De Buyer Pans

[Vertigo]

Hey bacon noobs! Cook your bacon on a cookie sheet (or some tinfoil) in your oven at 425 for like 8-10 minutes--it cooks more evenly, is less fuss and less mess, and spares the seasoning on your fancy carbon steel pans from all this hassle in the first place.

:lol2:

 

[Lucretia]

Gotta cook the bacon in the pan so that you get all those stuck-on bits in your scrambled eggs. Yum!

 

[Vertigo]

Gotta cook the bacon in the pan so that you get all those stuck-on bits in your scrambled eggs. Yum!

Conversely, pour a bit of the bacon fat off the cookie sheet into the pan and use it as the fat for scrambling, then crumble more of the cooked bacon into the eggs after they start to set. The eggs will be prettier, just as tasty, and no sticky mess.

Just sayin.

 

[GlassEye]

Hey bacon noobs! Cook your bacon on a cookie sheet (or some tinfoil) in your oven at 425 for like 8-10 minutes--it cooks more evenly, is less fuss and less mess, and spares the seasoning on your fancy carbon steel pans from all this hassle in the first place.

:lol2:

My pans tend to heat up faster than the oven.

 

[Vertigo]

My pans tend to heat up faster than the oven.

I hope your pans clean up faster than the oven too, because otherwise it's a moot point. Except sipping coffee and waiting is more fun than cleaning.

 

[wenus2]

I hope your pans clean up faster than the oven too, because otherwise it's a moot point. Except sipping coffee and waiting is more fun than cleaning.

Lol. Point aaand match.

 

[GlassEye]

I hope your pans clean up faster than the oven too, because otherwise it's a moot point. Except sipping coffee and waiting is more fun than cleaning.

If I am using a cast iron pan or similar, it gets a quick wipe down before I eat and clean-up is done. Otherwise, cleaning the sheet pan wouldn't be any quicker than the skillet/fry-pan. I suppose you could just use foil and toss it, but I try to use consumables sparingly.

 

[Justin0505]

Hey bacon noobs! Cook your bacon on a cookie sheet (or some tinfoil) in your oven at 425 for like 8-10 minutes--it cooks more evenly, is less fuss and less mess, and spares the seasoning on your fancy carbon steel pans from all this hassle in the first place.

:lol2:

That's how the "pros" do it on Epic Meal Time:
BACON STRIPS
BACON STRIPS
BACON STRIPS
BACON STRIPS
BACON STRIPS
BACON STRIPS


However, I like the combination of crispy and chewy parts and more control over the process that pan frying provides.
If I'm just cooking for 1 or 2 people it seems silly to fire up the oven ...And if I'm using the pan to make the eggs (and do the final browning of bread / melting of cheese for the breakfast samies) then why dirty the oven and baking sheet in addition to the pan? Plus, my total combined waiting and cleaning time when using a well seasoned carbon pan is less than 2 minutes total. And the bacon grease is good for the fancy carbon...

 

[Vertigo]

If I am using a cast iron pan or similar, it gets a quick wipe down before I eat and clean-up is done.

And when I'm cooking for myself I fire it off in the microwave in some paper towels and call it a day. See, I was talking to the bacon noobs who keep gumming up their carbon steel pans, and complaining about the cleanup.

My diverticulitis is flaring up today, anything else unrelated you want to talk about? :clown:

...then why dirty the oven and baking sheet in addition to the pan?

Well you're really just dirtying a piece of tin foil, from which all chewy bits/greasy bits/crunchy bits can be extracted. And it may seem "silly" to fire up the oven for 1-2 people, but it also seems "silly" to do this:

Here's what i do:
-with all of the bacon out of the pan, but the bacon grease still in the pan, adjust the heat so that you're just below the smoke point of the bacon grease.

-use your metal spatula like a paint scraper to remove all of the burnt / gooey / sticky bits. A narrow and flexible one works best for getting into corners and around the sides.
I like this one:
View attachment 8301
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006A03TW/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 - I actually sharpened the leading edge like a chisel and flattened the underside -it does a really great job of getting under the gunk. Removing a few scrapes of seasoning here and there is not a big deal. The key to making / keeping a good seasoning is to keep it thin and smooth. Thick, chunky bits will flake like a bad paint-job.

- I have found that having the hot grease in the pan makes removing stuck-on stuff much easier than with water.

-once you have liberated all of the gunk, dump the grease out (or reserve it for use later)

-wad up a small bit (maybe 1/4 sheet) of paper towel and wipe around the pan. This will help to remove the last little flakes of burnt stuff and also spread a thin / even layer of grease.

- for extra anti-stick / to repair the scratches left from your spatula, you can add back in a little oil or bacon grease and wipe again with the paper towel wad.

-The surface of the pan should look shinny/glossy and smooth, not dull and smoking (again, too much smoke= too much heat).

