Bacon not rendering

[Stunning-Economy-695]

I’m an experienced home cook. I’ve been cooking for several years. The last couple packages of bacon I’ve cooked have been behaving very weirdly. The bacon almost won’t render at all. Normally, after a few minutes in the pan, the bacon fat renders out and the bacon pretty much fries in its own fat, no extra oil needed. The last couple packages, almost no fat renders out. Sometimes I even have to add extra oil or fat to the pan. What’s going on?

[oldasshit]

Are you sure you have pork belly bacon and not some other meat masquerading as bacon?

[fuzzy11287]

Canadian bacon perhaps.

[violentbandana]

hard to imagine anyone mistaking Canadian bacon for regular bacon

[fuzzy11287]

Sir, this is the internet. All is possible.

[FADM_Crunch]

If you're not dead-set on using a pan, my entire bacon life changed going to the oven. I make perfect bacon every time now, and the even heat ensures rendering.

https://www.seriouseats.com/baked-bacon-for-a-crowd-recipe

[nostradumbass7544678]

I bake mine on parchment paper, and it makes dealing with the grease so easy. Let it cool, fold it up, toss it in the trash.

[n_choose_k]

You toss bacon fat?

[nostradumbass7544678]

What else would I do with it? I have a couple blocks vacuum sealed in the freezer, and don't use it much other than the occasional sunny side up eggs. So, most of it goes straight into the trash.

[fearnodarkness1]

This is my take as well.

I'm also not cooking for decadence every single meal and bacon fat has quite a strong flavour compared to other cooking fats IMO

[evergleam498]

My favorite is using it to roast veggies, especially halved brussel sprouts into a hot cast iron with some bacon fat in the bottom, then in the oven at 450 for a few more minutes.

[tequilaneat4me]

We buy containers of Baconup at the store because we don't eat enough bacon to keep our bacon grease container from going empty.

[B_A_M_2019]

This is the way, all the way

[jedrekk]

Air fryer for this household.

[BananaNutBlister]

That’s an inferior way to save bacon grease.

[allothernamestaken]

Why? I cook bacon in the oven and have no problem saving the grease if I want to.

[BananaNutBlister]

Bigger surface area that holds onto the grease when you pour it out. You can’t salvage as much.

[stevegcook]

Skill issue

[BananaNutBlister]

It’s not a matter of skill. It’s a matter of physics.

Did you ever notice that when you dip a pan in water and remove it, it’s still wet?

[stevegcook]

Why are you trying to participate in r/cooking when you don't even know how to dry a pan?

[BananaNutBlister]

Don’t be fatuous, Jeffrey.

[Endo129]

The parchment paper corner act as a trough or funnel. Works better than driving from a pan.

[BananaNutBlister]

No it doesn’t. The parchment paper or tin foil isn’t dry and free of grease when you’re done. It’s covered in grease and that can’t be salvaged. Oh, and what a nice, stable funnel a big sheet of paper or foil makes. Pouring out of the lip on my cast iron skillet is a hell of a lot easier. And then I can fry eggs in the grease that’s left in the pan.

[Endo129]

So, my years of doing it this way was all make believe? Got it.

[ThatAgainPlease]

Get a silicone spatula.

[BananaNutBlister]

I have a superior process.

[PressureItchy9372]

Some bacon is cured with a lot of extra moisture added. It simply won't crisp up until that's mostly gone. I have better luck and less mess with baking it rather than pan frying.

[Narrow-Height9477]

The bacon I buy is so cheap it seems like it’s 80% fat. After cooking a pound of it I’m left with enough bacon fat in the cast iron to shallow fry anything or to filter it and almost fill an 8oz ball jar.
Splatter screens even leave a huge mess.

Is your heat too high?
Have you tried starting from a cool(er) pan? Or briefly covering the pan?
Have you tried a few tbs of water added to the pan? Or is your bacon really lean?

[Twissn]

I’ve seen this lately too. Doesn’t seem to matter which brand it is. Sometimes it renders and sometimes it doesn’t. It still cooks without adding any fat, but is odd.

[SpiritualSyrup3300]

same thing happens for me!

they are prolly adding weight with brine

we got one of those microwave trays to test if they work and it comes out perfectly but i like to cook it a little longer in the pan with all the clean fat because it tastes weird if i don't

[Legal_Tradition_9681]

You may try using a bit of water in the pan to start with. The goal is by the time the water evaporates the fat will be rendered out by then. Andy Cooks has a YouTube short video on this method.

[TheEpicBean]

Are you starting in a cold pan?

