It sounds like a quick, easy, and cheap “life hack” that I’ve seen on a few websites: rinse your bacon under cold water to make it shrink less when it’s cooking.
Few things are more disappointing than eagerly pulling beautifully laid-out raw bacon from the package only to have it shrivel and shrink into sad, little bacon bits after cooking Fortunately, with the right techniques, you can fry, bake or grill bacon while avoiding that dreaded shrinkage
In this guide, we’ll explore the reasons bacon shrinks and share tips to keep your bacon long flat and tasty from package to plate. Let’s boost your bacon game!
Why Does Bacon Shrink When Cooked?
Before diving into solutions it helps to understand what causes bacon to shrink and curl during cooking in the first place. Here are the main reasons behind this pesky phenomenon
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Fat rendering – As the fat melts away, the bacon loses volume and contracts.
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Water loss – Moisture evaporates from the bacon as it cooks, causing it to shrivel up.
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Protein contraction – The bacon’s proteins shrink and tighten due to heat exposure during cooking.
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Uneven cooking – Some areas overcook and shrink faster than others, causing curling.
Knowing what leads to shriveled bacon will help inform strategies to counteract the effects during cooking.
Choosing the Right Bacon
Not all bacon shrinks equally. The cut, thickness and quality you choose can make a difference in how much it shrinks when cooked.
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Opt for thick-cut bacon which doesn’t shrink as dramatically as thin slices.
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Seek out high-quality bacon with more meat and less added water.
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Choose bacon cuts with more fat, like pork belly. The extra fat helps minimize shrinking.
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Look for the longest bacon slices you can find to maximize finished size.
While you can’t fully prevent shrinking, picking the best bacon for the job gives you a head start.
Proper Handling and Storage
How you handle and store bacon can also set you up for success before you even get cooking.
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Leave bacon in its original packaging as long as possible to keep the slices flat and straight.
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If refrigerating an open package, place a sheet of parchment paper directly on the bacon’s surface to keep it flat.
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When ready to cook, gently unroll bacon slices rather than stacking them.
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Place uncooked bacon slices close together on the cooking surface to minimize curling.
With care in storage and handling, the bacon stays arranged in a way that better maintains its size and shape while cooking.
Cook Low and Slow
The cooking method matters when wanting to prevent excessive shrinking. High dry heat causes bacon to shrink and curl rapidly. For best results:
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Cook the bacon slowly over medium-low rather than high heat.
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Use a lower oven temperature (325°F – 375°F) for oven-baked bacon.
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Turn the bacon frequently during pan frying to promote even, gradual cooking.
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Add a teaspoon of water to the skillet to create steam and reduce protein tightening.
Gentle, even cooking gives the fat and moisture time to disperse slowly without dramatically shrinking the bacon.
Weight It Down
Weighing down the bacon slices during cooking restricts their ability to curl and contract.
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Place a bacon press, another heavy skillet or foil-wrapped bricks on top of the bacon while cooking.
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Bake bacon on a wire rack topped with another baking sheet to weigh it down.
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Skewer bacon slices to a broiler pan with toothpicks to keep them straight.
Applying light pressure works with the bacon’s natural tendency to tighten so that it stays flat as it firms up.
Finishing Touches
Use these extra tricks at the end for beautifully flat results:
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Remove bacon from heat before it’s fully crisp to account for carryover cooking.
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Press each slice between paper towels to flatten and soak up grease.
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Let bacon rest a minute or two after cooking to relax the proteins.
With the right prep, handling and cooking methods, you can fry, bake or grill bacon while avoiding a shriveling catastrophe. Say goodbye to sad, shrunken bacon and hello to big, beautiful breakfast bacon! Let us know your best bacon cooking tips.
Rinsing Bacon With Cold Water to Keep It From Shrinking: Fact or Fiction?
To keep bacon from shrinking you must first know why bacon shrinks when you cook it. In case you didn’t just click on that link, here’s the tl;dr version.
Bacon shrinks when cooking for two primary reasons.
- Fat in the bacon, and
- Water the meat processor used to cure the bacon.
Bacon fat will render (or melt and turn into bacon grease) when cooking. This is a simple fact: if something you are cooking is going to melt, it will get smaller. More fat = more shrinkage.
When cooked, bacon that has been cured with a lot of water will lose a lot of that water through evaporation.
Rinsing your bacon with cold water just gives you wetter bacon.
Think about it. Where was your bacon before you got it ready to cook? If you follow safe food storage practices, it was in the refrigerator! If it was in the fridge it is already cold. Running cold water on it after you take cold bacon out of the fridge might actually warm up the bacon! Most refrigerators are kept at about 37-40 degrees Fahrenheit.
Water from the tap is typically coming out at more than 40 degrees Fahrenheit. In reality, all you’re doing is warming up the bacon before putting it in the pan to cook.
Running cold water over your bacon to keep it from shrinking will also remove any tasty seasonings and rubs that were added if you bought flavored bacon. So, not only do you have wet, warm bacon, but now it’s tasteless too.
This idea that running cold water over bacon will keep it from shrinking is a terrible myth that needs to die.
- Water makes bacon wetter.
- The water is warmer than the bacon that you just got from the fridge.
- Water washes off the flavor.
Rinse your lettuce, but don’t rinse your bacon.
How to Cook Bacon So It’s Crispy, Tender, and the Most Perfect Ever
FAQ
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