The pan is ready for eggs. (you will probably want to turn the heat back up a little bit to help the pan recover from the raw eggs pulling the heat out). Adding just a pinch of butter or a little of the bacon grease will even further increase the non-stick (and add flavor).

Just to eat a few pieces of bacon. Rofls.

 

[Justin0505]

Yeah, it looks long when broken onto blow-by-blow detail, but i did that just to explain the exact what and why.
In practice, it looks like:
- heat pan (20 sec)
-inset and cook bacon
-remove cooked bacob
- scrape around pan with spatula (20sec.)
-dump & wipe. (10sec)

If i where cooking a lb or 2 of bacon and had a bunch of other stove top things to cook too, Id use the oven.

But the microwave? Seriously dude... Microwaves are like the serrated "miracle blade knives" of kitchen appliances.

I enjoy the manual process of cooking, not pushing buttons or setting knobs.

If you what to get even faster and cleaner with the buttons and knobs: theres a thing called a phone which you just push buttons on and talk into and it makes the food show up at your door.

-then youll have plenty of time to pat your own head, sip coffee, and write "lol, lol, lol bacon noobs" to people asking questions about using carbon steel pans on a thread about carbon steel pans...

 

[SameGuy]

Please re-title the thread to "Differences of Opinion on Making Bacon."

 

[Justin0505]

Please re-title the thread to "Differences of Opinion on Making Bacon."

Hahaha, awesome!
Perhaps bacon technique should be added to the "don't go there" list along side of religion and politics.
BAAAACCCCCCCOOON!:angryexplode:

 

[Crothcipt]

Lol you can do bacon in batches and keep it around. Save the grease for your pan for later. You still get the smell of cooked bacon when you reheat it in the pan next time.

 

[Vertigo]

-then youll have plenty of time to pat your own head, sip coffee, and write "lol, lol, lol bacon noobs" to people asking questions about using carbon steel pans on a thread about carbon steel pans...

Woof! Note to self: bacon is a touchy subject! Didn't mean to step on any hooves with my porcine provocation, sorry man!

But the microwave? Seriously dude... Microwaves are like the serrated "miracle blade knives" of kitchen appliances.

You don't know what you're missing. Just wake up and cram a cup of cold coffee, some eggs in a Tupperware dish, and a few strips of bacon in that box, hit the button, have a quick snooze, and get back up to a delicious breakfast. It's like Michael Scott's "Bacon on the Foreman" from the Office, but you don't risk burning your foot.

 

[Justin0505]

Woof! Note to self: bacon is a touchy subject! Didn't mean to step on any hooves with my porcine provocation, sorry man!

Haha, It's all good. No hooves where hurt in the making of this long jaunt off topic. It's it's good to be occasionally be reminded that the things we do can look pretty silly / bewildering to others that don't share or particular set of nerdy priorities.

You don't know what you're missing. Just wake up and cram a cup of cold coffee, some eggs in a Tupperware dish, and a few strips of bacon in that box, hit the button, have a quick snooze, and get back up to a delicious breakfast. It's like Michael Scott's "Bacon on the Foreman" from the Office, but you don't risk burning your foot.

Wait? Did you just suggest microwaving coffee? :scared4: Is nothing sacred to you?!? :no: Just be glad you posted that bit of high blasphemy here and not on the coffee gear thread...

 

[EdipisReks]

nothing wrong with microwaving a good cup of cold brew coffee.

 

[Justin0505]

nothing wrong with microwaving a good cup of cold brew coffee.

OH NO! Edipis!!! Not you too?!?! Nothing wrong with microwaving cold brew... except FOR EVERYTHING!!!! You're taking one of the most delicious methods of extracting flavor from coffee beans -one which is free from bitterness-inducing over-heating- and subjecting it to a nuclear attack. Can't you hear it's tortured cries over the hum the flavor-destroy-o-wave? Can't you smell and taste the stench of death on the finished product?
Taking the care to make cold brew and then microwaving it is like hand-raising a kobe-style beef and then sending to McWrongalds to be made into unhappy meals.

My coffee OCD is totally tweaking out right now... I need a minute.....:fanning::IMOK:


Seriously though: just make your cold-brew extra concentrated and then add hot (not boiling) water to it. You'll get more cups out of a batch before you have to re-brew and it will taste better.

 

[Andrew H]

OH NO! Edipis!!! Not you too?!?! Nothing wrong with microwaving cold brew... except FOR EVERYTHING!!!! You're taking one of the most delicious methods of extracting flavor from coffee beans -one which is free from bitterness-inducing over-heating- and subjecting it to a nuclear attack. Can't you hear it's tortured cries over the hum the flavor-destroy-o-wave? Can't you smell and taste the stench of death on the finished product?
Taking the care to make cold brew and then microwaving it is like hand-raising a kobe-style beef and then sending to McWrongalds to be made into unhappy meals.

