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Ingredient

bacon

Also known as: 4-5 strips bacon, Cooked Bacon, Crumbled bacon or diced pancetta

Cured, smoked pork belly (usually), sliced into strips and cooked until crisp; used as a main ingredient, garnish, or source of rendered fat.

Buying guidance

Thick-cut slices, about 1/4 inch, are the most useful default -- thin bacon burns before it releases much fat, which matters whenever the rendered fat is the cooking medium for everything that follows. Salt pork (cured but not smoked, sold as a small chunk near the bacon) gives the same salt and fat without the smoky note.

Substitutions

  • Pancetta -- Italian cured pork belly, unsmoked; behaves almost identically to salt pork.
  • Fatback or streaky salt pork -- nearly pure fat, traditional in Southern stews.
  • Smoked ham hock or diced ham steak -- excellent smoky depth, but renders less fat, so add a tablespoon of oil.
  • Neutral oil plus a little smoked paprika -- the no-pork option; less rich, so add a pinch more salt at the end.
  • Omit entirely -- brown in a couple of tablespoons of oil instead; the result is leaner and a little flatter.

Tips & common mistakes

Starting bacon in a cold pan rather than a preheated one lets the fat render gradually as the pan heats up, which keeps strips flat and lets them crisp evenly instead of curling and burning at the edges before the middle cooks. Because cured bacon is already salty, taste a finished dish before adding more -- it's easy to double up without realizing how much the bacon itself contributed.

Storage

An opened package is best used within about a week, since exposure to air dries and discolors the surface even under refrigeration. It freezes very well -- laying strips flat in a single layer before stacking and wrapping lets you peel off just a few slices later instead of thawing the whole block.

Used in 14 recipes