can be closed tightly.
- Store it in the freezer.
You can store the bacon in the freezer for 2-3 months, but some people store it even for half a year or longer. It is still safe, though it is normal to experience an increase in saltiness in the bacon. This happens because of the freezing process, which draws out moisture from the food.
The Risks
There are certain risks with freezing bacon. Once you freeze the bacon, the bacteria that contribute to spoiling it will also stop in reproducing. This bacteria will also freeze, however, when you take the bacon out of the freezer and begin to thaw, the bacteria will start to move and reproduce quickly. This will affect the safety of your food and harm your health.
How to avoid this?
Prevention is always better than the cure, as we usually quote. In food safety issues, proper sanitation and thawing is always a plus. Just make sure you have clean hands and tools when preparing the bacon before you store it in the freezer.
When it’s time to cook the bacon, a proper thawing process is also necessary to ensure food safety. How to do it properly? Here are the steps:
- Plan ahead of time before thawing your food because it usually takes one to three days for the bacon to thaw properly and safely.
- Take the bacon out of the freezer and put it in the refrigerator. This is the right way to thaw any meat (cooked or raw). This way you will prevent the bacteria to get in the food.
- If you don’t have time to thaw it in the refrigerator, you can directly bake the frozen cooked bacon or heat it in the microwave.
How to thaw raw bacon?
- Just like stated above, you also have to plan this ahead of time.
- Put the frozen bacon in the refrigerator. Wait a day or two for the bacon to thaw completely.
- If you also have no time to thaw it in the refrigerator, you can directly boil the bacon in the pan. Just pour a small amount of water into the pan /skillet, just enough to boil the bacon.
- Let it simmer. By this time, the thawing and cooking process have already started.
- Sautee the bacon.
- When the water finally evaporates, use the fat content in the skillet to fry the bacon.
- Fry the bacon slightly until it is crisp and lightly brown.
Tips
- Before freezing the bacon, make sure to label it. Write the date on the container for future reference. Do this with any food you want to freeze.
- Wrap the bacon strips with a foil or cling wrap before you put it in the container.
- Make sure that the containers are tightly closed so no air could enter inside.
- When you buy bacon or any other meat or food, make sure to buy it from the trusted sellers or brands.
- Immediately put the bacon or any other meat in the refrigerator as soon as you arrive home. Do not leave the meat at room temperature for an hour or more.
References:
http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/04/store-bacon-freezer-technique.html
http://www.canyoufreezethis.com/can-you-freeze-bacon/
http://www.tasteofhome.com/cooking-tips/pork–ham—sausage/freezing-cooked-bacon
http://stilltasty.com/fooditems/index/16428
http://www.momsbudget.com/freezerrecipes/bacon.html
http://www.foodinsight.org/A_Consumer_s_Guide_to_Food_Safety_Risks#sthash.5QVTJh2K.dpbs