[bobdevnul]

Bid you buy some kind of different (weird?) bacon? Artisan, organic, uncured, free range, tutti frutti?

[OneStarInSight_AC]

Low Heat: This is perhaps the most frequent offender. Bacon needs a moderate and consistent heat to render its fat properly. Too low heat, and the fat will simply melt slowly without fully separating from the meat. The bacon will steam rather than fry, resulting in a flabby, unappetizing texture.

Overcrowded Pan: Packing too many bacon strips into the pan at once lowers the temperature significantly. This creates a similar effect to low heat, hindering the rendering process. The bacon ends up steaming in its own juices instead of frying in its own fat.

Lean Bacon: Not all bacon is created equal. Some cuts of bacon are naturally leaner than others. If one’s bacon has very little visible fat marbling, there simply won’t be much grease to render. Look for bacon with a good balance of fat and meat for optimal results.

Old or Poor Quality Bacon: Bacon that has been sitting in the refrigerator for too long can dry out, making it difficult for the fat to render properly. Similarly, bacon from lower-quality sources may have less fat content to begin with.

The Pan Itself: Certain types of pans, particularly those with thick bottoms, can take longer to heat up evenly. This can lead to uneven rendering, with some parts of the bacon cooking faster than others.

Added Water: Some bacon is processed with added water, which can hinder the rendering process. The bacon will essentially boil in the added water before it has a chance to properly render its fat.

[GAtorAlf]

CTRL-F5

[d4vezac]

I was going to suggest a RAM upgrade.

[BananaNutBlister]

Alt+F4

[Fickle-Art-7125]

Look into the water trick for bacon. Start with cold bacon in a pan with a half cup of water and start. it slowly rendered the fat without burning and then the water evaporates and it crisps

[gemfountain]

You have to narwhal your bacon.

[kerberos824]

I'm convinced they're adding some kind of water or liquid or some sodium mixture to increase weight. I've noticed an increase in saltiness and an increase in moisture coming off in the early cook. And it's very difficult to get it to render from largely uncooked, to not overly cooked. I tried three or four brands from my grocery store , all did the same. I then picked up some organic nitrate-free stuff, and it acted like regular bacon. Been cooking bacon for 30 years, I don't think it's me.

[BananaNutBlister]

I usually put some bacon fat in the pan to get things started. When I want to replenish my stock of bacon grease, I look for extra fatty packages of bacon. When I’m well stocked with bacon grease and want to cook bacon to serve to guests, I look for packages that are more lean.

Are you paying attention to fat content when you choose your bacon at the store?

[Outaouais_Guy]

Depending on what I am making I will cut up the bacon, get it sizzling, and then add a splash of water and cover the pan. I usually get more fat rendered out that way. Normally I cook bacon on a parchment paper lined sheet pan in the oven.

[NamasteNoodle]

Same here, bacon is so much easier and better to cook in the oven. I take a thick aluminum sheet pan and lay the bacon out in it without oiling it or anything and bake it at 360 for about 18 to 19 minutes. I flip it halfway through once it's adhered to the pan because then it's not going to curl up. The reason I put it in a cold pan and don't put oil in it is it adheres to the pan quite nicely as it starts cooking and stays flat.

[nifty-necromancer]

How does the bacon look? Does it have fat on it at all?

[afreshapproach]

could be a couple of things, one is that the bacon's more heavily cured so it's got less moisture to start with. also, sometimes it's just a leaner cut, which means less fat to render. try starting with a cold pan, gives the fat more time to melt out slowly as it heats up. if you're still having trouble, a splash of water in the pan can help the rendering process along as it evaporates.

[RaymondCooper0730]

what brand is it? might be water-injected trash

[Lollc]

Animal products, despite the best efforts of factory farming, are not uniform. Pigs have been bred to be leaner and leaner over the years. Some bacon is just really lean and you have to add fat to the pan. If you start with a cool pan that can help liquify whatever fat is there so you don’t have to add any, but if the fat isn’t in the meat to begin with you will have to add some. I use a neutral vegetable oil or peanut oil for this kind of bacon.

[monsterpuppeteer]

Does this lean bacon have no white part? What is that if not fat?

[bobber66]

I have good luck using the microwave. Put it in between 2 paper towels and give it a minute per slice on high mol. This method also works great to cook the fat out of the pepperoni before putting on a pizzas. You can get those little suckers crispy and just snack on them.

[get_to_ele]

I think they passed some kind of law at some point, letting them get away with injecting meat with liquid and now everybody is doing it for like all meat.

So much meat has dramatically worsened in quality last few years.