My coffee OCD is totally tweaking out right now... I need a minute.....:fanning::IMOK:


Seriously though: just make your cold-brew extra concentrated and then add hot (not boiling) water to it. You'll get more cups out of a batch before you have to re-brew and it will taste better.

If you're careful there's no need to overheat the brew.

 

[Justin0505]

If you're careful there's no need to overheat the brew.

... and if you're careful with a flame thrower maybe you can light a candle without melting it:flame:! The problem is with the destruction that microwaves cause on a molecular level. The oils in coffee are very volatile and unstable to begin with. Coffee starts to degrade as soon as it's been brewed. Heat quickens chemical reactions, but microwaves have a very special way of destroying /denaturing things on their most basic level.

But, hey if you can't taste a difference, then more (microwave)power too you! I'm the first to admit that I'm pretty ridiculous about some things. I have no real desire to make someone stop doing something that makes them happy. -I was just having a bit of fun pretending to spaz out over everyone's caviler opinions of my deeply held beliefs.

 

[Andrew H]

... and if you're careful with a flame thrower maybe you can light a candle without melting it:flame:! The problem is with the destruction that microwaves cause on a molecular level. The oils in coffee are very volatile and unstable to begin with. Coffee starts to degrade as soon as it's been brewed. Heat quickens chemical reactions, but microwaves have a very special way of destroying /denaturing things on their most basic level.

But, hey if you can't taste a difference, then more (microwave)power too you! I'm the first to admit that I'm pretty ridiculous about some things. I have no real desire to make someone stop doing something that makes them happy. -I was just having a bit of fun pretending to spaz out over everyone's caviler opinions of my deeply held beliefs.

Hey, I agree that whatever people think gives the best result is what they should do. Having said that I can't think of a reason why the microwave wouldn't be the best way to reheat coffee. Microwaves heat more evenly than a pan or double boiler. I don't know much about cold brewing, but if you wanted to reheat the way you suggested it would have to be pretty concentrated to get to a reasonable drinking temperature by just adding hot water.

 

[Lucretia]

There's just no accounting for some people's taste... :wink:

anyway, back to the pans...I'm finding that link pork breakfast sausage is doing a bang-up job of building up the seasoning. They emit a fine mist of pork fat onto the hot pan--you can just watch it smoke and darken. And then you get to eat the results. Win-win!

 

[chinacats]

Might try the link sausages tomorrow...went to 3 different stores looking for lard with no success.:O

Upside is that my 3 new pans arrived today!! Woo-Hoo!!

 

[Lucretia]

There tends to be a little buildup of crud where the sausages links rest in the pan while they're cooking, but it cleans up pretty easily. Cooked an omelet in a little butter today, and it was sliding around in the pan. Even the cheese that oozed out and crisped up in the pan came out easily.

 

[chinacats]

There tends to be a little buildup of crud where the sausages links rest in the pan while they're cooking, but it cleans up pretty easily. Cooked an omelet in a little butter today, and it was sliding around in the pan. Even the cheese that oozed out and crisped up in the pan came out easily.

Which format of seasoning did you use before the sausages?

 

[Kyle]

Might try the link sausages tomorrow...went to 3 different stores looking for lard with no success.:O

Upside is that my 3 new pans arrived today!! Woo-Hoo!!

If you live in a city with any sort of Hispanic population you should be able to find lard at a local Mexican market or supermarket.

 

[chinacats]

If you live in a city with any sort of Hispanic population you should be able to find lard at a local Mexican market or supermarket.

Thanks, I do and will. Curious though as the last I heard, lard was no longer considered the evil fat it used to be...maybe I wasn't listening. The people at Whole Foods had a nice laugh though:biggrin:

 

[Justin0505]

Kinda surprising that whole foods laughed it off, they're usually pretty good for that kind of stuff. I found some lard at my local co-op, the butcher there renders it himself. Even if they don't make lard, I would think that most butchers could give you all of the pork fat that you want.

With the resurgence of charcuterie in the trendy restaurant scene, I would think that lard would bet getting more popular / common.

 

[SameGuy]

Just smoked out mom's house re-seasoning her 12" crepière with pure lard. She said, "Oh, well, that should drive out all the mosquitoes and flies!"

 

[Kyle]

Thanks, I do and will. Curious though as the last I heard, lard was no longer considered the evil fat it used to be...maybe I wasn't listening. The people at Whole Foods had a nice laugh though:biggrin:

Yeah, lard isn't nearly as bad as it was made out to be. I mean, it's still fat, but it's not as bad as Crisco and other options. Some people still don't know any better and just the word scares them.

And just in case you don't know, lard in Spanish is "manteca"... you'll have no problem finding it at your local supermercado.

 

[SameGuy]

I plan to start rendering my own, in small batches, using a heavy Circulon pot on the "sauce burner" of my outdoor gas grill. I figure i can get enough packaged away and frozen before winter to last until next spring.